{"id":22551,"date":"2025-09-17T21:17:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T21:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/22551\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T21:17:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T21:17:08","slug":"the-10-best-v-h-s-found-footage-horror-shorts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/22551\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Best ‘V\/H\/S’ Found-Footage Horror Shorts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Found-footage horror<\/a> will never die\u2014especially as long as the V\/H\/S anthology series<\/a> keeps offering evidence there are still creative ways to use the format. Since 2012 we\u2019ve had seven V\/H\/S entries, with an eighth, V\/H\/S\/Halloween<\/a>, arriving October 3. The series as a whole has captured a range of repulsive imagery, as its characters stumble into an alarming range of unnatural situations\u2014with recording devices conveniently capturing everything.<\/p>\n

It was hard to narrow it down to just 10 standouts, so if we don\u2019t shout out your top V\/H\/S segment, please sing its praises in the comments! Here are our picks in chronological order.<\/p>\n

\u201c10\/31\/98\u201d \u2013 V\/H\/S (2012) <\/p>\n

With future Hollywood heavy-hitters like Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs. Kong) and Ti West (MaXXXine) on the roster of the first V\/H\/S entry, this pick comes from another talent then on the rise: Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).<\/p>\n

The directing team\u2019s V\/H\/S segment (credited to Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, and Chad Villella) foreshadows V\/H\/S\/Halloween; it\u2019s titled \u201c10\/31\/98\u201d and takes place on you know which holiday. It follows a goofy group of costumed, camera-toting bros (including members of Radio Silence) who stumble into the wrong address, uncovering not a spooky party but a ritual powered by an evil that chases after them as they try to escape.<\/p>\n

\u201c10\/31\/98\u201d is the final segment in V\/H\/S, bringing a jolt of energy as the credits roll. The running time of V\/H\/S is a bit overlong\u2014but Radio Silence\u2019s pleasingly freaky capper shouldn\u2019t be overlooked.<\/p>\n

\"Vhs\u00a9 Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing \u201cA Ride in the Park\u201d \u2013 V\/H\/S\/2 (2013) <\/p>\n

The V\/H\/S series would not exist without 1999\u2019s The Blair Witch Project, which propelled found-footage horror into the mainstream. So it makes sense that a Blair Witch director (Eduardo S\u00e1nchez) and producer (Gregg Hale) would be called upon to contribute to the franchise\u2019s first sequel.<\/p>\n

A mountain biker wearing a GoPro encounters a hysterical woman on the trail\u2014and realizes too late he\u2019s cycled right into a burgeoning zombie apocalypse. We follow along as he gets chomped and then does his own chomping; the ensuing chaos includes a gory rampage through a random family\u2019s birthday party. It unfolds at a breathless pace and manages to be both ferocious and weirdly poignant.<\/p>\n

V\/H\/S\/2 also features \u201cSlumber Party Alien Abduction,\u201d which would make a best-of list if not for the fact that it was expanded into the feature Kids vs. Aliens\u2014a more satisfying take on the story, with an equally self-explanatory title.<\/p>\n

\"Nacho\u00a9 Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing \u201cParallel Monsters\u201d \u2013 V\/H\/S: Viral (2014) <\/p>\n

The uneven V\/H\/S: Viral has one clear winner: the Spanish-language \u201cParallel Monsters,\u201d written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes, Colossal).<\/p>\n

As it begins, we meet a guy who\u2019s finally achieved success with his basement invention: a doorway opening into a parallel universe. To his surprise, once the portal opens, he sees\u2026 himself! A fellow nerd whose identical tinkering has produced success at the exact moment of his own!<\/p>\n

Excited, the two men decide to swap places for 15 minutes, which is more than enough time to discover that their two worlds are not, in fact, interchangeable. Not in the slightest. The setup is simple; the execution\u2014especially the pacing, the special effects, and the ending\u2014is near-perfect.<\/p>\n

\"Vhs\u00a9 Shudder \u201cTerror\u201d \u2013 V\/H\/S\/94 (2021) <\/p>\n

After a seven-year break, the cult-themed V\/H\/S\/94<\/a> rebooted the series with the help of horror streamer Shudder\u2014a partnership that worked out so well the platform has backed all the subsequent installments. While the segment \u201cStorm Drain\u201d gave V\/H\/S its first catchphrase (\u201cHail Raatma!\u201d), the eeriest tale is Ryan Prows\u2019 \u201cTerror,\u201d a gory exploration of a worst-case scenario wrapped within another worst-case scenario.<\/p>\n

A militia of Christian extremists who call themselves \u201cthe last decent men of America\u201d and \u201ctrue patriots\u201d are planning an attack on a government building. We follow them through recon, training, planning, and premature celebration as we come to realize their prized weapon is\u2026 an actual vampire, whose blood they\u2019ve been harvesting for its explosive qualities. What could possibly go wrong? How about everything, in the most satisfying ways?<\/p>\n

