Since its inception with the debut of V/H/S in 2012, the V/H/S franchise has carved out a unique space in modern horror. Using the anthology format through the lens of found footage, each installment acts as a mixtape of horrific nightmares, delivering everything from cults and cybernetic monstrosities to demons and serial killers. Each entry brings together a diverse line of filmmakers, many of whom have gone on to become major players in the genre. Although some installments in the franchise are a mixed bag, its highlights are unforgettable showcases of what bite-sized horror can do with sheer creative audacity.
What began as a scrappy indie project has gone on to become a cult juggernaut. The franchise now boasts eight V/H/S movies in its main film series, and has spawned two spin-off films, SiREN and Kids vs. Aliens. So, which V/H/S film reigns supreme? This list ranks all 10 of them, from worst to the very best.
10
‘V/H/S: Viral’ (2014)
The third entry in the V/H/S film series is both the weakest and worst-received. Its frame narrative, “Vicious Circles,” follows an amateur videographer named Kevin (Patrick Lawrie), who chases after a mysterious ice cream truck that has abducted his girlfriend, and which is sending videos out that make people go insane. Instead of bringing coherent structure to the subsequent segments, it feels like another vignette — that one feels muddled and like a waste of screen time.
An Entry With More Misses Than Hits
One of the movie’s biggest downfalls is its failure to commit to a singular tone — something the other anthologies excel at. The film also contains one of the arguably worst V/H/S shorts, the magician-centric work “Dante the Great.” Despite not being a standout, V/H/S: Viral isn’t without its merits. Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorehead’s “Bonestorm” is one of the franchise’s highlights. This just proves that while not every installment may be great as a whole, each one is worth watching.
9
‘Kids vs. Aliens’ (2022)
This is the second spin-off film of the V/H/S franchise, serving as a feature-length adaptation of Jason Eisener’s V/H/S/2 segment, “Slumber Party Alien Abduction.” Set in a lake house devoid of adults on Halloween night, it follows a group of kids working on a homemade fantasy movie: Gary (Dominic Mariche), Jack (Ashery Grayson), and Miles (Ben Tector). Meanwhile, Gary’s sister, Samantha (Phoebe Rex), and her friends do as teenagers do in horror movies do in partake in partying and drinking. The youngsters constantly clash with the older partygoers, but all of that’s forgotten when aliens emerge from the lake and begin abducting people.
Fun Nostalgia Bait, But Not Much Else
Kids vs. Aliens is a campy B-movie gorefest that serves as a fun homage to the 1980s. While it’s certainly a serviceable film, it doesn’t quite capture the tension and suspense of the original short, and it’s not engaging or memorable in a way movies like this should be. The plot gets stretched too thin, even at a short runtime of 75 minutes, and the character development is practically non-existent. For a movie set on Halloween, it could have been a lot better.
8
‘SiREN’ (2016)
SiREN follows Jonah (Chase Williamson) and his groomsmen as they celebrate his bachelor party before he gets married. When the first strip club ends up being too tame, the group take up the offer of a stranger to visit an underground club that promises to deliver. There, they encounter Lilith (Hannah Fierman), a seemingly captive and quiet young woman, whose singing voice mesmerizes and entrances. Fearing that she’s a sex slave, they decide to help her escape her glass cage, turning the night into a savage fight for survival.
A Creature Feature With Bite
SiREN is spun from the “Amateur Night” segment of V/H/S, but instead of rehashing it, it brings a new tale to life. If you remember the original short, you’re probably thinking that it was one of the least ripe for a feature-length expansion. However, SiREN is a delightful surprise that remains true to its source material, but injects complexity and character into a new story. The result is a creature feature that reckons with cultural misogyny, sexism, and toxic masculinity. Fierman’s nuanced performance is the best part of the film, balancing the terrifying and tragic parts of her character to perfection. Some of its shortcomings include the bad CGI, a comedy-filled first act, and some acting and script moments that give away its indie budget.
7
‘V/H/S/99’ (2022)
Unlike previous anthology films in the franchise, V/H/S/99 doesn’t have an overarching frame narrative. Instead, its interludes consist of a series of stop-motion animation shorts of toy soldiers. “Shredding” sees a punk rock band break into a burned-down venue, where they awaken the spirits of the dead. In the sorority-centric “Suicide Bid,” a freshman faces a hazing ritual involving being buried alive inside a coffin. A former children’s game show host is tortured in “Ozzy’s Dungeon.” The toy army seen in the interludes tie into the fourth segment, “Gawkers.” Set on New Year’s Eve, “Hell and Back” sees two videographers hired by a coven of witches to film a ritual.
An Unsatisfying Core Narrative
It’s precisely it’s lack of a wraparound story that earns V/H/S/99 a lower ranking on this list. It could have gotten away without unity, had the vignette been a compelling one, but it’s not. However, the movie gets points and bumped up another star for featuring two of the most memorable segments in the main series, “Ozzy’s Dungeon” and “Two Hell and Back.” And while it has its shortcomings, it’s a campy entry that wonderfully captures B-movie spirit.
6
‘V/H/S’ (2012)
V/H/S is the movie that started it all. Tying its segments together is a wrap-around story, “Footage 56,” which follows a criminal gang who record their exploits, from destroying property to assaulting women. When an anonymous source offers them a large sum of money to break into a house and retrieve a VHS tape, they discover a dead old man in a house full of videotapes. The talent lineup includes the amazing Ti West, Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, David Bruckner, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, along with the collective known as Radio Silence.
Cemented a Horror Legacy
The film definitely has its flaws, like the occasional and irritating misogyny, some ineffective jump scares, and inconsistent quality across the segments. However, it did have a couple of excellent shorts, most notably, “10/31/98.” V/H/S deserves recognition for cementing a legacy in modern horror by revitalizing both the horror anthology format and the found footage subgenre.
