V/H/S/HALLOWEEN movie poster | ©2025 Shudder

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: David Haydn, Anna McKelvie, Samantha Cochran, Natalia Montgomery, Elena Musser, Teo Planell, Ismael Martínez, Lawson Greyson, Riley Nottingham, Jenna Hogan, Jake Ellsworth, Stephen Gurewitz, Jeff Harms, Noah Diamond, Sarah Nicklin, Oliver Durante, Rick Baker
Writers: Anna Zlokovic (“Coochie Coochie Coo”), Paco Plaza & Alberto Marini (“Ut Supra Sic Infra”), Casper Kelly (“Fun Size”), Alex Ross Perry (“Kidprint”), Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman (“Home Haunt”), Bryan M. Ferguson (“Diet Phantasma”)
Directors: Anna Zlokovic (“Coochie Coochie Coo”), Paco Plaza (“Ut Supra Sic Infra”), Casper Kelly (“Fun Size”), Alex Ross Perry (“Kidprint”), Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman (“Home Haunt”), Bryan M. Ferguson (“Diet Phantasma”)
Distributor: Shudder
Release Date: October 3, 2025 (Shudder)

The V/H/S franchise began in 2012 with the initial anthology of that title, which used a wraparound of some young men literally finding (speaking of “found footage”) videotapes of some extremely disturbing vignettes.

Since then, some of the V/H/S anthologies have purported to come from a single year (i.e., V/H/S/99) or have a general theme (V/H/S/BEYOND focused on parallel dimensions and extraterrestrials). The one stylistic mandate is that everything be shot, or at least look as though it’s been shot, on VHS videotape.

The new V/H/S/HALLOWEEN, arriving right in time for the holiday, goes for the unifying concept (it’s there in the title). Unlike some of its predecessors, the wraparound interstitials don’t attempt to connect with the separately-made (different writers, directors, production teams) sections.

In fact, the wraparound, “Diet Phantasma,” written and directed by Bryan M. Ferguson, stretches to even qualify as Halloween-related. It follows chronicles the repeated testing of a new soda by a single-minded corporate overseer (David Haydn) and his not easily deterred chief scientist (Anna McKelvie). It gets points for varying the splatter, and for including a copy of FANGORIA Magazine, but never changes up the gag.

There are five main segments that are tied to Halloween. In fact, two of them are connected narratively as cautionary tales about what can happen when adults go trick-or-treating, although these take different paths once they’re underway.

The first, “Coochie Coochie Coo,” written and directed by Anna Zlokovic, introduces us to best friends Lacie (Samantha Cochran) and Kaleigh (Natalia Montgomery). They’re wearing baby-face masks for their one last hurrah before Kaleigh heads to college. Some eight-year-olds warn the young women they’re too old for this and that “the Mommy” will get them.

In the Spanish-language, Mexico-set “Ut Supra Sic Infra,” written by Paco Plaza & Alberto Marini and directed by Plaza, black-and-white police footage is intercut with color phone cam material as a patient detective (Ismael Martinez) tries to get to the bottom of what went terribly wrong for a group of young partyers.

“Fun Size” is the second installment about overage trick-or-treaters. Here, it’s a quartet consisting of two couples. Haley (Jenna Hogan) is in a superhero costume; boyfriend Austin (Jake Ellsworth) is dressed as a pirate; Lauren (Lawson Greyson) and Josh (Riley Nottingham) are clad (as Josh explains) as “camera operators in a found footage horror movie.” (Can’t get much more meta than that.)

Right after Austin complains at length about how all candy is now corporate and therefore extremely similar, he and his friends come upon a bowl of unfamiliar treats outside a house. Alas, Austin defies the “one per person” sign and unleashes consequences on everybody.

“Kidprint,” written and directed by Alex Ross Perry, is set in 1992. Children and teens have been disappearing around town, either surfacing later as severely mutilated corpses or never found at all. Photography and video business owner Tim Kaplan (Stephen Gurewitz) offers parents the service of videotaping their youngsters, so that if the kids go missing, the police have current reference material.

Finally, there’s “Home Haunt,” written and directed by Micheline Pitt Norman & R.H. Norman. Halloween-loving Keith (Jeff Harms) and his supportive wife Nancy (Sarah Nicklin) have run a backyard “haunted maze” at their home for over a decade. Son Zack (Oliver Durante as a child, Noah Diamond as a teen) adored the maze as a seven-year-old, but hates the teasing it brings now that he’s a high schooler. Keith unwisely steals a Samhain-related LP from a secondhand shop to use as a soundtrack for the maze.

All of these, including the wraparound, are spectacularly gory. “Home Haunt” features a great final shot and some terrific low-budget creepy effects. It also has Rick Baker (yes, the makeup master himself) as Tim’s grouchy neighbor, who comes to the maze to gripe about how crappy it is.

“Fun Size” runs with the notion of, essentially, what if WILLY WONKA was a graphic horror movie? It’s sadistic but inventive and full of bright colors that pop against stark backgrounds.

These two are the most Halloween-centric. “Coochie Coochie Coo” takes Halloween as a jumping-off point, but its dark themes and disturbing visuals could easily be set at any time.

Likewise, while a Halloween gathering is the inciting incident for “Ut Supra Sic Infra” (translated from the Latin for us within the film as “As above, so below”), it is more dependent on location – and an impressive location it is – than occasion.

“Kidprint” has similarly tenuous ties to the holiday. As this deals with the torture and murder of preteens, it has a heavier feel than the rest of V/H/S/HALLOWEEN. It tracks in the manner of a short story, but its concluding monologue doesn’t provide the kind of enlightenment that resonates with what’s preceded it.

Viewers who are distressed by such subject matter should note that children are also victims in “Diet Phantasma” and “Home Haunt,” but they are not singled out as in “Kidprint,” just part of the overall casualties.

V/H/S/HALLOWEEN offers an appropriate All Hallows’ Eve grab bag for the occasion. If it’s not the best entry in the series (to date, that’s arguably 2023’s V/H/S/85), it still fulfills the standards and expectations set by its predecessors.

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