As is the nature of anthologies, this film is a mixed bag with extreme “your milage may vary”. The fourth entry in the V/H/S series foregoes the prior entry’s building mythos and lingering plot points in order commit fully to a 90’s VHS setting and aesthetic, down to soft cameras and constant glitches, flutters and video tracking issues. The aesthetic commitment is complete, down to the fashions and commercials that honestly are retreads of better Oats studio parodies, with self-aware pokes at how far technological society has come. Honestly, for me the gimmick wore off rather quickly as the particular quirks might make sense for one or two of the segments, but didn’t make sense to be featured front-and-center throughout. At best it covers up the seams of some rather questionable CG, but at worst it creates compromised visuals and annoyance. The subject matter diverges wildly from supernatural shenanigans and cult terrorism to wild scifi scenarios, with a wraparound segment that tries to tie the segments together but without any real connective tissue. Even by standards of an anthology, everything feels more disjointed than usual, but there are still moments of clever twists and shocking moments (My personal favorite segments were the first and the last). Gripes aside, the series is a wildly fun and enjoyable slock-fest and as a fan of the franchise, I hope the next entry abandons gimmicks and commits more fully to better quality segments.
V/H/S 94 (2021)