V/H/S/Halloween Review: Shudder’s Annual Horror Anthology Finally Feels Like a Real Halloween Nightmare!
Every Halloween, Shudder has delivered a fresh horror anthology, and this year the studio added a twist: a whole collection that’s all‑in‑all‑Halloween. The new lineup, titled V/H/S/Halloween, pours five short films into creepy beats of candy, costumes, spooky yard décor, and the ordinary things that can go terribly wrong when the holiday is at its most frightening.
The films bookend a series of “wrap‑around” segments that stitch the anthology together. In the opener, director Bryan M. Ferguson shows a lab where scientists lure a group of drug‑addicted guys into tasting a soda called Diet Phantasma. The drink’s effects are unpredictable, and the segment ends with the team shrugging and heading back to the drawing board.
Short film highlights
| Short | Director | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Coochie Coochie Coo | Anna Zlokovic | Two high‑school girls dress as creepy babies to hoard candy. They end up in a house that anyone with common sense would avoid, and the curse bites back. |
| Ut Supra Sic Infra | Paco Plaza | In an old mansion, a lone survivor is re‑traumatized by investigators who show him gruesome crime‑scene photos. The story stitches horror with a twist of revenge. |
| Fun Size | Casper Kelly | A group of adults try to ignore a warning sign over a bowl of candy and open a chocolate‑covered surprise that spirals into chaos. |
| Kidprint | Alex Ross Perry | In the 1990s, a kid‑photography shop’s “Kidprint” service is accused of deadly conspiracies when a boy gets skin‑filleted in the process. The short turns frightening portrait‑taking into a grim nightmare. |
| Home Haunt | Michelle Pitt‑Norman & R.H. Norman | A dad goes overboard with Halloween décor—his yard becomes a massive haunted house and graveyard. An old vinyl record he plays brings the roving ghosts to murderous life. |
These stories feel like a mash‑up of The Blair Witch Project, Barbarian, and the viral “Too Many Cooks” joke. The anthology balances straight‑forward scares with moments that make you laugh, even if it’s only at the absurdity of a neighborhood full‑of‑ghosts‑on‑the‑floor event.
Why watch V/H/S/Halloween?
- All‑holidays: Every slice of the anthology screams Halloween, from candy traps to haunted lawns.
- Found‑footage fun: The series keeps Shudder’s signature handheld realism, giving it a raw, gory vibe.
- Short‑form thrills: With films that run under thirty minutes, you can binge a whole weekend of scares.
The best and worst picks
- Standout: Coochie Coochie Coo serves up creepy‑fun horror that stays in your mind long after the credits roll.
- Runner‑up: Ut Supra Sic Infra collects enough tension for a solid scream‑fest, though its opening lags a bit.
- Toughest: Kidprint strays from the quirky horror‑comedy path, opting for a bleak and unsettling tone that may miss the mark for some viewers.
Overall, V/H/S/Halloween brings one of the strongest entries to Shudder’s series. It’s a solid line‑up that should appeal to horror fans looking for fast, bite‑size scares.
How to watch
- The anthology streams on Shudder.
- If you’re already subscribed to AMC+, you can add Shudder to your account for an extra $9 per month.
- Just search “V/H/S/Halloween” on the Shudder platform and start watching.
Ready for a Halloween built entirely from found‑footage horror? Plug in, grab a flashlight, and stream V/H/S/Halloween tonight.
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