(FANTASTIC FEST) “V/H/S HALLOWEEN” (2025) – The Found Footage Treat We’ve Been Waiting For
Courtesy of Shudder
The “V/H/S” franchise has always been about controlled chaos. It is all encompassing with grainy tapes filled with cursed images, unhinged characters, and shaky cam terror that somehow feels more dangerous because of its rawness. From its beginnings, the series has been a cornerstone for found footage fans, offering a grab bag of short, punchy nightmares that hit differently from the polished dread of mainstream horror. It has not only been a favorite hybrid genre with found footage and horror anthology among horror fans (including myself), but a lot of the time makes you wanting more. This justifies why there are so many movies in this franchise. While some don’t always hit the mark, this new one may have gotten the horror fans right back to getting ready to be glued on the edge of their seats.
While doing my remote coverage for Fantastic Fest, I got a chance to watch “V/H/S Halloween”. With this movie, Shudder has delivered what might be the most complete and satisfying anthology yet. For the first time in franchise history, every segment works so well that for me to pick a favorite feels impossible. Each short brings something essential to the table, forming a perfectly sinister mosaic of what makes found footage, and Halloween itself, so beloved. It is the same feeling you get when watching “Tales From the Crypt”, you can’t just choose a favorite episode.
Anna Zlokovic kicks things off with “Coochie Coochie Coo,” (after the wraparound feature the that we will get to later) a bizarre and surreal descent into nightmare logic. Zlokovic wastes no time setting the audience off balance, creating a piece that is as absurdly funny as it is deeply unsettling. It’s the kind of short that leaves you unsure whether to laugh nervously or cover your eyes, and that tension makes it unforgettable. In a franchise that thrives on unexpected turns, “Coochie Coochie Coo” feels like a Halloween dare come to life. Zlokovic definitely put the bar high right off the bat with this movie and I am there to see everyone do the same with their segments.
Paco Plaza, the director behind the iconic “REC,” returns to found footage with “Ut Supra Sic Infra,” and it’s as unnerving as you’d hope. Co-written with Alberto Marini, the short dives into occult horror with a chilling authenticity. Plaza knows how to make ritual and superstition feel tactile, as if you could reach into the screen and touch the candles or smell the incense. What makes the piece shine is how it avoids bombast, building dread through stillness and atmosphere until the final reveal leaves you rattled. If Halloween is a time when the veil between worlds feels thin, Plaza’s segment slices right through it. I of course can’t forget to mention that they have accomplished making my stomach churn like no other horror movie has in quite awhile. When you see it you will know (and for those who have seen it, you get the pun).
Then comes Casper Kelly’s “Fun Size,” and if you’ve seen Kelly’s viral sensation “Too Many Cooks,” you already know he can turn kitsch into nightmare fuel. Here, he takes the innocence of trick-or-treat candy and flips it into something grotesque and hilarious. It’s a perfectly nasty bit of horror comedy that understands how ridiculous and frightening suburban Halloween traditions can be. Kelly walks the line between absurdity and terror with precision, and the result is a short that you can’t stop talking about once it’s over. The amazing combination of horror, practical effects and overall fear that makes you feel that following the rules of Halloween (as well all know is important from “Trick ‘r Treat”) will keep you alive.
Alex Ross Perry’s “Kidprint” might be the most restrained piece of the anthology, but it’s no less haunting. Told with the eerie patience of a ghost story whispered around a campfire, it taps into the primal fear of children disappearing without explanation. Perry shoots it like a lost urban legend captured on VHS. With the grain and distortion of the footage only adding to its uneasy realism. It is gruesome, chilling and will take you on one hell of a thrill ride. The ending lingers in your head, less about spectacle and more about the quiet horror of something that feels too real to be fiction. It will make you second guess what terror lurks in your own town.
“Home Haunt,” directed by Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman, is destined to be a fan favorite. It captures the Halloween ritual of backyard haunts and amateur horror shows with a meticulous eye for detail. Living in a world where the days of door to door trick or treating is becoming a quick night of “Trunk or Treating” (seriously what the hell is that about?), this segment reminds you that we may have lived in one of the best eras for the spooky season. It makes you reminisce about being that kid who grew up visiting neighborhood haunted houses will feel an immediate pang of recognition, right before the short plunges into darker and bloodier territory. The Normans build tension through layers of theatricality, constantly toying with the audience’s sense of what’s part of the performance and what’s deadly real. The result is a short that feels like stepping into a funhouse mirror and realizing too late that the reflection wants to kill you. It is a hauntingly frighting haunted house experience that will make you glad you’re watching it from your living room and not being one of the patrons experiencing the haunted house for yourself.
Finally, Bryan M. Ferguson’s wraparound of the entire movie “Diet Phantasma,”. It is a hyper-stylized fever dream that sears itself into your brain. It’s garish, aggressive, and unapologetically strange. The kind of short that makes you wonder if the tape itself is haunted or all too realistic insight to the lengths a corporation would go. Ferguson’s style leans into the surreal, but beneath the neon-soaked visuals is a sense of real menace. It’s the perfect way to have the cut backs to the anthology. It has a way of leaving you breathless and a little dazed, as if you’ve just survived a Halloween night you’ll never forget.
What makes “V/H/S Halloween” truly special is how seamlessly the segments complement each other. This isn’t a grab bag where some shorts shine while others drag; it’s a cohesive celebration of everything that makes found footage so enduring. The immediacy of handheld cameras, the distortion of VHS tape, the sense of stumbling across something you shouldn’t be watching These are the building blocks of the franchise, and here they’re used with fresh creativity by filmmakers who clearly love the format. Each director leans into a different facet of Halloween: the absurdity, the rituals, the nostalgia, the fear of the unknown. Together, they create a viewing experience that feels like a full-on Halloween night condensed into one movie.
For longtime fans of “V/H/S,” this entry feels like a reward. For newcomers, it’s the perfect introduction, balancing the series’ trademark grit with a level of polish and vision that shows how much life is still left in the format. Anthology horror is notoriously uneven, but “V/H/S Halloween” defies that reputation, proving that the right mix of voices can create something far greater than the sum of its parts.
Halloween has always been about masks, rituals, and stories we tell in the dark. “V/H/S Halloween” captures that spirit better than any anthology in recent memory. It’s creepy, it’s funny, it’s unnerving, and most of all, it feels alive. Just when you think you know what kind of horror it’s going to deliver, the next tape rolls and yanks you into a completely different nightmare. That unpredictability is the beating heart of both Halloween and found footage horror, and here they merge into a perfect storm.
“V/H/S Halloween” isn’t just another installment. It’s the franchise at its absolute best, a masterclass in why short-form horror can be so effective, and a reminder that the scariest stories are the ones that feel like they could have been taped in your own neighborhood. When the static clears and the credits roll, you’ll be left with the rare anthology where every segment feels vital. This movie will easily be part of people’s Halloween watch lists and one I will very much enjoy during my own Halloween night viewings. “V/H/S Halloween” is now available on Shudder. Make sure you hit play and enjoy this thrilling treat of horror.
Whether it’s slashers in the woods, ghosts in the attic, or killers in the cornfield, ILHM Reviews brings you the frightful horror flick recommendations worth watching. Follow us on Instagram, be sure to listen to the the "I Love Horror" podcast and remember that if you’re a true fan of horror, every night can be a FRIGHT NIGHT!
