V/H/S/99

I've been a fan of the V/H/S series since the first, and I thought that "Deadstream," by some of the same team, was fantastic. . They've had some segments that were better than others, of course and, unfortunately, this entry i the series might be the weakest.

I read on IMDB that this installment of the series was rushed into production, and it shows. Each segment seems to start with a clever idea, great story building, and then the twist or resolution will be abrupt and unsurprising.

Given what this team has done in the past, I feel like that they could have done something really cool if they'd taken more time and had the chance to really hammer out some solid stories. I hope, if they continue the series, that they're able to give it the time it deserves.

Let me start by saying I wasn't overly optimistic when I saw who the writers were. That, coupled with this year being such a huge letdown horror wise rang all kinds of alarm bells. Nonetheless, I still went with some expectations because it's VHS movie, so it has to be at least decent, right? Dead wrong.

I'm going to break it down by segments:

The only segment that was somewhat interesting (and I'm being very generous here), was The Gawkers. And by interesting I mean the ending of it. There's so much they could've done with it, won't spoil but you know which mythical creature I'm talking about here. We Summon The Darkness and Tragedy Girls were good so I'm not surprised this was the only segment that was decent. 5/10

Moving on, To Hell and Back was the second one in this movie. Subpar and below standards (4/10) but it wasn't outright catastrophic. Acting was good and it comes from same people who wrote Deadstream so it was watchable.

Shredding. I knew movie was going to suck when the first segment didn't deliver. I have no ide who Maggie Levin is except that she's known for The Black Phone (which was awful) and this didn't deliver either. There was no scare factor and it was extremely straightforward. Not overly bad, just kinda pointless. 3/10

Suicide Bid. I honestly have no clue why would anyone make this? It wasn't scary, wasn't interesting, there was no investment in character(s), just why? It was so blank and empty. 2.5/10 if I'm being generous

And finally - Ozzy's Dungeon. The worst segment I've ever seen in any VHS film. Absolutely horrendous and catastrophic in every single aspect. Have no idea who "Flying Lotus" is but this was so, so bad. Amateur level. 1/10

Overall, I have to give it a 3/10 because of two stories being watchable but that's as much as I can give. Such a shame another franchise is ruined by this. Horrible. I'm so disappointed.

The first 3 movies are absolute treasures, but these new cash-ins lack all the underground gritty realism and engrossing segments.

The first 3 movies felt like you were watching some cursed or random snuff VHS that had been unearthed. These 90's installments feel like some kids decided to create their own little creepypasta style shots and it just falls flat and feels empty, the bad CGI doesn't help either. Some segments have decent story ideas but either bad acting, CGI, or dialogue ruin it.

Like '94 there's only one good segment, and the overarching shots between segments is bland. Still waiting for the series to get back to its original brilliance.

I don't know what film the other reviewers watched but V/H/S 99 is the worst. Boring, predictable and God awful. I'm a huge fan of the first two, a little less with Viral and 94 but this film one will find in the bargin bin probably by days end. Tedious and hard to watch. Trust me on this, really bad. I had to take a break from it twice now and actually have it paused as we speak to write this review. From the opening short that ties the others together seems almost like a bad parody of the original to the others it's like making a wish for heaven and waking up in hell. I've been counting the days for the film to drop on Shudder and now I'm counting the minutes for the film to end. It's been a bleak year for horror films to live up to the hype, from Halloween Ends to Malignant, all have fallen short but V/H/S 99 really has surpassed in the disappointment level. Watch the original and spare yourself from this mess of a film.

1. Suicide Bid 2. Shredding 3. The Gawkers 4. Ozzy's Dungeon 5. To Hell And Back

V/H/S/99 is the latest in the mixed bag that makes up the V/H/S franchise. Of the five stories, none are particularly awful yet none hit some of the heights previous V/H/S' have managed.

An 1hr 50m for this kind of anthology is rather long and the running time begins to tell the longer it goes on. Ozzy's Dungeon has lots of potential but begins to bore. Same goes for To Hell And Back. The most accomplished piece is Suicide Bid which contains the better scares with a neat ending.

V/H/S/99 is a shudder exclusive and is the perfect platform for a series of it's kind. There is a sequel already announced called V/H/S/85 coming to shudder as well and so far V/H/S still has legs.