We are taking a slight break from our ongoing Fall Themed Horror feature to bring you a review of a newer movie that is getting a bit of hype. VHS 99 (stylised as V/H/S/99) is the most recent iteration in the V/H/S series of found footage anthology horror movies. Before I start, I will apologise for the length of this review. These anthology reviews always run a bit longer, unfortunately.

The V/H/S series has, pretty much, replaced the Paranormal Activity and Saw movies as the new annual horror release. I am, sort of, okay with that as I really enjoy anthology horror. We had the release of V/H/S/94 around this time last year and V/H/S/85 is due sometime next year. 

V/H/S/99 was something of a surprise release given the fact that the V/H/S/85 title was leaked sometime last year. People were expecting that to be the next movie in the series but that wasn’t to be the case. Comprising five stories from five different directors, V/H/S/99 represents something of a return to the quality of the first movie. With that being said, let’s take a look. 

Five Horror Stories

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.

Written and directed by Johannes Roberts, 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, Giltine, 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 neighbours 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.

Anthology Horror

V/H/S/99 is, as most of you probably know, an anthology horror movie featuring five distinctly different styles. Whereas the first VHS had a couple of stories that were slightly similar in theme. The subsequent movies have all seemed to feature stories that are very distinct. The frat boy style stuff has been pushed to the back to widen the scope of the shorts and there is more variety. V/H/S/99 keeps this trend up while removing the needless joining story from previous iterations.

I think it is fair to say that the bridging story was, often, the weakest of the bunch. They rarely feel as though they have much point and they almost never tie into the other stories. This typically leads to a sense of disconnection and redundancy. Getting rid of the connecting story is, in my opinion, a big improvement. That doesn’t, however, mean that one story leads into another with no break in the way some other anthology horror movies do. In between the first three shorts we see clips from the stop motion movie Brady is making in the fourth segment. They are short, comical, and never interrupt the flow. It’s an interesting way of doing things and fairly enjoyable.

An Overriding Theme

Many horror anthologies feature a common theme. ABC’s of Death, for example, focuses on different ways to die. Holidays is centred around holiday events etc etc. Given that anthology movies are, basically, presenting us with a collection of shorts. It can help to have some cohesion. It doesn’t matter if each of the segments is completely different as long as they all follow something of a basic outline.

The only common theme with the VHS movies is the fact that they are presented as if filmed or recorded on VHS tapes. V/H/S/99 actually features a few scenes that are far better quality than what a VHS tape could provide. These are mainly isolated to the first segment but are fairly jarring. Kinda like the director missed the memo, or something. It also features a couple of parts that are designed to look like a TV show much like Noroi: The Curse did. It feels as though the camcorder theme is taking something of a back seat though I imagine it will be back in V/H/S/85.

The Bad and The Average

Something that V/H/S/99 has in its favour is how short the segments are. It really helps with some of the unevenness present here. Kicking things off, 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 “90’s stuff” like Jackass with a group of extremely poorly acted and totally unlikeable characters. This misses on every shot. Unfunny and completely lacking the feeling of 90’s style media; the bands feel unauthentic. It doesn’t help that the two characters with the most screen time, Chris and Rachel, are also the worst actors in the entire film.

Scenes featuring the band Bitch Cat are absolutely terrible and, honestly, a bit cringey, for lack of a better word. My fiancée remarked that it is like someone made a segment purely to promote their crappy pop punk band and I totally agree. Things only get worse when we get to the “scares” and the awful practical effects take over. This was probably my least favourite segment in the entire series. And by that, I mean every V/H/S segment ever.

Suicide Bid is a fairly average segment. The story is somewhat interesting and I enjoy the use of being buried alive as a horror theme. There’s just not enough going on, though. 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. Still, it’s not a terrible segment. 

The Good

Ozzy’s Dungeon is pretty decent. It really made me laugh and did a good job of capturing the almost sadistic nature of 90s kids game shows. Acting is great throughout and Brenda is particularly fun. I imagine this segment will divide a few people as it is a little strange. Much of the story is played for laughs and it feels a bit out of place. It is a lot of fun, however, and goes to some weird places.

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 90’s 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 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 that stands out for how bleak it is. Joseph and Vanessa Winter would go on to direct and write the absolutely brilliant Deadstream which you need to check out if you haven’t yet.

A Much Smaller Scale

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. There are no segments with big casts and movie like production. And there are no uses of sets or elaborate themes.

These shorts are far more self contained. All seeming as though they could have been filmed in the director’s house and thrown out with the remaining props the crews had lying around. The locations are, generally, uninteresting and everything feels hurried. The only segment that stands out for being a bit more fleshed out is To Hell and Back which features an interesting set and some decent makeup.

The Gawkers, despite the simplicity of the setting, is completely fitting, taking place in a suburban neighbourhood, given the theme. But Shredding’s set is dull and uninspired and The Suicide Bid feels like they rented 20 square feet of a cemetery and filmed the rest in a box. Even Ozzy’s Dungeon is somewhat let down by its small, cramped, set and lack of extras to play audience members.

V/H/S/Lite

This feels like V/H/S lite. I can only imagine time demands are second only to money constraints as these movies are no longer likely to make a significant profit. Maybe it is reflective of the time period that the movies are set in but I don’t remember television shows of the era feeling so sparse and cheap. I think this might be the most overt example of V/H/S suffering from its rushed production schedule.

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 principal. 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 significant this iteration feels. Everything is cheaper and a lot more toned down. It 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. 

Should You Watch V/H/S/99?

It totally depends on whether you enjoy anthology horror. If you do, you should definitely watch V/H/S/99. It’s a mixed bag but there are enough decent segments to make it enjoyable. At least two stand out for being a lot of fun. Everything here is just toned down and less well developed than segments in the previous movies. It is still worth checking out for fans of the series and fans of horror shorts.