Nerdly » ‘V/H/S/85’ Blu-ray Review

07th Mar2024

‘V/H/S/85’ Blu-ray Review

by Phil Wheat

Written by Gigi Saul Guerrero, Mike P. Nelson, Zoe Cooper, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill, Evan Dickson | Directed by David Bruckner, Scott Derrickson, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Natasha Kermani, Mike P. Nelson

After exploring the 90s in the previous two entries, V/H/S/85, the sixth(!) entry in the V/H/S franchise, throws things back to the decade where VHS ruled the roost – once again using the found-footage format to tell a handful of spooky stories from directors David Bruckner, Scott Derrickson, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Natasha Kermani, and Mike P. Nelson.

After a brief flick through 80s television, replete with a pause on an Unsolved Mysteries-style show called Total Copy, which tells the story of Rory a test subject at Stamer University, to open proceedings. A show that the film returns to throughout its running time before wrapping things up in traditional anthology fashion and revealing Rory’s connection to the shorts we’ve just watched.

Mike P. Nelson (The Domestics, Wrong Turn) opens V/H/S/85 with the short “No Wake,” which sees a group of teens spending a sunny day at a local lake which was once part of an abandoned summer camp, only to find themselves under attack from a mysterious gunman who picks them off one by one. Only there’s something supernatural about the lake which means dead doesn’t always mean dead. It’s an interesting concept and one that plays with expectations – after all genre fans know lakes and summer camps usually mean serial-killing madmen NOT supernatural life-giving waters. It’s a fun first segment that features just enough blood and guts (literally) to satisfy genre fans expecting a blood-drenched slasher.

Up next is “God of Death,” which comes from director Gigi Saul Guerrero (Satanic Hispanics, Bingo Hell) and explores the aftermath of an earthquake in South America; as an earthquake rescue team, who try to help a TV station devoted by the ‘quake, themselves become trapped in the ongoing tremors. This is a tightly shot segment that uses both confined spaces and a close-up camera to really deliver a claustrophobic feeling – one that suggests there’s no escape from what’s happening… and that the earthquakes have unleashed something far worse, an evil that harkens back to Aztec mythology and reveals just why this segment is called God of Death.

The next segment in “TKNOGD,” from Natasha Kermani (Imitation Girl), explores the balance between religion and technology in an age where a “digital reality” is still brand new and, for some, is still a terrifying future. Told through the veil of performance art, as an artist vilifies her audience for worshipping false gods – the god of technology and then proceeds to try and mock the very idea of technological gods… With pretty heavy consequences. For where there are gods, there also also devils! Kermani’s short is an assault on the senses, which compensates for the lack of story – though to be fair, when the final scene plays out it really asks a deep question: where does the line between technology and humanity lie?

Things calm down for Mike P. Nelson’s second entry in the film, “Ambrosia.” This short explores a family gathering, all caught on camera. Only this gathering isn’t what anyone could expect… the long-standing tradition of the Wrigley family is to commit ritual murder of SEVEN people to help keep the family healthy and happy. What’s brilliant about this segment is the fact Nelson’s calls back to the opener, with – seemingly – the gang of undead teens from the lake driving by this family’s home and giving the youngest kid the squirt gun they’ve been using to drink booze! Because guess what? Those now-undead teens in “No Wake” said they were going to hunt down their killer and they did. Their killer is the teenage girl at the centre of this family celebration! This is a particularly dark segment that ends on a Waco-style siege with a brilliant, truly brilliant, sting in its tail!

Scott Derrickson (The Black Phone) takes the reins for the last short in this anthology entitled “Dreamkill,” which tells the story of 80s goth metal kid Gunther. A young man who has a peculiar trait, one that runs in his family… he has dreams of the future, dreams that become reality. Only in the VHS era Gunther’s dreams are also transmitted to the videotapes he uses to record late-night TV while he sleeps. Tapes he sends to the cops in hopes that they can prevent the gruesome nightmarish visions his dreams have become! Whilst that may seem like a pretty straightforward story, this short is packed with twists and turns as it explores ideas around fate versus self-determination.

Of course V/H/S/85 isn’t just about the shorts, there’s also what happens in the wraparound and this one is particularly creepy… Riffing on the idea that we sent video recordings into space as a form of communication with alien life – something that has been touched upon in a myriad of sci-fi films in the past but here is given a more terrifying edge, as Rory seemingly can shape-shift and sees more than just what’s on the TV. Eventually things come to a head as V/H/S/85 ends on the conclusion of Rory’s story in an expectedly gory but unexpectedly bizarre fashion!

It’s interesting to see that, even some six films in, the V/H/S franchise is still as powerful as ever. By gathering some of the genre’s best writers and directors and giving them what one would assume is free rein to create stories that are scary, creepy, weird and bizarre in equal measure means that the series still feels as fresh and new as it did when it debuted in 2012 (has it been that long?!)