by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden
In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s V/H/S/ Beyond, the latest installment in the long running found-footage franchise.
Synopsis
Six bloodcurdling tapes unleash horror in a sci-fi inspired hell landscape, pushing the boundaries of fear and suspense.
The Good
Joseph: V/H/S/ Beyond is a solid addition to the V/H/S franchise, this time focusing on science fiction tales. The standout segment for me is “Stowaway,” directed by Kate Siegel and written by Mike Flanagan. Alanah Pearce gives a marvelous performance as a mother in a troubled relationship who accidentally gets trapped on an alien spaceship while trying to prove the existence of extraterrestrials. The shot blocking, editing, mise-en-scène, and proceedings are all a trip, and the ambiguity of exactly what is happening on board the craft works well for me, as viewers’ imaginations must fill in some gaps. This segment is an excellent one with which to use as the final tape.
Opening tale “Stork” from director Jordan Downey also serves up a macabre slice of weirdness, as a group of police personnel attempts to put an end to a series of baby disappearances. The buildup is strong, and the payoff is terrific. “Live and Let Dive” from Justin Martinez is also solid, as a group of friends celebrating a birthday by skydiving crash midair with a UFO, although I found the crash sequence to be more effective than what happens afterward. And I’m once again left with the question, “How do creatures built like this pilot extraterrestrial aircraft?”
Mike: The V/H/S/ series continues to change things up a bit with V/H/S/ Beyond, this time going for a sci-fi theme and most of it works pretty darn well. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it might be one of the strongest entries into the anthology’s line-up, which I think is in small part to pivoting towards utilizing sci-fi elements instead of straight up horror (which this still dishes out in spades). From the action-packed opening segment, “Stork”, to the low-key but effective “Stowaway”, it’s hard to pick one segment that doesn’t hold its own weight - something that is usually pretty easy to do. While there are some issues with the presentation (see below), each story is well plotted and engrossing and, like any good anthology we get a little bit of everything including a catchy Bollywood number. Naturally what works for one may not land for another - but that’s true with any anthology, be it a movie, TV show, book, comic book, etc.
The Bad
Joseph: It may be odd to read that some segments are too slick in their style, editing, and presentation, but for me, the most effective segments are the ones that feel like actual found footage recorded on VHS tape, considering the series’ title and original intentions. That slickness happens here on occasion, especially with editing from one camera to another. I know that is a staple of many found footage shorts and features, but that approach often takes me out of the ambience.
There are no bad segments in V/H/S/ Beyond, but I found Christian and Justin Long’s “Fur Babies” to stray too much from the science fiction — mostly involving aliens — format and being more of a straight horror feature. It didn’t quite fit the perverted science or mad doctor subgenres of science fiction for me, either. It really felt out of place with the other segments and had me wondering “Why?” throughout. Plus, it’s pretty much just a riff on Kevin Smith’s Tusk, in which Justin Long starred. It’s also one that falls into the “too well edited” category for me. Virat Pal’s “Dream Girl” also was a weak segment for me, relying on chaos and carnage more than an interesting story hook.
Mike: My biggest problem with V/H/S/ Beyond (and some other found footage films) is that the conceit is that this is just that - found footage - but there are segments (I’m looking at you, “Stowaway” in which there’s no way the footage COULD be found, so how are we watching it? Following closely behind that is that some of the “footage” looks to have been edited by someone before it was “found” (which we know it was, but we’re supposed to think it hasn’t been). The reason FF movies work so well (when they DO work well) is because the footage we see looks messy, even if it means using the by-now tired method of having old footage blur through the currently filmed action. Clean cuts and scene changes take away from the illusion trying to be presented.
The Verdict
Joseph: With a majority of intriguing and exciting sequences, I can strongly recommend V/H/S/ Beyond, especially to fans of the franchise — who should also find this to be an impressive entry — and found-footage aficionados. Monster kids and alien-terror fans will also find plenty to enjoy.
Mike: Unlike many anthologies - including most of the earlier V/H/S/ entries - V/H/S/ Beyond doesn’t really suffer from any one or two segments dragging the entire thing down, and that might very well be the change to focusing on sci-fi elements (without losing any of the horror). There are, of course, some weak elements that risk taking the viewer out of the moment, but I suspect that long time viewers of the franchise will by now know not to put too much weight on those shortcomings.
V/H/S/ Beyond
Directed By: Jordan Downey, Christian & Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Kate Siegel, and Jay Cheel
Written By: Evan Dickson, Jordan Downey, Mike Flanagan, Christian Long, Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Kevin Stewart, Benjamin A. Turner
Starring: Phillip Andre Botello, Dane DiLiegro, Alanah Pearce
Run Time: 1h 54m
Rating: NR
Release Date: October 4, 2024 (United States)
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