PLOT: Cranks the franchise’s signature found-footage horror up to eleven with an electrifying new anthology where music and sound become the source of terror. United by a theme that explores the power of music, rhythm, and audio to haunt, possess, transform, and destroy, the film blends cosmic horror, psychological suspense, outrageous splatter, and groundbreaking practical effects into one unforgettable mixtape of nightmares.
REVIEW: There’s something about an annual release for a franchise that seems to just work for the horror genre. Whether it was Saw back in the 2000s, or the damn near annual slasher releases of the 80s, it’s nice to have something to look forward to every year that is a variation on what we are already accustomed to. Last year’s V/H/S/Halloween took on the titular holiday, and now, V/H/S/Mixtape utilizes music, featuring some of the best segments we’ve gotten in the franchise in years. But it also highlights the issues with an anthology movie: it’s hard to have a cohesive experience with such drastically different stories being told.
I like GWAR as much as the next heavy metal fan, but their segment clashes tonally with the others. It feels straight out of MTV or even a segment on The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. I wouldn’t mind that if it were a hosted night, but it feels strange within the film itself. And the fact that it’s the wraparound segment, appearing throughout the film, means it can be very jarring. This could have worked if the other segments had a similar tone, but instead, I’d go from being emotionally shellshocked to absurd heavy metal hijinks.
“Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance” was my most anticipated, as the idea of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop doing a horror movie is very enticing. The story sees a small crew coming to a creature FX shop in order to do 3D scans of the puppets, so they can be used for a new remake of the old show. Turns out, there’s something very wrong with the puppets, and this crew is about to find out. There are some obvious parallels with The Muppets, though they’re sure not to do anything they’d get sued for. However, there were definitely a few puppets where I questioned whether they were reused from past projects, as they looked familiar. It also features genre vet Barbara Crampton in a fun role as an arrogant producer and has the best gore gags of the film.
Ernest Dickerson’s “The Music of Mr. Sze” was the standout for me just in terms of technical ability. What Dickerson is able to accomplish within the frame is truly remarkable. There’s a large puppet used at one point, and it’s shot in such a way that it still looks terrifying. It follows a young man who starts hearing this strange music after he moves into an apartment building. But as enticing as the music is, it also holds a dark secret. There’s just the right amount of cosmic horror, and it’s a great example of how to use the found-footage format to perfection. This story wouldn’t have worked as well in a more traditional format, as the limitations actually made the story feel larger.
I still remember a YouTube video titled “The Quietest Room on Earth,” which showed a room filled with sound dampeners. It was explained that spending excessive time in it would cause you to go crazy, as you would start to hear your own blood pump through your veins. I assume the creators of “Heartbeat” saw the same video and went: Let’s make a horror movie. Following two urban explorers, they go deep underground and accidentally get stuck in one of these quiet rooms. They quickly start to go insane as the lack of sound makes them take drastic measures to make it stop. The way director David Moreau utilizes a 360 camera is the biggest technical advancement that I’ve seen in the Found Footage genre, which I often find creatively stifling. It allows the viewer to be fully immersed as the walls of sanity start crumbling around the characters.
I was most disappointed by RZA’s “Death Tone” which really fails in its execution. The concept of a grieving daughter following her late father’s instructions to create the ultimate track is interesting enough. But it feels very surface-level and tame. Not to mention that, musically, the song produced is as bland as you can get. If you’re going to make a song that is the epitome of evil, it needs to actually be effective.
It’s too bad that stop motion animation is so time-consuming because Flying Lotus’ “Another Cabin” is downright terrifying as it shows a monster attacking a boy and his grandma. It’s a great message about the older generation sacrificing the younger just to get a little more time. The visual style reminded me of a mix of LAIKA and Phil Tippett. There’s also a brief music video directed by Tobias Forge titled “Premature Burial” that just sort of blended in with the GWAR segments for me.
While the GWAR wraparound segment and “Death Tone” really didn’t work for me, the others are so good that I still enjoyed V/H/S/Mixtape overall. “Heartbeat” and “The Music of Mr. Sze” are among my favorite VHS segments ever, and I loved how unique they managed to be. The 360 camera adds an extra layer to the found footage genre, which really works to provide some abstract and trippy visuals for something that is usually just mundane camcorder footage.
V/H/S/Mixtape is streaming on Shudder/AMC+ on October 9th, 2026.
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