The V/H/S Halloween Trailer Has Something The Horror Franchise Has Needed For A Long Time

When the "V/H/S" horror anthology franchise kicked off in 2012, we had not yet entered the streaming wars that would irreversibly change the landscape of how audiences consume media, nor were we trapped in the cycle of "newstalgia" that currently plagues every major film release regardless of genre. Horror, arguably more than any other genre, is the most overt in its willingness to explore, reinvent, and pay homage to the films that came before, constantly finding ways to make the old feel fresh and new again. The first "V/H/S" film did that by borrowing the aesthetics of a time gone by, and injecting them with the storytelling sensibilities of a new generation.

In the years that followed, the "V/H/S" series has considerably expanded its scope. I firmly believe that there has never been a "bad" batch in the entire franchise, even if I have my personal favorite segments *cough* "Safe Haven" *cough* and collections. The last film to be released on VHS, David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence," was printed in 2006, meaning we're now creeping up on the last vestige of VHS being classified as "vintage." How does a franchise built around an obsolete medium find a way to maintain relevance and exist beyond a fun gimmick? You look inward, and you have fun subverting the comfort and nostalgia innately attached to those clunky boxes of polypropylene and magnetic tape.

"V/H/S/Halloween" is a collection of Halloween-themed short films from some of the most fascinating established and up-and-coming voices in horror. The joy found in Jack-o'-lanterns, trick-or-treating, costume parties, neighborhood haunted houses, cheap masks, homemade costumes, and the entitlement of "one good scare" is being flipped on its head. This is the first "V/H/S" entry in a long while that truly feels like an event, and it's long overdue for one of horror's most consistent franchises.

The line-up for "V/H/S/Halloween" is one of its most interesting yet, with music video and short film maestro Bryan M. Ferguson's "Diet Phantasma," "Too Many Cooks" and "Adult Swim Yule Log" helmer Casper Kelly's "Fun Size," fashion maven and filmmaker Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman's "Home Haunt," "Her Smell," "Pavements," and "Videoheaven" indie darling Alex Ross Perry's "Kid Print," co-creator of the "[REC]" franchise Paco Plaza's "Ut Supra Sic Infra," (translation, "as above so below"), and "Appendage" and "Bite Size Halloween" director Anna Zlokovic's "Coochie Coochie Coo."

The anthology joins a long line of Halloween-set horror anthologies, like the underseen "Tales of Halloween," the holiday classic "Trick 'r Treat," the five original tales of "The Witching Season," the low-budget "Bad Candy," and even the birthplace of "Terrifier" star Art the Clown, "All Hallows Eve." While the "V/H/S" series has never waned in quality as far as this writer is concerned, setting the next installment around every horror fan's favorite holiday feels like a recipe for success and a surefire way to get those who have checked out an excuse to come back in and catch out on any entries they might have missed. And if they've pulled it off, they'll have created a film with built-in rewatchability as holiday-centric stories become folded into the annual celebration. Let's just hope that this entry will have more treats than tricks.

"V/H/S/Halloween" will have its world premiere next month at Fantastic Fest, ahead of its wide release streaming exclusively on Shudder starting October 3, 2025.