Movie Review: V/H/S/Halloween
Oct. 19th, 2025 03:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452The latest installment of the V/H/S horror anthology franchise was released this month. I really enjoyed the previous movie, V/H/S/Beyond, which was more or less scifi based, and I was pleasantly surprised that they had another one coming out soon after that one had been released, this time appropriately themed around Halloween. After having finally watched it, here are my thoughts.
V/H/S/HALLOWEEN
Frame Narrative: "Diet Phantasma"
The interconnecting frame narrative throughout the movie focuses on a team of research scientists who bring in a group of volunteer test subjects to test out a new soda formula which, unbeknownst to the test subjects, the soda is infused with extracts of malevolent poltergeists. One by one, each test subject is violently tortured and killed as the scientists look on in disappointment as they bring in more test subjects to find the right formula to release to the public, which their deadline is cutting it close. Watching this I was curious as to what was going to happen, usually during the last frame narratives that feature such footage of scientists messing around with things they shouldn't it never ends well or ends in a way most don't expect it to, and here, by the end, they finally manage to get the right formula when a little girl is able to survive the poltergeist inside of her body. Not without a price, of course, as even though they made the deadline to get it out to the public for Halloween the scientists are killed, or implied to be killed anyway since we don't see that carnage as opposed to the carnage of the test subjects, all which were done quite differently, including one being burned to death by one of the scientists as they were just near death anyway, so you don't know whether it was a mercy kill or just them cleaning up their mess so there wouldn't be a law suit following. Judging from the disinterested tone the scientists were using, most likely the latter.
The mid-credits scene features a commercial for Diet Phantasma. It was a nice touch to give us the conclusion to the frame narrative.
Segment #01: "Coochie Coochie Coo"
Two teenage girls are celebrating their last Halloween before they head off to college, they are dressed up as children as they create havoc across town, basically being immature and stupid. They suddenly notice a house they hadn't gone to and think it's an interactive haunted house, except that once they step inside they are trapped in an inescapable maze of a home by "The Mommy", a demonic spirit of a woman who lures and captures people and turns them into her own children.
This is the longest segment of the movie, which surprised me, it takes up the most time and I can understand why. It seemed like there was a lot of thought going into the concept, and I do think there is more than can be done with it if it was made into a feature length movie. Mainly for the legend of "The Mommy", since there were little tidbits about it here and there. She was a woman who had gotten pregnant through rape and hung herself to be free of that torment, in the pictures seen in the house she is visible sad and lonely, and her longing for a family, or at least children, must've turned her into a vengeful spirit who lures people to make them her children that she couldn't have. The last moment seen in the segment is her crying hysterically despite being surrounded by her "children". There is a lot there to explore, I think, at least of understanding the history and the lore of how this being ended up in such a state to kidnap others, and even why it happens every Halloween and why, according to the legend, she targets people who are immature or seemingly "too old" to be out during such a night.
I really liked the performances, especially by the two girls who played Lacie and Kaleigh. They were very believable at being kind of immature teenagers while also not being mean-spirited, which is a line that can be easily crossed a lot of the time, but it comes across naturally here as two friends who are just wanting to have some fun, albeit making pretty stupid decisions. We were teenagers once, we know that feeling of being carefree and somewhat rebellious with the mindset of thinking we're invincible and that nothing bad can happen to us. Lacie had that mindset from the start, with Kaleigh being the more rational one but still going along with the shenanigans, but they quickly sobered up once they realized something was seriously wrong and that they couldn't get out of the house. I felt bad for both of them. Sure they were immature, but again, they were teenagers and they believed that Halloween would be their last chance at being immature teenagers before entering a new chapter of their lives. Which, sadly, will never come.
I really liked this segment a whole lot. The atmosphere of the house, the creepiness of the previously trapped victims whose faces have been transformed into baby-like features, the disturbing "The Mommy" whose appearance is frightening but her background seemingly disheartening. As far as first segments go, this was pretty damn solid of a viewing experience.
Segment #02: "Ut Supra Sic Infra"
After a mass murder of a group of friends in an abandoned Madrid mansion on Halloween left one sole survivor, the police question the victim and is then taken to the scene of the crime to demonstrate what happened to prove to him that his memory of that night was skewed and not what it appeared to be. However, once they get there, they learn the horrifying truth of what happened that night and how Enric, the only survivor, was able to make it out alive.
I liked the setup, especially with inter-cutting the phone footage of the group of friends entering the mansion and then the footage cutting out right before we saw anything happen, and that we see how utterly traumatized Enric is in comparison to how he was in the footage with his friends. And obviously despite them attempting to ease his anxiety and worries the psychiatrist and investigators were pretty stupid to go back to a place that traumatized this survivor and reenact what happened. Even without demonic possession, just doing that to any victim in general is pretty shitty. So their deaths were kind of justified in my mind.
