A reimagined adaptation of an unearthed nightmare
The V/H/S anthology series has always leaned into chaos; a combination of analog horror and guerrilla filmmaking that seeks to redefine fear with every entry. But V/H/S/Halloween (2025) applies that philosophy to its bleakest and most experimental extreme. The film isn’t merely an addition to the series; it’s a seasonal dive into insanity that toys with temporality and recollections, and in addition, the audience’s perception of reality.
The film opens with a grainy camcorder view of a small, midwestern town. A group of friends sets the tone with costumes, laughter, and cheap beer during Halloween night, and shifts into a sense of dread that creeps in through static flickers. The serene party soon devolves into a grotesque tragedy. One by one, the tapes capture different stories that become fragments of a whole, all bound by a cursed VHS that paradoxically ‘records’ more than pictures, but souls.
The stories contained in the tapes.
Unlike earlier entries, this nth installment of the series heavily indulges in the Halloween spirit. The first short, “Trick of the Tape,” directed by Chloe Okuno (Watcher) features a suburban couple haunted by an elusive stalker that only materializes within VHS tapes. aPerfectly chilling comment on the nature of obsession, and the act of being surveilled.
The second piece, “Pumpkinhead Protocol”, directed by David Bruckner (The Night House), mixes humor and horror with a government experiment s t r a n g g g r r e d and gone wrong. For some reason, BLUMHOUSE fans would instantly pair it with early 2000s creature features and call it “a nostalgic fever dream. ”
However, the standout piece would have to be “The Candy Witch”, a disturbing Jennifer Reeder s low burner. Set in a retro styled town, the children in the story realize that their favorite candy is associated with a ritualistic sacrifice. Th e ending where a silhouettes a child who s laughs echoes after the the screen goes blank cut to black has sparked a myriad of debates across the internet.
Fandoms have already predict t e d the the the s t a c k e d theory t t t that t t t o o ha s o o o v v v e r r r r the internet.
Within days of its debut, Reddit and horror forums like nights found the tape, “V/H/S/Halloween, ” puzzling. Some fans of the the cursed t t t t scrutiny drawn to the the Macintosh of video blocks VHS tape cassette tape example in in V/H/S/94 while others thought it’s a rebooted, A continual story a new universe crossed the the frame of analog horror.
A particularly viral theory argued that the last short, “Dead Broadcast,” connects all the segments. It follows a group of content creators attempting to livestream a haunted house, only to realize that the viewer’s ghosts are replaying old footage. Many fans believe this twist reframes the entire anthology; that the characters from the other shorts are “watched” by the spirits of digital age viewers.
What’s interesting is the directors chose to avoid the subject. Simon Barrent, the producer of the film, in an interview, while laughing, said “You’re not wrong — but you’re not right at all.” The mere suggestion of an answer only intensified the obsession.
The Alternate Endings That Were Scrapped
Perhaps the most interesting bit of information around V/H/S/Halloween deals with the film’s original ending. An unpublished report from within the production circle claims that one of the alternate cuts shown in private at a certain festival came with a self-referential twist of the camera. The self-referential twist involved pulling back the camera to show that the entire film is projected within a VHS player at a kid’s Halloween party.
Another scrapped concept, teased by editor Luke Piotrowski, depicted the protagonists caught within the confines of the tape, eternally repeating their last night. The studio allegedly cut this for the sake of pacing, but many fans wish this was included, dubbing it “pure V/H/S energy.”
V/H/S/Halloween
The reason V/H/S/Halloween is so captivating is the collaborative disorder. Each director reputedly filmed their part in isolation, unaware of the underlying narratives, later woven together through masterful editing using motifs — jack-o’-lanterns, static noise, and flickering orange light.
In a podcast interview, Scott Derrickson, the film’s executive producer, disclosed that the strategy used “kept the horror unpredictable, even for us.” He characterized the movie as “a haunted mixtape — every play reveals something different.”
Maya Hawke, the actress who features in the wraparound tale, stated that even the cast had a hard time understanding the storyline. “In order to create authentic bewilderment, they didn’t want me to have the entire script. Because of that, I was unsure if the thing I was reacting to was a part of the film or a malfunction.”
Behind the Static: Possible Easter Eggs and Hidden Details
Some astute viewers have identified the recurrence of certain imagery, the number 1031 on walls, masks of V/H/S monsters, and short clips of older footage. Fans have speculated that these are not mere coincidences, but rather clues that tie each anthology together in a shared universe.
One more element in the production that deals with sound design suggests that the unsettling background noise has been created using trick-or-treat recordings from actual suburbs. Sound engineer Ben Lovett disclosed that the audio has been processed through analog filters until it “feels alive”.
To achieve the “true VHS” texture for some segments of the film, the filmmakers utilized real 1980s camcorders. In the course of production, more than 40 vintage tapes were sacrificed in the name of art in order to create the desired degradation effect, as noted in a collection of behind the scenes interviews.
Audience Theories Before and After the Release
Leading up to the film’s release, the advancement trailers suggested that the beloved monster from V/H/S/99 would be making a comeback. Fans guessed that the monster would act as a crossover antagonist, but the ending of the film changed the narrative — the monster’s silhouette only ever is captured in a moment of stillness, shadowed in a reflection of static.
Post release, a new wave of theory suggested that V/H/S/Halloween would be the final installment to the anthology. However, Barrett has suggested otherwise, “There are still more tapes to be found” is the phrase that perhaps furthers this theory. Fans started title card speculation to anticipate the next addition V/H/S/Apocalypse or V/H/S/Afterlife.
Even in this moment, forums are still splintered. The divided lines, were V/H/S/Halloween a remembrance for analog horror or a celebration of it? Each scene seems to echo the words: “You are being recorded even when the camera is turned off.”
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