Nerdly » ‘V/H/S Beyond’ Blu-ray Review

10th Feb2025

‘V/H/S Beyond’ Blu-ray Review

by Alain Elliott

Written by Jordan Downey, Kevin Stewart, Virat Pal, Evan Dickson, Justin Martinez, Benjamin A. Turner, Christian and Justin Long, Mike Flanagan | Directed by Jay Cheel, Jordan Downey, Virat Pal, Justin Martinez, Christian and Justin Long, Kate Siegel

As a big fan of both found-footage horror movies and anthology horror movies, I have always loved the V/H/S series of films. They’ve introduced genre fans to some fantastic new directors, while also featuring fantastic shorts from some of the best horror directors going. There’s been so many great segments and it seems like a great idea to make this seventh instalment a little more science fiction-influenced.

There are six (or seven, depending on how you judge the wraparound) segments this time around. The start is obviously part of the wraparound and introduces a documentary about UFOs and aliens.

The first segment in V/H/S Beyond proper is titled ‘Stork’ from director Jordan Downey and is based on artwork by Oleg Vdovenko (check out the artwork after you’ve seen the film. This is probably my favourite segment of the movie. Visually it is fantastic – we see the footage from the body cams of the police – there’s some great camerawork, the gore and action is insane and the make-up and practical effects are amazing – I can’t believe but am so happy that the stork was actually physically made and not CGI!

As I’m reviewing the Blu-ray release I will concentrate on the extras too but I enjoyed all the segments and loved the range of styles and different stories. Something the V/H/S series always does well. It’s really cool to see big actor names like Justin Long And Katie Siegel in the director chairs. Although I will say the conclusion of the film is a little anti-climactic. Visually, I think Beyond is up there with the very best of the V/H/S series. The violence, the blood and the aesthetic of the film is really impressive.

On to the extras. First up is a brief but cool look at the pre-visuals of Live and Let Dive, the skydiving segment. Next up is Libby Letlow’s audition tape, which is fine but you see it and better in the movie.

The making of the segment ‘Dream Girl’ comes next – a kind of found-footage Bollywood horror (I bet you haven’t seen something described as that before – and if you have, let me know!). Although this doesn’t have anyone introducing the footage or explaining it, it’s the kind of behind-the-scenes footage I really enjoy watching. Especially the make-up and gore stuff. The best of the extras comes from the other behind-the-scenes part. There’s one from IGN on the scene Stork. I was glad my favourite segment gets this coverage as we hear from the director and producers and we see some really cool stuff – including the impossibly great giant Stork! The final two extras aren’t the most exciting but will no doubt appeal to certain fans. There’s a bunch of photos from several segments and there’s a time-lapse video from the segment Stowaway showing the making of the set.

Perhaps like the film itself, the extras are a mixed bag but there is some great stuff in there. And that stuff far outweighs any of the not-so-great. The V/H/S Beyond Blu-ray is a must-have for horror fans.