“Twick or Tweeeet!”

Story: It’s time for Halloween, ghoulies, ghosties, and long-legged beasties! But before you go out, you might wanna revisit your Halloween etiquette. And maybe don’t go whole-hog on the holiday to the point of making an ass out of yourself. Oh, and while Halloween themed stuff is all well and good, perhapsbe a little selective on what you choose to partake of. Because you never know.

Scares: Lots of fun creepy, gross, and/or horrific moments.
Splat Factor: As with the rest of the V/H/S films? Oh yep. Though this is most definitely the grossest.

Subgenre: Anthology Halloween Horrors
Year Released: 2025
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: The eighth film of the V/H/S franchise.

Trick or Treat?: It’s October, so you know what that means; time for another installment in the V/H/S franchise! And this one might be the best one yet. Or at least the most fun you’ll have with a gang of friends. Halloween is tailor-made for group viewing, because you’ll definitely want your nearest and dearest nearby to scream and shot with.

As per usual for this series, Halloween is broken into individual stories that are all set around the spookiest day of the year. So let’s break it down, shall we?

• “Diet Phantasma” – the wrap-around segment in this joint. When a group of researchers test their newest soda, things don’t exactly go as planned. Perhaps it’s because it’s diet. Perhaps because the flavor profile isn’t great. Or perhaps it’s the “real ghost juice” that’s in there. Well, at least the testing room is easy to hose off. A nasty little piece whose vignettes are doled out beautifully; each test subject rotation gets their own little nasty spotlight.
• “Coochie Coochie Coo” – the first story is ickiest, by a mile. Two girls are determined to celebrate their last Halloween as “kids” before they’re off to college next year. But their obnoxious shenanigans land them in the path of The Mother, a being that makes Barbarian feel like a children’s fairy tale. Drippingly disgusting set design, terrifyingly odd makeup FX, and a creature that’ll have you shuddering in revulsion. Seriously, I wanted to shower after watching this one. (Folks who are sensitive to flashing/flickering lights may want to give this one a miss though. Skip to 25:59 for the next wrap-around segment.) 
• “Ut Supra Sic Infra” – this Spanish-language/English subtitles story is an incredibly effective hell-portal tale. As police try to figure out what happened at a Halloween party gone violently wrong, they drag the lone survivor to where the deaths occurred. Probably not a good idea. One of the best uses of the found footage format I’ve seen in awhile. There’s the recording of the victims as they check out the incredibly dangerous room, and police who are recording the current investigation.
• “Fun Size” – this one will have you swearing off Halloween candy for the rest of the film. A group of twenty-somethings who are bummed the Halloween party they went to only had alcohol, decide to go Trick-or-Treating. Um. When a bowl of candy says “One Per Person”? Maybe consider that a warning. The wildest, grossest story of the lot.
• “Kidprint” – this story hurts. It’s way too realistic to be fun, it’s simply horrifying. As a town tries to figure out what happened to several of their children who’ve gone missing, a photography shop does free photos of each child, to use in case the police need their most current snaps. This one’s literally bloody disgusting, but ultimately unsatisfying. That the killer is a Black man and all the kids are white, feels tone deaf in today’s climate. And the lead character – the photo shop manager – is simply an idiot who should have dialed 911. And to me, the hopelessness of the ending feels ill-placed in this anthology.
• “Home Haunt” – If you’re looking to amp up your yearly Halloween haunt? Maybe don’t steal a record from the back room of a thrift store. Who’s that? Why, it’s FX maestro Rick Baker as the annoying neighbor who thinks our leads can’t do anything right. Don’t worry, he gets his in gruesome fashion. It’s a bloody good time, and a fun final tale.

This one’s perfect for the season, and shows that the V/H/S franchise still has lots of gas in the ol’ tank. Stay for the mid-credits scene that wraps up “Diet Phantasma” in a cheeky way. Just maybe skip snacking during the second and fourth story. Li’l tip from me to you.

Score: 4 out of 5 pumpkins