Shudder Saturday: V/H/S/Halloween (2025)

Did I ever expect the V/H/S horror anthology series to become something of a tradition around this time of year? I did not. Am I happy enough with this development? I am. Which is why I was happy to get around to watching V/H/S/Halloween, despite being hugely disappointed by the previous entry in the series, V/H/S/Beyond.

It's the normal format. You get half a dozen stories with a wraparound tale interspersed between each one. Each story is distinctly pumpkin-flavoured this time around, and the wraparound tale - showing a group of people testing out a new fizzy drink on some unsuspecting subjects - is my favourite of the entire series.

Although the various segments vary wildly in tone, from the Willy Wonka surreal silliness and the body horror of "Fun Size" (my personal favourite, written and directed by Casper Kelly) to the very dark and disturbing "KidPrint" (written and directed by Alex Ross Perry), everything has a sense of belonging to the bigger picture. That's all thanks to the easy linking theme of Halloween, with many of the segments allowing the film-makers to simply revel in all of the seasonal atmosphere. Once Bryan M. Ferguson has set the tone with the first of the wraparouns sections, Anna Zlokovic starts things strong with the bonkers "Coochie Coochi Coo". Things then seem to settle down a bit with "Ut Supra Sic Infra" (co-written by Alberto Marini and director Paco Plaza), but there's an ending that delivers exactly what you expect from it. Then it's "Fun Size", perfectly placed in the middle of the movie. "KidPrint" comes along after that, one that some will find hard to stomach as things get worse and worse, before the whole thing ends in a double-whammy of the hugely entertaining "Home Haunt" (co-written and co-directed by Micheline Pitt-Norman and R. H. Norman) and a superb wraparound punchline.

There's not too much else to say about this though, and it can often be difficult to fully review and discuss anthology horror movies. The point of them is to draw you in and lead you to a great ending with every segment, which this does. To say too much about any one tale is to spoil the potential delight. Just know that this is a very strong entry in this series, and perhaps my new favourite. While everyone will inevitably react to the different segments in different ways, those who know the vibe and aesthetic of the films will be unlikely to be disappointed by this. The main concepts are often built around a great mix of fun and frights, the acting feels better than it has been in some of the previous instalments, and the end result is just a perfect horror "mix-tape" that will be even better to watch as you're sitting in the dark with the glow of a candle-lit pumpkin creating some lively shadows in the corners of the room. 

A huge turnaround from the last movie, although I may eventually rewatch that one and revise my harsh opinion of it, this not only kept me very entertained throughout, it had me wishing we could fast forward to next year and see what we'll get next in this series. I raise a hot cup of pumpkin-spiced latte to all involved.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Her Smell (2018)

I haven't liked everything that I've seen from writer-director Alex Ross Perry. In fact, I really disliked the last time I watched one of his films that starred Elisabeth Moss. But I try to remain open-minded about every film I choose to watch, and I'd heard some other people give positive opinions of Her Smell.

This is the story of a self-destructive rocker (Becky Something, played by Moss) who we watch for the first half of the movie sink further and further into a dark hole. Absolutely narcissistic, deeply unpleasant, and unable to see how her behaviour is negatively impacting the career trajectory of herself and her bandmates, Becky absolutely refuses to get the help that she so desperately needs. Up to a point. The second half of the movie is a quieter, and more fragile, exploration of someone trying to see if they can embrace sobriety without losing their creative spark.

Look, I can completely understand if people struggle so much during the first half of Her Smell that they give up on the film. It's a real chore, forcing viewers to spend time with an absolute nightmare of a main character. It doesn't feel forced though, nor does it feel fake, and all of this bad stuff is there to show how far Becky needs to move forward to escape the perils of her own mentality. It's not just that Her Smell presents that character forced into making a major life decision, but Perry somehow gets you on her side as people observe Becky and wonder about whether or not she can really change her ways.

Moss is fantastic in the lead role, happy to be as horrible and repugnant as possible. She's surprisingly believable as this kind of rocker, and does equally well with the hysterical moments and the much calmer ones. Agyness Deyn is also very good, as Marielle Hell (a bandmate who has been put through the wringer far too many times), and so is Gayle Rankin (playing Ali van der Wolff). Dan Stevens is an ex-partner trying to do the best by a young child, Eric Stoltz is a stressed manager, and other musicians are played by Cara Delevingne, Ashley Benson, Dylan Gelula, and Amber Heard, all fitting nicely into their roles. It would be remiss of me not to mention Virginia Madsen, playing a mother who doesn't really know the right way to deal with her daughter.

