This film is rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, language, sexual content, and drug use. Several segments feature intense animal cruelty themes (simulated) and body horror that may be triggering.
The result is an immersive time capsule. You don’t just watch V/H/S/85 ; you feel like you found a forgotten tape in a condemned video store’s back room. V H S 85 2023
★★★★½ (4.5/5) Best watched with the lights off and your hand hovering over the eject button. This film is rated R for strong bloody
Upon release, received overwhelmingly positive reviews from horror critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a Certified Fresh rating of 78% (audience score hovering near 70%). Critics praised its refusal to sanitize the past. Variety called it “a grimy, glorious return to form,” while Bloody Disgusting awarded it 4/5 skulls, noting that “Derrickson’s ‘Dreamkill’ alone is worth the Shudder subscription.” You don’t just watch V/H/S/85 ; you feel
The segment follows a news crew documenting a scientific breakthrough at a research facility. The subject is a mysterious, shapeshifting entity. While the premise of a "monster in a lab" is a staple of 80s sci-fi horror, the execution is what makes it sing. The segment perfectly mimics the tone of local news broadcasts from the era, complete with awkward interview pauses and stiff anchormen. As the crew delves deeper, the tension ratchets up not through jump scares, but through the uncanny behavior of the entity. It serves as a grim, effective anchor for the rest of the film, reminding the audience that on this tape, nothing is off-limits.
V/H/S/85 consists of five distinct vignettes, each exploring a different flavor of 80s terror—from slasher tropes to cosmic dread.