5
‘V/H/S/85’ (2023)
After V/H/S/99, the sixth film in the main series returned to the usual stylings of a frame narrative. Directed by David Bruckner and written by Evan Dickson, the wraparound story, “Total Copy,” is a mockumentary that follows a team of scientists at Stamer University as they experiment on a shapeshifting being named Rory. They try to educate Rory as much as possible on human culture via VHS tapes. Notably, V/H/S/85 was the first installment to offer two connected segments: “No Wake” and “Ambrosia.”
Frightful, Fun Cosmic Horror
“Total Copy” is good, but not great. Despite the overarching tale not landing as hard as it should, the anthology offers a few standout moments and some of the most creative swings to date. One of those is Gigi Saul Guerrero’s “The God of Death,” which centers around a news crew and a rescue team during the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, who come face to face with an ancient evil unleashed by the catastrophic tremors. Overall, V/H/S/85 delivers on thematic thread, style, and ambition.
4
‘V/H/S/2’ (2013)
After the lukewarm reception V/H/S received in 2012, the second installment was either going to make or break the franchise. Luckily, it delivered, bringing in significantly better critical ratings and reviews. Here, the frame narrative follows two private investigators hired by a mother to look into the disappearance of her son, college student Kyle (L.C. Holt). Entering his house, they find many televisions broadcasting white noise and a massive collection of VHS tapes. Upon playing them, the videos have a strange, horrifying effect.
A Nightmare of Bloodshed, Cults, and Otherworldly Beings
The film is widely considered the most action-packed and adrenaline-fueled of the series. Improving on the pacing and production value of its predecessor, it delivers on an intense, terrifying, nail-biting experience. The stories were gorier and came with higher stakes. Additionally, it features one of the greatest segments in the franchise, the critically acclaimed “Safe Haven,” which follows a film crew who visit a mysterious cult. Despite each filmmaker’s style and tone being so distinct, V/H/S/2 still feels like a cohesive project. The wraparound story, however, feels thin and unremarkable compared to the other segments.
3
‘V/H/S/Beyond’ (2024)
V/H/S/Beyond is a bold and surprising installment that creatively pushes the franchise’s boundaries by leaning into cosmic horror, sci-fi, and monsters. The frame narrative “Abduction/Adduction” is presented in the form of a documentary featuring experts in the realms of extraterrestrials and digital effects, who look into the claims of a man who purchased VHS tapes at a flea market with supposed evidence of alien abductions. Among the filmmakers are Kate Siegel, Jay Cheel, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Jordan Downey, and Christian and Justin Long.
One of the Highest-Rated Films in the ‘V/H/S’ Franchise
V/H/S/Beyond received a critical score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, and instantly became a fan favorite. Each segment impressively embraces the “beyond” theme with gleeful abandon, depicting truly mind-bending, horrifying stories of the unknown and otherworldly. The interlude interviews that play out between each short are just as intriguing, serving to further elevate the film and draw viewers in.
2
‘V/H/S/94’ (2021)
After a seven-year hiatus, the franchise came back swinging, marking a triumphant return with V/H/S/94. After the disappointment that was V/H/S: Viral, this installment went back to the series’ roots. Featuring four different segments, the wraparound story follows a SWAT team who raid a warehouse in a drug bust, where they encounter dead cultists, and come across the disturbing videos the cult creates and distributes. The film features three of the franchise’s best segments, “Storm Drain,” “The Empty Wake,” and “The Subject.”
The Installment That Delivers the Most Scares
V/H/S boasts a 90% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads: “V/H/S/94 gets the franchise back on track with a gory buffet of shorts that should delight horror anthology fans.” And, boy, does it do just that with grainy, analog dread. It has it all — body horror, terrifying creatures, psychological terror, dark humor — without feeling chaotic. Its grimy production fully commits to the era, making the viewers feel like they’re truly inside a videotape from 1994.
1
‘V/H/S/Halloween’ (2025)
Despite lacking an overarching story like V/H/S/99, here the interluded segment works. Written and directed by Bryan M. Ferguson, “Diet Phantasma” is shot in grainy, ’80s style, and follows a nefarious corporation as it tests out a new soda with a secret ingredient on a succession of test subjects, weeks before its roll-out date of October 31. The story is a goofball satire on capitalism and the safety of consumer products, cranking up the fun with gross special effects. Each of the other five shorts is set on Halloween, and they beautifully capture the macabre, spooky essence of the holiday.
A Future Halloween Staple
As a whole,V/H/S/Halloween serves as a mean-spirited celebration of Halloween. While it features some truly terrifying tales, there’s also a hilariously bonkers one. Despite being so unhinged, “Fun Size” works, perfectly blending a sense of goofiness with carnage to deliver a cautionary tale about breaking the “one per person” rule. The most disturbing segment in the movie, and arguably, in the entire franchise, is “Kidprint.” It’s a tale so viscerally disturbing, it leaves you feeling unsettled long after watching. All in all, V/H/S Halloween is what Halloween nightmares are made of. Flowing and consistent, each short has a great payoff. The movie is an instant classic, cementing itself as an obligatory yearly rewatch alongside Halloween staples like Trick ‘r Treat and Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
- Release Date
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October 3, 2025
- Runtime
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115 Minutes
- Director
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Paco Plaza, Casper Kelly, Alex Ross Perry, Bryan M Ferguson, Anna Zlokovic, R.H. Norman
- Writers
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Anna Zlokovic, Bryan M. Ferguson, Micheline Pitt, R.H. Norman
- Producers
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James Harris, Michael Schreiber, Brad Miska
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Isabella Feliciana
Heather
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