V/H/S/99 (2022) Review – A Mixed Bag of DIY Found Footage Horror

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing the anthology horror V/H/S/99 (2022).

Five horror story shorts

V/H/S/99 consists of five stories by five different teams. The first of which is Shredding by Maggie Levin. It follows a mischievous “punk” band who break into the location of a horrible accident to record a video for their web series, inadvertently upsetting the spirits that reside there.

“V/H/S/99 consists of five stories by five different teams. The overriding theme here is that all of the segments are filmed in the year 1999, providing some nice fan service for people who enjoy nostalgia horror.”

Written and directed by Johannes Roberts, the second segment Suicide Bid follows the story of Lily, played by Ally Ioannides, as she attempts to join the prestigious sorority Beta Sigma Eta. The only catch is that she has to spend 24 hours in a coffin underground. The very same ritual that another hopeful died undertaking after the sorority sisters forgot about her. Will history repeat itself?

The third story is written and directed by Flying Lotus. Ozzy’s Dungeon is a kid’s game show presented by a smarmy host played by Steven Ogg. The winner of the show gets to meet the host who will grant them one wish. After a horrifying accident on the show, a child’s mother is determined to get revenge at any cost.

The fourth story, The Gawkers, is directed by Tyler MacIntyre and takes place in between the previous stories, culminating when they are done. It follows a group of horny friends installing a webcam in an unsuspecting neighbour’s house to perv on her but getting way more than they bargained for.

V/H/S/99 wraps up with To Hell and Back, written and directed by Vanessa and Joseph Winter. A coven of witches attempts to summon a demon while being filmed by the unsuspecting videographers Nate and Troy. Little do they realise that the twisted situation will end up with them being sent to hell in a horrible turn of events.

Another in the well known anthology horror series

The V/H/S series has been going for quite awhile now. Over the years, it’s undergone something of a transformation. Whereas the first V/H/S had a couple of stories that were slightly similar in theme, the subsequent movies have all seemed to feature segments that are very distinct. V/H/S/99 keeps this trend up while removing the needless joining story from previous iterations.

“Shredding is pretty awful. Poorly paced and lampooning Jackass with unlikable characters, it misses on every shot. It is cringey and try-hard thanks to that awful punk band.”

Naturally, the overriding theme here is that all of the segments are filmed in the year 1999. Not that it really factors in in any major way but it’s some nice fan service for people who enjoy nostalgia horror. As is the case with most of these anthology horror collections, the quality is fairly uneven. Something that V/H/S/99 has in its favour however, is how short the segments are. It really helps with some of the unevenness present here.

Let’s start off with the worst segment. Shredding is pretty awful. Directed by Maggie Levin, who has assistant director credits on The Black Phone, this is a toe curling, awkward mess. Poorly paced and lampooning “90s stuff” like Jackass with a group of extremely poorly acted and unlikable characters, this misses on every shot. It’s even a bit cringey and try-hard in parts thanks to that awful punk band. My fiancée remarked that it is like someone made a segment purely to promote their crappy band and I totally agree.

Suicide Bid is a fairly average segment, too. I enjoy the use of being buried alive as a horror theme but there’s just not enough going on. The coffin doesn’t really feel quite claustrophobic enough and the practical effects are very lacking. There are parts to this that look like dollar store Halloween prop awful.

On the plus side

Ozzy’s Dungeon is pretty decent. It really made me laugh and did a good job of capturing the almost sadistic nature of 90s kid’s game-shows. Acting is great throughout and Brenda is particularly fun. Much of the story is played for laughs and I suppose it feels a bit out of place. It is a lot of fun however, and goes to some interesting places. Who doesn’t love Steven Ogg, as well?

The Gawkers was a real throwback to the sort of frat boy stuff of the original V/H/S. Featuring a bunch of horny teens, this segment was both funny and had a nice twist. On the contrary to Shredding, the cast here is actually likeable and the 90s feel is captured perfectly. It’s a fun piece of comedy horror that is easily digestible.

“To Hell and Back might be the best segment. Featuring fantastic chemistry between Archelaus Crisanto and Joseph Winter, it offers up a horribly grim, unique depiction of hell.”

To Hell and Back might be the best segment in the movie. Featuring fantastic chemistry between Archelaus Crisanto and Joseph Winter as Nate and Troy, it’s funny, interesting, has a nice ending twist, and offers up a horribly grim, fairly unique depiction of hell. Joseph and Vanessa Winter would go on to direct the absolutely brilliant Deadstream which you need to check out if you haven’t yet.

It feels far more self-contained

Everything in V/H/S/99 feels like it is on a much smaller scale than previous iterations. None of the stories here feel all that well developed or grandiose. There are no segments with big casts and movie like production and there are no uses of elaborate themes. It’s a much tamer affair with less scale but that’s not a bad thing. It’s almost like a V/H/S lite. I can only imagine time demands are second only to money constraints. I doubt these movies are likely to make a significant profit. Nobody is signing up to Shudder to watch them, I am sure.

V/H/S/99 has had a bit of a funny response. Critically, many view it as a return to form for the series. While I can agree with the statement on principle, I am not sure the V/H/S series ever had anything resembling form in the past. They are okay but certainly not great. User reviews on IMDb however, are absolutely panning the movie. Many are regarding it as one of the worst in the series.

Much of that is, likely, down to how much less grand and experimental this iteration feels. Everything is cheaper, a lot more toned down, and feels a lot more DIY. Perhaps this is something people just don’t expect from the series anymore? Maybe people want high quality, big budget segments with lots of effects and innovation. This is just a different approach and it is proving rather divisive.

Updating from 2026, the positive fan reception of V/H/S/Halloween with its liberal use of effects and grander production scale suggests I might have been bang on with this sentiment. Not that I agree, of course.

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