FilmSnobReviews

Title: V/H/S/94
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Simon Barrett, Steven Kostanski, Chloe Okuno, Ryan Prows, Jennifer Reeder, Timo Tjahjanto
Starring: Anna Hopkins, Christian Potenza, Brian Paul
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

What It Is: Continuing in the style of VHS-themed anthology horror, tales of found analog horrors await set in 1994, featuring a ragtag group of vampire hunters, a determined journalist and her cameraman who try to unravel an underground urban legend, a crazed mad scientist hell-bent on creating powerful cyborg weapons, and a mysterious SWAT team on the search for answers in the face of the gory remains of a cult.

What We Think: It’s not an uncommon thing where anthology collections are mixed bags. While compared to other works such as ABCs of Death or the V/H/S predecessors, / 94 follows suit with well-interwoven stories that fold into each other aesthetically. Some are undoubtedly stronger than others, though having strengths and flaws within their own segments as well. The framing setup, the episode “Holy Hell“, is generic though atmospheric, making it appear as though a SWAT team is running through tapes that were left behind by dead cult members. “Storm Drain” was probably my favorite segment due to Anna Hopkins and the silly yet indulgent premise, overall feeling like the most complete narrative in the entire movie. It has some great imagery and a wonderfully grimy, creepy setting. “The Empty Wake” had some strong moments, particularly leading up to the impression of some serious gore, but never quite takes the chance to really scare the viewer when its at its darkest and most quiet. It had a strong setup but its resolution left it cliché, nonetheless felt like a proper analog in its PS2 / ARG-horror-inspired angles and lighting. “The Subject” was my least favorite segment, as it was one of the most promising with Tetsuo Iron Man and Frankenstein’s Army vibes but was too slow, predictable, and unrewarding, eventually loosing much of my interest. It’s not much of anything other than a creature design and SFX showcase, though some of the gore and violence were obvious CGI, something that doesn’t normally bug me but I thought brought down the effectiveness of the short and made it far less effective. This was also the least creepy segment, leaving the last entry off rough in having to follow it up. “Terror” is a bit more of an interesting segment as the acting and suspension of disbelief improves much here; the extremist ‘anti-vampire’ group has some interesting characters that seemed to have been inspired by the likes of 90s alt-right groups and involves different psyches and personalities within a short amount of time. This short probably would have benefitted from a slightly longer runtime and “The Subject” with a shorter runttime. The lore set up in “Terror” is solid and establishes an interesting set of in-universe rules, but of course, it goes in the predictable fashion of “someone f*cks up, and everyone pays the price, and a monster is unleashed” (honestly it seems to be the creed this anthology lives by).

Our Grade: C, A campy set of shorts that will satisfy some and disappoint others, V/H/S/94 might not be the installment worth sticking around for, but could be fun at parties with a group of friends. Its silliness, when taken in stride, is one of its strongest suits, but when it comes to analog horror, none of its installments are quite unique enough to stand out on their own. While I’m not entirely sure why / 94 needed to be made, especially in the sense that / 99 is already coming out soon, I hope to see the series continue to grow and hopefully see some fine-tuning when it comes to cohesion, and its standards in production, scariness, writing, and overall programming.