It’s been pretty amazing to see how far the V/H/S franchise has come since its start. From bringing together a group of eventual modern horror icons like Adam Wingard, Ti West, and David Bruckner–who have all gone to work on huge franchises like Godzilla Vs. Kong, Hellraiser, and in the case of West, create their own with X and Pearl–to horror streamer Shudder resurrecting the franchise to tackle distinct eras, V/H/S has continued to grow from its humble indie beginnings. Now, Shudder delivers another entry with V/H/S 99, which unleashes new horrors centered around late-’90s culture.
Just like pretty much all the V/H/S entries, the film depicts different “found-footage” stories of people capturing horrifying creatures and events on their video cameras. V/H/S 99 offers a bit of a different twist on this concept, though, as it delves into major cultural events and themes from the late ’90s and that’s easily one of the best things about it. All five central stories manage to touch on unique trends of the time and mold them into intriguing stories that pay homage and evolve these ideas into horrifying visions.
Some are pretty basic, like “To Hell and Back,” being a trip to hell during Y2K and “Ozzy’s Dungeon” being a goofy homage to kids’ game shows like Legends of the Hidden Temple only to turn into a nightmarish snuff film. There are others, though, that touch on more niche cultural trappings of the time, like “Shredding” being a carefully crafted nod to the early days of Jackass and CKY (including some clips of the late Ryan Dunn), “The Gawkers” being a capsule of “Peeping Tom” behavior evolving with the age of cameras, and “Suicide Bid” being a horrifying depiction of cruel sorority/frat hazing. It’s great to see V/H/S 99 put some great horror spins on notable cultural moments and mentalities from the time, but it wouldn’t be possible without the great director lineup of horror veterans and up and comers the film features.
In her first feature directorial stint, Maggie Levin absolutely kills it with “Shredding,” nailing the atmosphere of that grimy underground metal scene that erupted out of the late ’90s and crafting an engaging group of young burnouts as well as a rad reincarnated all-female band for a terrifying and gruesome tale. The atmosphere is perfect in the found-footage perspective and “Shredding” absolutely shocks you with how gory and grotesque it becomes—especially with that haunting final shot. Although, personally, he’s been stinking it up with crummy horror films like 47 Meters Down: Uncaged and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, director Johannes Roberts restores some good faith with “Suicide Bid.” He greatly builds a tense atmosphere with a crammed setting and delivers a strong horror story that’ll leave you squirming in your seat and features a wild, cruel twist of fate fitting for a V/H/S story.
Tragedy Girls director Tyler MacIntyre delivers a solid slice of slow-burning stalker horror with “The Gawkers,” but his segment is ultimately weakened by it kind of being deja-vu. MacIntyre definitely captures how toxic masculinity and “Peeping Tom” behavior are heightened by the introduction of higher quality video cameras and the filler toy army segments in between each segment are hilariously amazing, but the entire premise and horrifying twist are too similar to a past V/H/S story. As “The Gawkers” heads towards its horrifying twist, you can’t help but feel overly reminded of David Bruckner’s segment from the first film, “Amatuer Night”. While it’s not an exact copy, it’s close enough to make “The Gawkers” not leave a fresh impression.
Directing duo Vanessa and Joseph Winter are no strangers to found-footage films (their recent feature debut Deadstream) and channel all that humor and energy into an ambitious and fun trek through hell. The setup is perfectly fitting for the hysteria of Y2K, the set design for the hellscape they’ve concocted is genuinely impressive, and the gore and disgust they create through the demonic entities make “To Hell and Back” a fitting and fun segment for V/H/S 99 to end on. Admittedly, Joseph Winter’s performance in the segment is a little too similar to his performance in Deadstream and the comedic moments don’t always hit, but Melanie Stone’s performance as hell-dweller Mabel is phenomenal.
However, Musician Flying Lotus easily has the breakout segment of V/H/S 99 with “Ozzy’s Dungeon” because of its distinct style and amazing horror turns. The wackiness and weirdness of classic kids TV gameshows is captured perfectly through the visual style and direction. Plus, it’s both hilarious and kind of skin-crawling to see unfold. Steven Ogg, yes Trevor from GTA V and Simon from The Walking Dead, is amazing in the role of a cynical and strange gameshow host and the wild turn that’s taken midway through is unforgettable. It basically turns everything seen prior into a nightmarish, grimy, and disturbing snuff film that only becomes more horrifying with time, especially thanks to Sonya Eddy’s unhinged performance as a mother on a revenge path. You’re constantly left unsure of what’s coming, only making for the wild ending shocks to leave you gobsmacked. It’s a fitting centerpiece for V/H/S 99 and will undoubtedly be the segment everyone’s talking about after seeing the movie because it might be the most memorable of the franchise.
Shudder continues to make the V/H/S franchise stronger, with the latest addition bringing together some great horror visionaries to deliver some thrilling and generally ambitious spins on late ’90s culture. With V/H/S 99 coming right in time for the Halloween season, it’s an absolutely gory, captivating, and wildly entertaining experience no horror fan should miss.