We've seen this story before, quite a few times, but I cannot think of a time when it was presented in quite the same way, with the focus being on that worry about a calmed mind losing any creativity. That's a common fear for many artists, of course, but Perry really puts it front and centre here, having the central characters explore and discuss the idea, as opposed to leaving it hanging in the air like an unspoken fear. I appreciated the way this poked and prodded the situation, particularly when showing how a band keeps working under great strain while they hunger for more of the success they have tasted, and I think the ending makes the difficult first half worthwhile. It's a close call though, and others will strongly disagree. 

7/10

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Mubi Monday: Queen Of Earth (2015)

I get it, not every film can be Persona. Or Repulsion. Or any other absolute classic that revolves around the psychological unravelling of a lead female character. That doesn't mean that people should give up though. There are lots of very interesting films that aren't classics. None of those very interesting films seem to come from writer-director Alex Ross Perry, although I am making this sweeping statement after having seen only two of his movies. Maybe I'll change my mind on him soon. Maybe not.

Elisabeth Moss plays Catherine, a woman who is at a real low point in her life, having ended a major relationship and lost her father (who committed suicide). Katherine Waterston is Virginia, Catherine's closest friend. The two are spending some time together at a lake house, somewhere they have spent many times together in the past, but things are strained by Catherine's mental health, as well as a man (Rich, played by Patrick Fugit) who seems to enjoy antagonising Catherine while he keeps popping round to spend time with Virginia. Things move between the past and the present, with nothing really impacting on the characters in a way that feels meaningful.

It's not that Queen Of Earth is irredeemably bad. The script has some good lines, and Perry certainly helps himself by picking two women who do a good job in the lead roles. But that doesn't give the film a free pass. Those good lines are like small pieces of gold in a whole lot of muddy river water, and no one speech or exchange holds up as an entirely satisfying piece. 

Moss gets to be at her most erratic, sometimes child-like in her mannerisms and sometimes looking ready to kill someone. She does well, and obviously relishes delivering the best lines given to her. Waterston has less motivation for some of her behaviour (she's depicted as being quite the unfriendly "friend" in some of the flashbacks that show her reacting to Catherine's relationship), but she commits to the performance. I've never been the biggest fan of either actress, which means other people who enjoy their work more may well like this film a lot more than I did. As for Fugit, he's given a character who is irritating for almost every moment he's onscreen. It's nothing that even a great actor could work to improve, and Fugit, although decent enough in the right roles, is not a great actor.

The fault here lies squarely with Perry, who fails to make the most of his assets. If he'd been more confident with the tonal shading, if he'd laced the script with some more intriguing details, and if he'd just been a bit more focused, then this could have been a good film. The cast would have had a chance to really shine. But Perry does none of those things, and it's only thanks to the cast that any of it is tolerable.

3/10

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Mubi Monday: The Color Wheel (2011)

Directed by Alex Ross Perry, written by Carlen Altman and Alex Ross Perry, and starring . . . Carlen Altman and Alex Ross Perry, The Color Wheel is almost an absolute masterclass in how to craft a low-budget comedy drama full of tiresome characters and moments that bring to mind much better films.

Altman is JR, the sister of Colin (Perry). JR drags Colin on a road trip to visit a professor that she had a relationship with, and then follows this up by insisting that they attend a party that Colin really doesn't want to go to. That's the main plot, and the two main characters wander from one moment of awkwardness to the next.

The most obvious cinematic touchstone here might seem to be the filmography of Woody Allen, but that would be giving the film too much credit. Woody Allen makes films that seem genuine in their intelligence and attempts by characters to give themselves some form of therapy, whereas this feels like it's a couple of people taking part in an exercise. That's not to say that Altman and Perry are dumb, not at all, but rather that they fail to set the dialogue and problems of their characters in an environment that feels connected to some kind of bigger picture. It feels fake. It's a play that happens to have some scenery changes. It's people running lines that they have practiced so often that any feeling of spontaneity died a long time ago. Aside from Allen, the other main touchstones are Noah Baumbach, David O. Russell, and Todd Solondz. All three of those film-makers would have done a bit better with this material.

Nothing here feels as if it has any impact, which is the biggest problem. There were moments when I laughed, mostly during the middle 30-40 minutes (it's a mercifully short film, clocking in at about 83 minutes), but I wanted more. I wanted to be affected by the lives of these two characters, finding some small amount of sympathy/empathy as they struggled to find their place while in the company of people who seemed to already be happy with where their lives had taken them. That never happened. And it never happened while leading up to a moment in the final scenes that could have been effective and memorable, had it not been shot in such a low-key way that it also lacked the proper impact.

Altman and Perry do work well together onscreen, although not necessarily in a way that has each helping the other to raise their game, and I'd like to see what they do after a bit more time and experience. Maybe they would benefit from working on someone else's material, or a project helmed by someone who pushes them further and keeps them more on their toes. Or maybe this is their best fit, and I'm just never going to be a big fan of their work.

4/10

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