V/H/S/Halloween

What a great film to kickoff the season! This film is loads of fun!

I went in expecting another mediocre VHS film but instead was awesomely surprised with something that played like an amateurs masterpiece. Dark yet playful and fun. You get your violence and dark themes with plenty of laughs. Is the acting masterclass? Lol, it doesn't need to be.

The story about the candy making, one per person... wow, hahaha.

If you're going into this one without expectation and just looking for new spooky season films to sprinkle in with the classics you're undoubtedly watching...throw this one on and give it a chance.

Be prepared for a gore-a-thon of mayhem with this latest installment into the V/H/S family tree of terrifying tales.

Intro is a poor fool and a trial of some sort that goes horribly horribly wrong for him.

Next we've got tricks or treats Time for one and all, but seems like they're more tricks than treats this year, so you better watch out for "The Mommy" boys and girls, pssst "Coochie Coo." Freaking disturbing is an obvious understatement with this segment, be prepared. Our Halloween party goes awry, and we end up with a serious problem on our hands that needs to be reenacted as best as possible.

Remember only take one candy when trick or treating folks, no really... Fun Size...

It was high time a V/H/S flick got made with the Halloween theme. Like with each instalment, it's ideal to analyse segment-by-segment:

"Diet Phantasma" (wraparound narrative) - Prologue Written and directed by Bryan M. Ferguson, this one's my least favourite in the film overall. It has that late '80s look and solid practical effects, but given that the same thing repeats itself between segments (consume soda or get close to it, go insane), it became incredibly less impactful by the end. (2/5)

"Coochie Coochie Coo" The story takes place around 2009 and features some interesting lore. Two high schoolers go trick-or-treating (for the final time, ugh) and end up getting stuck at a house with a mysterious occupant (or occupants?). The one's a load of fun -- creepy make-up effects, some unexpectedly disgusting finds, shaky cam 101, and a pretty satisfying finale. (3/5)

"Ut Supra Sic Infra" Paco Plaza (of REC, Veronica, and Sister Death) comes up with a crime reconstruction plot at a supposed psychic's mansion. The setup and payoffs here are predictable, and there's a surprising amount of eye-gouging here, which made me want to look away. But besides the action-packed finale, there isn't much to write home about for a filmmaker of Plaza's calibre. (2.5/5)

"Fun Size" What a blast! This is, hands down, my pick. Casper Kelly's segment is the perfect mix of laughs, gross-out gore, and tension-driven thrills. Glad this segment was positioned as the "centrepiece" because it had pretty much everything I wanted from a V/H/S segment. The effects are great, the payoffs are solid, and there's scope for a full-length film here, if characters can be well-developed. Give this guy a budget! (4/5)

"Kidprint" Alex Rose Perry writes and directs the darkest segment in the film, revolving around a serial (kidnapper and) killer with a video fetish. The segment holds nothing back when it comes to depicting violence and harm against kids and adolescents, with some really gruesome imagery coming your way. The plot is quite thin and unfolds quickly, but the gnarly effects do capture your attention. (3/5)

"Home Haunt" Micheline Pitt-Norman & R. H. Norman's segment feels eerily familiar to a short story I wrote almost a decade ago, with a family haunt gradually turning into a hellish portal. It also has a bit of the Hell House LLC hangover to it, but there are some surprises too, with a really captivating (and brutal) finale. A pretty solid segment, if not a great one. (3/5)

Overall, it's good to see the impressive segments outnumbering the disappointing ones in this edition of V/H/S. Let's keep the yearly tradition going -- it not only gives rise to new, creative voices in the horror genre, but also opens the doors for them to materialise their larger ideas in the near future.

I have been a fan of the V/H/S movies for a while now and this years entry V/H/S Halloween does not disappoint. The individual stores are scary, extremely gory, with one story being funny (You won't look at a packet of skittles the same way ever again.)

It's excellent that all of the stories on Halloween, which really adds to the creepiness of the movie. This is a really good movie to watch in the lead up to Halloween. The set designs, prosthetics and actors are really giving it their all. This movie is a solid 8/9 out of 10.

Happy Trick or Treating.

The movie did not offer anything outstanding, candidly. It is very normal for the vast majority of found footage horror movies to result in subpar quality, and this offering is right on track with it. I never expect any game-changing aspects; however, it did go the distance in disappointing. The acting seemed contrived, the CGI appeared rough, and the storyline was painfully predictable from start to finish. It failed to offer suspense, atmosphere, and any real terror. Unlike previous VHS found footage films that at least had some form of charm or innovation, this offering felt very impassive and easily forgettable. Nothing sets it apart, and it is hard to find any reason to recommend it.