Movie: V/H/S/Halloween (2025)
Production Companies: Shudder Original Films, Bloody Disgusting, Cinepocalypse, Spooky Pictures, Studio71
Distributed by: Shudder
Producer(s): Josh Goldbloom, Brad Miska, James Harris
Directed by: Bryan M. Ferguson, Anna Zlokovic, Paco Plaza, Casper Kelly, Alex Ross Perry, Micheline Pitt, R.H. Norman
Written by: Bryan M. Ferguson, Anna Zlokovic, Paco Plaza, Casper Kelly, Alex Ross Perry, Micheline Pitt, R.H. Norman
Review by: Stefano Todaro

After a 7-year hiatus between V/H/S/Viral and V/H/S/94, we’ve been treated to a brand new set of V/H/S anthology horror every year since the release of 94. This year’s installment is V/H/S/Halloween. For those not familiar with this franchise, these are horror anthology films that showcase four to six different horror vignettes, all created by different writers and directors. The first two in the franchise, simply titled V/H/S and V/H/S/2, included shorts that covered a wide range of topics. Every release since then has had a general theme that had to connect all of the shorts. V/H/S/Halloween’s fun theme, tonal consistency, and general good quality across the shorts might make this the best V/H/S release since the original two films. As are the previous installments, this is an anthology made for horror fans. There’s a lot for casual viewers to like, but the gore and subject matter might go a little too far for somebody just looking to watch a standard Halloween horror film. Because this entry has six separate shorts directed by different filmmakers, I’ll give my thoughts on each individually. 

Diet Phantasma (directed by Bryan M. Ferguson)

Diet Phantasma is split into multiple segments that play between the other shorts; every V/H/S film is structured this way so that one of the shorts is interspersed throughout. Ferguson’s Diet Phantasma perfectly kicks us off in hilarious and diabolical fashion, and then keeps V/H/S/Halloween cleverly rolling. Set up as a soda testing “focus” group scenario, unsuspecting participants were told to try a new Diet Phantasma soda and give their input. It becomes immediately clear that the soda developers didn’t quite care about the taste of the soda. Deaths are brutal, abundant, but shocking and hilarious. David Hayd is hilarious as the head of the soda testing, and this short shines mostly because of his excellent performance. 

Coochie Coochie Coo (directed by Anna Zlokovic)

Coochie Coochie Coo is our first uninterrupted short and throws us right into Halloween night. Two friends decide to spend their final Halloween before college trick-or-treating and causing a ruckus. Are they too old to be trick-or-treating? A few houses certainly think so. They come upon a house that appeared out of thin air, and madness ensues. Zlokovic’s segment isn’t one of my favorites of the bunch, but it is full of effective jump scares and vile imagery that makes it worth your time. It’s a bit of a fun house of grotesquery that horror fans can appreciate. It all culminates in a rather disappointing finale, but it’s still of higher quality than the other weaker links of previous V/H/S films.

Ut Supra Sic Infra (directed by Paco Plaza)

Paco Plaza, director of REC and Veronica, contributes what might be my favorite V/H/S short ever released. It follows a police investigation into the deaths of a group of young adults. The lone survivor, Enric, is the lead suspect and brings the police back to the scene of the deaths to show them what happened. The story is told by intersplicing the recorded events of that evening with the recreation of the events during the police investigation. Aside from the delectable storytelling, the polish of the filmmaking and acting puts Ut Supra Sic Infra in a tier above the other shorts from this film and the shorts from previous V/H/S films. I’m sure some might find this short too polished for this type of anthology film, a film series that was built on gritty and sometimes amateur filmmaking, but the screenplay and direction make Ut Supra Sic Infra undeniably special.

Fun Size (directed by Casper Kelly)

Absolutely hysterical. The cynicism of horror-comedy isn’t for everybody, but when executed well, it can be one of the most entertaining forms of film. Kelly’s Fun Size fully leans into the satirical and comedic aspects of horror and delivers V/H/S/Halloween’s most fun romp. Although we already got a trick-or-treating-based short with Coochie Coochie Coo, Fun Size’s take on a trick-or-treating faux pas is different and creative enough to avoid boring repetition. We see two young couples filming and trick-or-treating, and one of them breaks the “please take one piece” rule. The group is then sucked into an unhinged candy factory from hell. It becomes clear early where everything is going, but the mystery isn’t the sticking point. The banter between the crew and the physical comedy is all Fun Size needs to be a great time. This short certainly has some of the funniest moments of any V/H/S segment.

Kidprint (directed by Alex Ross Perry)

Alex Ross Perry is well known for a lot of his music video work, and expectations are always high when he’s part of a project. Kidprint is set in a small town that is dealing with a serial killer who is kidnapping and murdering children. Trick-or-treating has been cancelled because the killer is still on the loose. Our main character, Tim, runs a print shop that is helping create identifications for children in the midst of the disappearances. The story progresses and is told from his perspective. While Kidprint is sharply made, the gore and unsettling imagery involving children is off-putting. Very rarely do I say this, but it felt violent for the sake of being violent. If kids are involved, the line starts to become a bit fuzzy on what is and isn’t acceptable.

Home Haunt (directed by Micheline Pitt & R.H. Norman)

Home Haunt is the perfect treat to close out this year’s run of V/H/S shorts. It’s a lovely culmination of everything we’ve seen previously. It’s wholesome to start, silly throughout, gruesome at times, and is an all-around joy to watch. Keith is a suburban dad who sets up a neighborhood haunted house every year. It’s a tradition he and his son, Zack, shared for several years, but now Zack is at that age where anything involving Halloween seems criminally lame. After some blackmail, Zack agrees to help his dad out one last time. After going out to buy new decorations for the haunted house, they unleash something they could have never expected. Home Haunt isn’t scary, but it’s visually exciting and a whole lot of fun.

8.0/10

By: Stefano Todaro