V/H/S/94
SHUDDERThe found footage genre of horror has had its ups and downs, reaching a height in popularity in 2007 with the first Paranormal Activity. What made this specific style of filmmaking so alluring were the cheap costs of production and almost guaranteed financial success. Many successfully won the game, with studios releasing forgettable and poor movies that had no substance or scares, while still managing to turn a profit. However, one franchise that stood out among the rest was V/H/S.
Giving a group of different directors the chance to make bonkers short films that hearken back to the ‘80s and ‘90s horror films they grew up watching was a clever idea from Bloody Disgusting’s creator Brad Miska, and both V/H/S and V/H/S/2 were fairly well received from genre fans. Sadly, the rushed V/H/S: Viral was such a disaster that this anthology series was discontinued after just 3 years. Until now.
V/H/S/94 was produced entirely during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and, like many productions from late 2020, the filmmakers’ passion and creativity is felt in full effect to make something truly special and not half-baked. Their struggle paid off, because V/H/S/94 is easily the most consistent entry in the franchise, a return to form that is heads and shoulders above the horrendous 2014 threequel.
What instantly jumps out is the central, titular gimmick: the entire anthology takes place in 1994. One element that was rather distracting in the previous entries was the use of high-definition digital cameras, which is a look that is as far removed as possible from the grainy, noisy V/H/S aesthetic they were hoping to achieve. While not actually filmed on V/H/S like the disturbing Poughkeepsie Tapes, the crew of V/H/S/94 worked hard in post-production to replicate the effect of tapes being played back on 4:3 and widescreen television sets from the ‘90s, finally making the series feel true to its name.
This look and style is essential, not only in capturing the period that it is set in but also to better link each short film. The framing device of a SWAT raid inside a horrid warehouse is a great excuse to have these officers stumble onto a bloody crime scene and various rooms with televisions turned on. The transition from that narrative to each of the segments is very smooth and organic, much more fluid than in most anthologies.
Even though it is set in 1994, the stories comment on many problems that are happening now in America. In a way, those themes were present in a lighter way back in the day, but seeing an extremist group known as First Patriots Movement Militia, religious cults praying to a half-man, half-beast creature or a scientist conducting unethical experiments on humans rings close to real-life events from 2019 and 2020. It is refreshing that the five directors of V/H/S/94 never beat or force the socio-political commentary into audiences’ heads, but it does feel like a wasted opportunity that none of the short stories explores deeper issues about humanity, the brainwashing of media, or the corrupt nature of police forces, especially given how much groundwork was already laid down.
Still, V/H/S/94 delivers gore and nastiness for everyone. The quality among the four segments is very consistent, with Jennifer Reeder’s frame narrative tying everything nicely. The amount of practical effects is rather surprising, with Chloe Okuno’s Storm Drain and Simon Barrett’s The Empty Wake featuring very juicy and gooey kills and cadavers, while Timo Tjahjanto – who made arguably the best horror short in the series together with Gareth Evans with V/H/S/2’s Safe Haven – has the most action-packed film that borders on feeling and looking like a video game, with computer-generated images that are never properly composited into the shots. However, the Indonesian director and cast are having so much fun making The Subject that their energy is infectious and palpable.
V/H/S/94 is a lean, mean, and all-around boisterous horror anthology, with veteran and newcomer directors that manage to inject their own styles into each segment while still perfectly working in unison. For all intents and purposes, found footage died in 2016, and this series of darkly comic shorts is one of the very few franchises that should stick around, as the level of creativity found in the camerawork, editing, and creature designs gives hope for the future of the whole subgenre.