While we can’t really tell what’s happening in the trailer for V/H/S/85, based on the disturbing glimpses it gives—as well as our prior knowledge of the V/H/S series—we can assume it’s a lot of just godawful things, made even more terrifying as they’re rendered in grainy, retro-vintage formats.
In other words, another found-footage extravaganza of shocks and nightmares in the grand tradition of the V/H/S series—which has benefited greatly from its more recent association with Shudder. The horror streamer also produced standout franchise entries V/H/S/94 in 2021 and last year’s V/H/S/99. While both of those films stretched the idea that VHS technology would still be hanging around in the mid-to-late ‘90s, this latest release returns to the heyday of VCR culture: 1985.
This time around, the contributing directors are David Bruckner (who directed a segment in the very first V/H/S back in 2012, and went on to make Hellraiser and The Night House), Gigi Saul Guerrero (Bingo Hell), Natasha Kermani (Lucky), Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Doctor Strange, The Black Phone), and Mike P. Nelson (2021’s Wrong Turn); stars include Freddy Rodriguez, Dani Deetté, Justen Jones, and Rolando Davila-Beltran. The plot? Well, here’s all you get: it’s “an ominous mixtape blending never before seen snuff footage with nightmarish newscasts and disturbing home video to create a surreal, analog mashup of the forgotten ‘80s.”
Yep, sounds about right—and we’re absolutely ready for another lo-fi journey to the past that’ll infect our future nightmares. Feast your eyes when V/H/S/85 hits Shudder October 6.
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