This is one of those short films that I feel could've been extended just a little bit more, at least in terms of the story.
Segment #03: "Funsize"
After attending an adult Halloween party, two couples decide to go trick-or-treating in hopes to get some real good candy when they stumble across strangely labeled candy bars in a bowl that has a "one per person" sign. Unfortunately not heeding to the sign, they are pulled in through the bowl into a parallel reality where a sentiment candy bar named "Fun Size" chases them to get chopped up and their body parts covered in chocolate and sold like the candy seen in the bowl they found.
This story is a terrifying concept that is compacted in a bizarre and ridiculous execution. It feels like something out of a Goosebumps story, but obviously a bit more bloody and adult in subject matter. The idea about life size candy entities taking human beings and turning them into candy bars is quite a terrifying thought, especially when you take into account that the candy that they ate in the beginning was bizarre yet realistic in terms of how a lot of unknown candies are like that it can make you do a double take. The phallic looking candy filled with "creme", seems funny out of context and something that seems like would be something a candy company would think about especially for adult candy, but in context yeah, that was a real person's penis. In the end, I did think that the last girl was going to survivor since the exit they found did say "one per person" and, well, she was the last one of the group. But she didn't make it despite everything. And the scene following that showing that even kids aren't spared in being captured and turned into candy themselves by not following the rules.
(Although it does beg the question whether it's the lack of rule following that decides them being taken, or that they just take victims anyway regardless.)
Segment #04: "Kidprint"
This one is by far the most disturbing entries in this installment, since it's far too realistic in terms of subject matter and how it's depicted.
An American town is being plagued by an unusual number of disappearances and murders of kids and teenagers, and a local video store owner has taken upon himself to document the kids in the town for their protection and in case of helping identify them in case they go missing. On Halloween reports of a missing seventeen-year-old girl reach police and they ask the video store owner to grab her tape, however when he returns to his store he discovers the horrifying truth of who is responsible for the kidnappings and murders of these kids: his own employee who has been using the tapes to easily find his victims.
What's disturbing about this is how real it seems. There's nothing paranormal going on, just a guy who is torturing and murdering kids just because he can, and hiding in plain sight. The videos that are inter-cut with the victims being happy in their interview videos alongside their torture videos is absolutely horrifying to say the least. What makes it even worse is that the owner, who we could've assumed was behind it, was actually an innocent man who was trying to do his best to help his town and was ultimately killed and framed for the murders, and how the actual murderer not only isn't caught he gets to continue the business and his murder sprees. It's such a horror concept that is deeply unsettling because this shit does happen.
Segment #05: "Home Haunt"
A family is putting on an elaborate haunted house tour which they've done every year, but this time the father wants to go bigger and better to expand their "haunted house lore" and steals a record from a store they frequent for supplies called "Halloween Horrors" believing that it will enhance the experience. Unfortunately, once the record is played on Halloween night with neighborhood guests in attendance things turn deadly as their haunted house becomes alive with the actual horrors they set up which kill and wreck havoc on their guests and the rest of the town.
This segment is also something that reminds me of Goosebumps (even the haunted house attraction looked similar to that "One Day At Horrorland" book cover), with the idea of playing an unknown record where it summons dark magic and suddenly fake monster decorations come to life. It's also the idea of "be careful what you wish for" because the father wanted a larger than life haunted house attraction, well, he got his wish, just at the expense of the lives of everyone in their neighborhood. I mostly felt bad for the son, who was in that awkward teen stage of being embarrassed with his father and didn't want to do any of this in the first place. The father, who seemed nice enough in wanting to continue with tradition and bond with his son, just didn't listen, and also seemed kind of a dick for stealing something from a store all for his haunted house attraction. It makes it seem like that's all he wanted and cared for, same with the mother who seemed to enable her husband's antics. While we don't know the actual fate of the family, we know that their haunted house has come alive and is terrifying the neighborhood.
I did find this one fun, again like with "Fun Size" it felt like a mature version of a Goosebumps story.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I really liked this installment, which seems to be consistent with me regarding the V/H/S franchise. It can be uneven with the theme continuity but it's mostly enjoyment, and it's guaranteed to have a segment that I will like. For this one, I'd say my favorite segments are "Coochie Coochie Coo" and "Kidprint", with "Home Haunt" coming in close after that. And really, I like anything horror that centers around the holiday of Halloween, whether there is a story or just vibes, it's just fun.
I wonder if the franchise can turn this into a trend of doing holiday themed installments. Obviously Halloween was very appropriate, but I would love for V/H/S to do something similar with other holidays, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, or even Hallmark holidays like Valentine's Day, Mother's/Father's Day, etc. There are so great opportunities for horror stories with those.
