Horror franchises have such a long history of sequels and reboots, that it almost becomes a sign of longevity and respect when a franchise hits the reset button. When you’ve run the story into the ground, the best thing to do is to start all over again and continue with the same generic formula, hoping that no one notices or cares.
And they say that horror is dead.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the V/H/S franchise which started out in 2013, will now be receiving that same sort of reboot treatment in the franchise’s fourth instalment. Or as much of a reboot as possible for a series that has never really had a consistent storyline to begin with. Following its initial success, two other V/H/S films released in 2014 and 2016, before the now four-year break to this new movie. The franchise, which saw each movie follow the formula of found VHS tapes, were interconnected by a framing narrative that showcased several short horror films dealing with zombies, aliens, the occult, alternate dimensions, and more.
For its fourth instalment, V/H/S/ 94 will instead have a single fluid narrative, with each section linked together as opposed to its previous format of unrelated stories framed in an external story. This will allow the film to form a more detailed story and possibly even build it into something that represents a thread that can be continued on into future films. Given the title of the movie, I wouldn’t be surprised if it may also take place in the year 1994 and serve as an origin story of sorts, giving perhaps more context to the other movies.
This new approach to the film series will also come with a change behind the scenes, as David Bruckner (who is also directing the new Hellraiser remake) is set to write and direct this new film. Many horror franchises typically only get worse when they are rebooted, but hopefully, V/H/S 94 can somehow reverse the trend and actually get better with the new approach. I don’t have high expectations though.
Last Updated: June 24, 2020
