V/H/S/Beyond Is Pleasingly Disturbing as Hell

While the V/H/S series has explored sci-fi fearfulness successful the past, the seventh entry—this week’s V/H/S/Beyond—puts a circumstantial absorption connected the genre, unspooling a nightmarish array of adjacent encounters, robotic terrors, and huffy scientists. There are a fewer large names down the segments this clip astir (Justin Long, Kate Siegel, Mike Flanagan), but the standout moments—you know, the ones that marque you gasp, scream, oregon consciousness similar you’re gonna puke—are scattered evenly throughout.

Not being tied to a circumstantial twelvemonth means Beyond doesn’t person to beryllium strict astir its level of technology; there’s inactive shaky-cam and grainy VHS, but we besides get immoderate digital-age advancements: compartment phones, home-security doorbells, a GoPro, YouTube videos, constabulary assemblage cams, and the like. The framework story, Jay Cheel’s “Abduction/Adduction,” is crafted similar a “mysteries of the unknown” documentary you mightiness stumble upon portion doing immoderate late-night scrolling, implicit with talking heads and archival clips anchored astir a cardinal enigma involving aliens and (of course) mysterious video tapes.

© Shudder

The different segments see Jordan Downey’s “Stork,” astir a rookie bull having a precise unusual archetypal nighttime with his caller unit; Virat Pal’s “Dream Girl,” which follows a paparazzi squad arsenic they uncover much than expected portion stalking Bollywood’s hottest caller star; Justin Martinez’s “Live and Let Dive,” a cautionary communicative for would-be skydivers; Christian Long and Justin Long’s “Fur Babies,” astir animal-rights activists determined to bust the proprietor of a doggie daycare; and Kate Siegel’s “Stowaway,” written by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House), astir a troubled pistillate hoping to DIY her ain UFO doc.

One of the perpetual delights of the V/H/S series—other than its copious affection for gore and gross-out peculiar effects—is its conceit that we’re watching the astir thrilling parts of immoderate found-footage portion is adjacent successful the queue. There’s not overmuch clip for discourse oregon exposition; aft a speedy dose of suspense (we cognize something atrocious is going to happen; this is V/H/S, aft all), each hellhole breaks loose. Rarely has this set-up been truthful perfectly deployed than it is successful “Live and Let Dive,” which much than makes bully connected its slayer premise some successful the aerial and connected the ground. “Dream Girl” is besides a fascinating entry; not lone is it the archetypal V/H/S conception made successful India, it contains a full-on Bollywood philharmonic number, viewed from the constituent of presumption of the set-crashing photographers.

It’s not often that V/H/S movies are singled retired for their performances—most of the acting tends to beryllium of the moving and screaming variety—but Beyond has a mates of notables, including Alanah Pearce arsenic the awkward filmmaker successful “Stowaway,” and particularly Libby Letlow successful “Fur Babies,” whose pup-obsessed Becky has uncanny echoes of Annie Wilkes successful Misery.

© Shudder

If wide V/H/S/Beyond isn’t rather the champion of the franchise—last year’s V/H/S/85 is inactive my apical pick, though V/H/S/2 is simply a adjacent second—it’s wide a coagulated entry, and impervious yet again that there’s inactive an alarming magnitude of originative vigor to beryllium mined from grimy, gruesome video clips. Bring connected the adjacent one!

V/H/S/Beyond hits Shudder October 4.

Want much io9 news? Check retired erstwhile to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s adjacent for the DC Universe connected movie and TV, and everything you request to cognize astir the aboriginal of Doctor Who.