V/H/S/HALLOWEEN
Frame Narrative: "Diet Phantasma"
The interconnecting frame narrative throughout the movie focuses on a team of research scientists who bring in a group of volunteer test subjects to test out a new soda formula which, unbeknownst to the test subjects, the soda is infused with extracts of malevolent poltergeists. One by one, each test subject is violently tortured and killed as the scientists look on in disappointment as they bring in more test subjects to find the right formula to release to the public, which their deadline is cutting it close. Watching this I was curious as to what was going to happen, usually during the last frame narratives that feature such footage of scientists messing around with things they shouldn't it never ends well or ends in a way most don't expect it to, and here, by the end, they finally manage to get the right formula when a little girl is able to survive the poltergeist inside of her body. Not without a price, of course, as even though they made the deadline to get it out to the public for Halloween the scientists are killed, or implied to be killed anyway since we don't see that carnage as opposed to the carnage of the test subjects, all which were done quite differently, including one being burned to death by one of the scientists as they were just near death anyway, so you don't know whether it was a mercy kill or just them cleaning up their mess so there wouldn't be a law suit following. Judging from the disinterested tone the scientists were using, most likely the latter.
The mid-credits scene features a commercial for Diet Phantasma. It was a nice touch to give us the conclusion to the frame narrative.
Segment #01: "Coochie Coochie Coo"
Two teenage girls are celebrating their last Halloween before they head off to college, they are dressed up as children as they create havoc across town, basically being immature and stupid. They suddenly notice a house they hadn't gone to and think it's an interactive haunted house, except that once they step inside they are trapped in an inescapable maze of a home by "The Mommy", a demonic spirit of a woman who lures and captures people and turns them into her own children.
This is the longest segment of the movie, which surprised me, it takes up the most time and I can understand why. It seemed like there was a lot of thought going into the concept, and I do think there is more than can be done with it if it was made into a feature length movie. Mainly for the legend of "The Mommy", since there were little tidbits about it here and there. She was a woman who had gotten pregnant through rape and hung herself to be free of that torment, in the pictures seen in the house she is visible sad and lonely, and her longing for a family, or at least children, must've turned her into a vengeful spirit who lures people to make them her children that she couldn't have. The last moment seen in the segment is her crying hysterically despite being surrounded by her "children". There is a lot there to explore, I think, at least of understanding the history and the lore of how this being ended up in such a state to kidnap others, and even why it happens every Halloween and why, according to the legend, she targets people who are immature or seemingly "too old" to be out during such a night.
I really liked the performances, especially by the two girls who played Lacie and Kaleigh. They were very believable at being kind of immature teenagers while also not being mean-spirited, which is a line that can be easily crossed a lot of the time, but it comes across naturally here as two friends who are just wanting to have some fun, albeit making pretty stupid decisions. We were teenagers once, we know that feeling of being carefree and somewhat rebellious with the mindset of thinking we're invincible and that nothing bad can happen to us. Lacie had that mindset from the start, with Kaleigh being the more rational one but still going along with the shenanigans, but they quickly sobered up once they realized something was seriously wrong and that they couldn't get out of the house. I felt bad for both of them. Sure they were immature, but again, they were teenagers and they believed that Halloween would be their last chance at being immature teenagers before entering a new chapter of their lives. Which, sadly, will never come.
I really liked this segment a whole lot. The atmosphere of the house, the creepiness of the previously trapped victims whose faces have been transformed into baby-like features, the disturbing "The Mommy" whose appearance is frightening but her background seemingly disheartening. As far as first segments go, this was pretty damn solid of a viewing experience.
Segment #02: "Ut Supra Sic Infra"
After a mass murder of a group of friends in an abandoned Madrid mansion on Halloween left one sole survivor, the police question the victim and is then taken to the scene of the crime to demonstrate what happened to prove to him that his memory of that night was skewed and not what it appeared to be. However, once they get there, they learn the horrifying truth of what happened that night and how Enric, the only survivor, was able to make it out alive.
I liked the setup, especially with inter-cutting the phone footage of the group of friends entering the mansion and then the footage cutting out right before we saw anything happen, and that we see how utterly traumatized Enric is in comparison to how he was in the footage with his friends. And obviously despite them attempting to ease his anxiety and worries the psychiatrist and investigators were pretty stupid to go back to a place that traumatized this survivor and reenact what happened. Even without demonic possession, just doing that to any victim in general is pretty shitty. So their deaths were kind of justified in my mind.
This is one of those short films that I feel could've been extended just a little bit more, at least in terms of the story.
