V/H/S/Beyond Blu-ray and DVD Review

4 star excellent horror sci-fi anthology.

V/H/S/Beyond is a 2024 American horror sci-fi anthology film, and the seventh (and my favourite) instalment in the franchise. A Shudder Original, this release sees it pulled from the dark and creepy halls of the streaming site and into the bright lights of general release.

It available to own from 10th February 2025 on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Acorn Media International.

“The person of hardened skepticism, just like a person of hardened credulity, cannot be reached. They either believe or disbelieve on almost a religious level.”

Unusually for a horror anthology, the framing story for this film is a documentary called Abduction/Adduction, looking at the weird and wonderful world of U.F.O. sightings and mythology. It features real life experts including Mitch Horowitz (Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction) and is directed by Jay Cheel (Cursed Films), investigating Canadian urban legend, the Farrington House.

The first segment, Stork, is written and directed by Jordan Downey (ThanksKilling, The Head Hunter). It sees a crack team of police officers known as W.A.R.D.E.N. heading into a scary old house as part of an investigation into a string of infant abductions. The whole thing is being filmed by new team member Segura (Phillip Andre Botello – Yesterday Is Almost Here) as we learn the horror that is behind the disappearances.

Segment two, Dream Girl is written and directed by Virat Pal (Recapture) and follows the fate of two paparazzi, Arnab (Sayandeep Sengupta – Chitrakut) and Sonu (Rohan Joshi – Axone, Junglee), who are sent to get footage from the set of new film Dream Girl. When he sneaks into the trailer of star Tara (Namrata Sheth – Guilty Minds (TV Series)) to film clandestine footage he soon finds this is a case of what happens when Bollywood goes bad.

The third segment is Live and Let Dive, written and directed by Justin Martinez (Southbound). This tells us the story of the ill fated 30th birthday celebration of Zach (Bobby Slaski – Holiday for Hire), a parachute jump rudely interrupted by the arrival of an alien vessel. Crashing to earth in a peach orchard, the friends suddenly find themselves in a fight for their lives.

Next up is Fur Babies, written and directed by Christian and Justin Long (Lady of the Manor). An animal rights activist group have taken exception to the owner of ‘Doggy Daycare Centre’ Becky (Libby Letlow – The Night Auditor), who has taxidermied dogs on her mantlepiece. They head off to do an undercover investigation, only to find that the reality is far more horrible than they could have imagined.

Last but by no means least is Stowaway, written by Mike Flanagan (Absentia, Oculus, Doctor Sleep) and directed by first time director Kate Siegel. This tells us the story of Halley (Alanah Pearce – Cyberpunk 2077 (Videogame)), a young woman who is in the Mojave desert to investigate mysterious lights that have been seen in the sky. Although she locates a vessel, it is unlike anything known to man and she soon realises she has made a terrible mistake.

“In terms of human nature, there is more thrill in pursuing something than there is in catching something.”

V/H/S/Beyond is an extremely enjoyable anthology, with plenty of gruesome and gory blood and guts as well as disturbing body horror. The sci-fi aspects are a real treat and will delight sci-fi fans, and the alien encounter content is reminiscent of the 1990’s obsession with the skies (think The X-Files).

The segments are all really well done, with some great special effects, good acting and inventive storytelling. The added sci-fi element really raises this entry into the franchise and it’s a great watch. Well worth adding to your collection.

“Hey, body bag, come here. Now you’re an ammo bag.”