Plot
The film is presented as an anthology of five films built into a narrative, which acts as its sixth film. Themed around Halloween, each short is linked together with the concept of footage as each segment is from tapes.
"Diet Phantasma" (frame narrative) — Prologue
The Octagon Company is planning to launch a new soda called "Diet Phantasma". They bring in multiple subjects to try the formula before the beverage is put on shelves. However, the subjects are unaware that the soda is made with the extract of vicious poltergeists that the Octagon Company has contained. The first subject, a man designated 37, tries it; he soon begins to bleed out of his face and eyes. The can then sprouts tentacles which attach to 37's face. The body and the room are then cleaned up for the next subjects.
"Coochie Coochie Coo"
- Directed and Written by Anna Zlokovic
Lacie and Kaleigh are high-schoolers who decide to go out for one last night of trick-or-treating. They come across a trio of boys who tell them that "The Mommy" will get them because they are too old for trick-or-treating. The girls continue on and begin to ruin other trick or treater's nights by stealing their candy. Kaleigh mentions to Lacie that a friend of theirs dressed as a cheerleader disappeared last year, though Lacie blows it off. They soon come across a house that appears out of nowhere and knock on the door. They go inside, but discover too late that they are trapped by the Mommy who leaves behind squirming fetuses and trails of milk.
Lacie and Kaleigh come across three other individuals including the cheerleader. They all have infantile faces and act like babies. They also learn that the Mommy was once a woman who became pregnant as a result of rape. This woman hanged herself while pregnant to escape motherhood and now beckons victims into being her children. After making her fall asleep with a lullaby, the Mommy breaks Lacie's ribs and drags her away into the basement. Kaleigh chases after her and discovers that The Mommy has already converted Lacie into one of her children. Kaleigh lies down with the other victims as the Mommy sings her lullaby again. As her lullaby ends, the Mommy starts to despairingly laugh.
"Diet Phantasma" — First interlude
Two new subjects, a man and woman known as 38 and 39, are brought in. The test does not go well; 38’s can sprays acid in his face, causing his face to swell and the skin on his hands to tear off. 39's can moves toward her as the tab flies off, enters her mouth, and exits through her throat, killing her.
"Ut Supra Sic Infra"
Enric is questioned by police over him being the survivor of a brutal mass murder at a party, where all of the victims had their eyeballs removed - and they are nowhere to be found. The segment flashes back and forth between the party Enric was at and the investigation. Enric and several of his friends entered a house belonging to a psychic. The group find an old telephone in the center of the room, which is not connected to anything. Enric finds writing on the wall reading "Ut Supra Sic Infra" ("As Above, So Below") and reads it out loud three times. The phone begins to ring and Enric picks it up. He begins to convulse as the feed cuts out.
The investigators take Enric back to the house. He is reluctant to re-enter the room, but the psychiatrist attending tells him that it is all in his head. They enter the cupola and Enric repeats the phrase. Someone else picks up the phone, but Enric once again convulses and spits out the eyeballs before sending everyone in the room towards the ceiling. The possessed Enric proceeds to pull everyone's eyeballs out of their heads before dropping them back onto the floor.
"Diet Phantasma" — Second interlude
A young woman, Subject 40, is next. She takes a sip of her Diet Phantasma and claims it to taste good, while it smells awful. When she's instructed to consume the whole can, the poltergeist inside causes her hands to break and twist, before she vomits a black substance on the table. Subject 40, now possessed, is able to see through the observation mirror, which she uses to interact with the scientists. The button to the room is pressed which extracts the poltergeist from her. She survives, but is taken away and burned alive by a flamethrower.
"Fun Size"
Group of friends Haley, Austin, Lauren and Josh leave an adult Halloween party disappointed as there was no candy. They decide to go and trick or treat to get some. Lauren and Josh are celebrating their engagement, but she confides in Haley that she is having second thoughts. They come across a bowl of bizarrely-named candies with a sign asking that they take one. They are confused by the names and baffled by a bar that looks like a phallus. They try searching online for the candy but receive no results. When one of them tries to grab a second candy, the bowl comes to life and swallows the four of them.
The four find themselves in a house where they are stalked by a being named Fun Size, a humanoid mascot with supernatural powers. Fun Size takes Austin and has him sent into a machine where he is chopped up and turned into candy (explaining the bars). Haley is also taken and has her face blown off with gumballs. Lauren and Josh try to escape via a duct, which turns out to be a conveyor belt. Lauren admits that she did not want to marry Josh as he is killed. Lauren escapes outside of the factory for Fun Size to materialize in front of her and kill her.
Two children take candy from Fun Size's bowl. The son admits that he took two as the bowl comes to life and attacks their mother.
"Diet Phantasma" — Third interlude
The next subject is 41, a young boy, who tries a sample with a lower dosage of poltergeist extract in it. He says that he loves the soda and asks for another. The scientists comply, giving him a can with more extract. As 41 opens the can, he instantly explodes. The scientists proceed to clean up the room for the next test.
"Kidprint"
Tim Kaplan runs a video store where he does "Kidprints", video documentaries that can be used to help search for missing children. Tim is haunted by the reports of children going missing and showing up dead and wants to protect his two daughters and wife. He is informed by a mother that a girl has gone missing, with the officer asking him to go back and get a video for Olivia Hamel. He discovers tapes of several children either being tortured or begging for their lives. He discovers Olivia getting attacked by his employee Bruce Dittman.