Segment #03: "Funsize"
After attending an adult Halloween party, two couples decide to go trick-or-treating in hopes to get some real good candy when they stumble across strangely labeled candy bars in a bowl that has a "one per person" sign. Unfortunately not heeding to the sign, they are pulled in through the bowl into a parallel reality where a sentiment candy bar named "Fun Size" chases them to get chopped up and their body parts covered in chocolate and sold like the candy seen in the bowl they found.
This story is a terrifying concept that is compacted in a bizarre and ridiculous execution. It feels like something out of a Goosebumps story, but obviously a bit more bloody and adult in subject matter. The idea about life size candy entities taking human beings and turning them into candy bars is quite a terrifying thought, especially when you take into account that the candy that they ate in the beginning was bizarre yet realistic in terms of how a lot of unknown candies are like that it can make you do a double take. The phallic looking candy filled with "creme", seems funny out of context and something that seems like would be something a candy company would think about especially for adult candy, but in context yeah, that was a real person's penis. In the end, I did think that the last girl was going to survivor since the exit they found did say "one per person" and, well, she was the last one of the group. But she didn't make it despite everything. And the scene following that showing that even kids aren't spared in being captured and turned into candy themselves by not following the rules.
(Although it does beg the question whether it's the lack of rule following that decides them being taken, or that they just take victims anyway regardless.)
Segment #04: "Kidprint"
This one is by far the most disturbing entries in this installment, since it's far too realistic in terms of subject matter and how it's depicted.
An American town is being plagued by an unusual number of disappearances and murders of kids and teenagers, and a local video store owner has taken upon himself to document the kids in the town for their protection and in case of helping identify them in case they go missing. On Halloween reports of a missing seventeen-year-old girl reach police and they ask the video store owner to grab her tape, however when he returns to his store he discovers the horrifying truth of who is responsible for the kidnappings and murders of these kids: his own employee who has been using the tapes to easily find his victims.
What's disturbing about this is how real it seems. There's nothing paranormal going on, just a guy who is torturing and murdering kids just because he can, and hiding in plain sight. The videos that are inter-cut with the victims being happy in their interview videos alongside their torture videos is absolutely horrifying to say the least. What makes it even worse is that the owner, who we could've assumed was behind it, was actually an innocent man who was trying to do his best to help his town and was ultimately killed and framed for the murders, and how the actual murderer not only isn't caught he gets to continue the business and his murder sprees. It's such a horror concept that is deeply unsettling because this shit does happen.
Segment #05: "Home Haunt"
A family is putting on an elaborate haunted house tour which they've done every year, but this time the father wants to go bigger and better to expand their "haunted house lore" and steals a record from a store they frequent for supplies called "Halloween Horrors" believing that it will enhance the experience. Unfortunately, once the record is played on Halloween night with neighborhood guests in attendance things turn deadly as their haunted house becomes alive with the actual horrors they set up which kill and wreck havoc on their guests and the rest of the town.
This segment is also something that reminds me of Goosebumps (even the haunted house attraction looked similar to that "One Day At Horrorland" book cover), with the idea of playing an unknown record where it summons dark magic and suddenly fake monster decorations come to life. It's also the idea of "be careful what you wish for" because the father wanted a larger than life haunted house attraction, well, he got his wish, just at the expense of the lives of everyone in their neighborhood. I mostly felt bad for the son, who was in that awkward teen stage of being embarrassed with his father and didn't want to do any of this in the first place. The father, who seemed nice enough in wanting to continue with tradition and bond with his son, just didn't listen, and also seemed kind of a dick for stealing something from a store all for his haunted house attraction. It makes it seem like that's all he wanted and cared for, same with the mother who seemed to enable her husband's antics. While we don't know the actual fate of the family, we know that their haunted house has come alive and is terrifying the neighborhood.
I did find this one fun, again like with "Fun Size" it felt like a mature version of a Goosebumps story.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I really liked this installment, which seems to be consistent with me regarding the V/H/S franchise. It can be uneven with the theme continuity but it's mostly enjoyment, and it's guaranteed to have a segment that I will like. For this one, I'd say my favorite segments are "Coochie Coochie Coo" and "Kidprint", with "Home Haunt" coming in close after that. And really, I like anything horror that centers around the holiday of Halloween, whether there is a story or just vibes, it's just fun.
I wonder if the franchise can turn this into a trend of doing holiday themed installments. Obviously Halloween was very appropriate, but I would love for V/H/S to do something similar with other holidays, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, or even Hallmark holidays like Valentine's Day, Mother's/Father's Day, etc. There are so great opportunities for horror stories with those.
no subject
Date: 2025-10-20 05:09 pm (UTC)I'm so glad you got me into this franchise..lol