\"Vhs99\u00a9 Shudder \u201cTo Hell and Back\u201d \u2013 V\/H\/S\/99 (2022) <\/p>\n

Hired by a coven of suburban witches to document their New Year\u2019s Eve possession ritual, a pair of filmmakers accidentally get transported into hell\u2014and must frantically claw their way back to existence before they\u2019re trapped forever. Good thing their first encounter is with a demon who\u2019s ok with helping them rather than devouring them.<\/p>\n

Somehow, \u201cTo Hell and Back\u201d manages to infuse that horror-made concept with goofy humor, a quality that also emerges in the feature made by directing team Vanessa and Joseph Winter, Deadstream<\/a>, which released on Shudder just ahead of V\/H\/S\/99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Vhs85\u00a9 Shudder \u201cNo Wake\u201d and \u201cAmbrosia\u201d \u2013 V\/H\/S\/85 (2023) <\/p>\n

After teetering on the edge of the millennium, V\/H\/S crept back to the \u201980s for what might be its strongest installment<\/a> to date. We\u2019re grouping these two segments from director Mike P. Nelson (Friday the 13th<\/a> short Sweet Revenge<\/a>) into one list entry because\u2014twist!\u2014it turns out their separate stories are actually linked.<\/p>\n

You find that out midway through the second segment, and it\u2019s handled more smoothly than connections forged in the frame stories of earlier V\/H\/S films. There\u2019s some hinting that the lakeside splatterfest \u201cNo Wake\u201d is unfinished when it ends with its survivors vowing revenge on the shooter who tried to take their lives, but \u201cAmbrosia,\u201d the tale of a teen undergoing a violent coming-of-age ritual, also works quite well on its own. The reveal just elevates two excellent shorts while also carving out welcome new turf for V\/H\/S as a whole.<\/p>\n

\"Vhs85\u00a9 Shudder \u201cDreamkill\u201d \u2013 V\/H\/S\/85 (2023) <\/p>\n

The Black Phone director Scott Derrickson co-wrote and helmed this memorably unsettling segment, based on a short story from Black Phone author Joe Hill. It also stars The Black Phone\u2018s James Ransone alongside Six Feet Under\u2018s Freddy Rodriguez. \u201cDreamkill\u201d backs up those bona fides with a twisted tale of two cops trying to understand why they\u2019ve been receiving videotapes of brutal murders before they happen.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a high-concept mystery involving psychic abilities and some very \u201980s goth fashions. But it comes together seamlessly, making chilling use of first-person POV, not to mention the singularly bizarre Throbbing Gristle song \u201cHamburger Lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vhs\u00a9 Shudder \u201cLive and Let Dive\u201d \u2013 V\/H\/S\/Beyond (2024) <\/p>\n

V\/H\/S\/Beyond<\/a> explicitly embraces sci-fi horror, a genre brought crashing down to earth in \u201cLive and Let Dive\u201d from Radio Silence co-founder Justin Martinez. Thanks to this segment, you can now add \u201caliens\u201d to the things that can go wrong while skydiving. That\u2019s something a plane full of friends, some more enthusiastic about jumping than others, realizes when they spot a UFO just before it\u2019s time to dive.<\/p>\n

The terror doesn\u2019t end there, of course; the chaotically wild, viscerally memorable invasion persists in mid-air as well as once everyone hits the ground. But nothing quite tops the shriek-worthy moment when the skydivers start to realize they\u2019re having a close encounter of the worst kind.<\/p>\n

\"Vhs\u00a9 Shudder \u201cStowaway\u201d \u2013 V\/H\/S\/Beyond (2024) <\/p>\n

\u201cStowaway\u201d boasts more big names behind the camera: director Kate Segal and writer Mike Flanagan<\/a>. And again the end result doesn\u2019t disappoint. We meet a mentally fragile woman who\u2019s decamped to the desert intent on interviewing UFO witnesses and maybe even spotting one herself, filming her efforts along the way.<\/p>\n

When the moment she\u2019s dreamed about arrives, however, the initial sense of wonder devolves into white-hot terror and some of the most haunting body horror V\/H\/S has ever depicted, which fans of the series know is no small accomplishment.<\/p>\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel<\/a>, Star Wars<\/a>, and Star Trek<\/a> releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV<\/a>, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Found-footage horror will never die\u2014especially as long as the V\/H\/S anthology series keeps offering evidence there are still…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[146,85,46,397,20784,20785,20786],"class_list":["post-22551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-movies","tag-v-h-s","tag-v-h-s-halloween","tag-v-h-s-beyond"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}