Several videos reveal that Bruce has been using Tim's videos to locate and coerce several kids and teens for him to torture and kill. He also captured and tortured a boy named Drew Stackhouse by ripping the skin off his face. Tim is beaten up and left by Bruce. Two teen victims escape and find Tim. They assume that he is in league with Bruce and kill him. They attempt to leave, only for Bruce to capture and kill them too.
A news report has everyone believing that Tim was the murderer. Bruce tells reporters that he will take over Kaplan Electronics and continue Kidprint.
"Diet Phantasma" — Epilogue
The final test involves six subjects, five adults and a young girl. The technician warns Dr. Rothschild that the equipment isn’t engineered to handle this many subjects, but he is furious that they're far behind schedule, so they proceed. As one subject opens their can, a video camera catches fire. Another subject gets his tongue ripped off after the can crushes itself in his mouth, then becomes possessed; the possessed subject crushes another subject's head until his eyes pop out, and he vomits on the other subject with the same black substance as Subject 40.
All the poltergeists are extracted from the subjects, except for the little girl, 47, who remains possessed. Dr. Rothschild asks what her favorite soda is; she replies, "Diet Phantasma." The other subjects - reanimated via possession - try to escape. With the knowledge that at least one person drank it and didn’t die, Dr. Rothschild orders his staff to manufacture and ship Diet Phantasma immediately using the formula 47 drank. The segment ends with the implication that the possessed subjects break through the observation window and kill the researchers.
"Home Haunt"
- Directed and Written by Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman
Keith has set up his haunted house with his wife Nancy and son Zack. Zack has grown up to become a teenager who no longer wants to participate in his tradition. Keith convinces Zack to go to the store to pick up some items for the house. Keith sneaks into the back and finds a record called "Halloween Horrors", which he steals. Keith opens his haunted house for the neighborhood, playing the record. Supernatural occurrences begin to happen as the record bursts into flames, causing everyone to panic and flee in terror.
The haunt monsters suddenly come to life, resulting in several people dying along the way. Zack and Nancy manage to survive and escape outside the house, only for a witch to fly out and grab Zack's camera. The witch proceeds to massacre at least two children who are out trick or treating. The entrance to the haunted house, which is shaped like a monster's jaws, comes to life as it breaks free from the building.
"Diet Phantasma" — Mid-credit scene
Subject 47 is seen in a commercial for Diet Phantasma; the commercial reveals that the soda is made from actual poltergeists. At first, 47 seems back to normal, but she drinks from a can and recites the product's slogan as her voice deepens and her eyes go solid white.
Development
In October 2024 at the New York Comic Con 2024, it was announced that an eighth V/H/S film was in development. Josh Goldbloom, Brad Miska, and James Harris would serve as producers. The project would be a joint-venture production between Shudder Original Films and Bloody Disgusting. [4]
In July 2025, Bloody Disgusting announced the film's directors as Bryan M. Ferguson, Casper Kelly, Micheline Pitt-Norman, R.H. Norman, Alex Ross Perry, Paco Plaza, and Anna Zlokovic, and announced the official title as V/H/S/Halloween. [5]
In September 2025, Collider shared a behind-the-scenes preview of the segment "Home Haunt" — about a cursed antique that brings the several props of a home-made Halloween haunt to life — featuring various images of its monsters inspired by "Americana classic home haunt mazes". [6]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 94% of 52 critics' reviews are positive. [8] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [9] V/H/S/Halloween was met with positive reviews following its Fantastic Fest premiere, with critics and attendees praising it as one of the franchise's best entries.
Writing for RogerEbert.com, critic Brian Tallerico mentioned that the film "feels the most tonally consistent" of the franchise, having "maybe the best batting average," and awarding it 3 out of 4 stars. [10] Similarly, Ryan Scott from /Film praised V/H/S/Halloween for being both "darkly fun" and disturbing, highlighting the quality of the wraparound and also Perry's segment as "the darkest moment in 'V/H/S' history," scoring the film 8.5 out of 10. [11]
In a positive review, The Austin Chronicle's Richard Whittaker wrote that the antagonist from Zlokovic's segment "may go down as one of the series’ creepiest monsters," while also praising the Normans' closing segment as "surprisingly epic" and the preceding short from Perry as "the closest a segment has come in years to the early, edgy, innovative shocks of the first two V/H/S movies." [12] Slant Magazine rated the film 3 out of 4 stars, reporting that "[t]hough each segment has a slightly different stylistic flavor, they’re united by a devilish mean-spiritedness," also highlighting "the sadistic acts of torture carried out in 'Kidprint'". [13]
In a more lukewarm review, Britt Hayes of MovieWeb.com commented on the anthology's uneavenness as "a mixed bag of treats," criticising the first two segments as "a little long" but overall saying the film is "another mostly entertaining gore-fest with a few gnarly tricks up its sleeve." [14] Similarly, Mike Boltz of JoBlo.com praised it as "perfect spooky season viewing for the initiated," comparing it to a modern Faces of Death , while criticizing the long running time, and giving the film a 7 out of 10. [15]
