V/H/S/94 is a 2021 American found footage horror anthology film, and the fourth installment in the V/H/S franchise. The film originates from a screenplay written by David Bruckner, and Brad Miska, with segments directed by franchise returnees Simon Barrett and Timo Tjahjanto, in addition to newcomers Jennifer Reeder, Ryan Prows and Chloe Okuno. The overarching plot follows a police SWAT team who stumbles upon a sinister cult compound and its collection of VHS tapes.
Following the series' cult origins around film festivals, V/H/S/94 had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 26, 2021, and was also screened at Beyond Fest on October 4, 2021. The film was released as a Shudder Original Film via horror film streaming service Shudder on October 6, 2021. Later that month, Shudder announced that V/H/S/94 had become the platform's biggest movie premiere ever, with "record-setting viewership numbers" until 2022, when it was surpassed by its sequel, V/H/S/99.
Plot[]
The film's segments are presented as a series of cassettes found by the members in the frame narrative ("Holy Hell") as they advance through a warehouse containing remnants of a cult mass suicide.
Holy Hell (Prologue)[]
- Written and directed by Jennifer Reeder
A woman dressed in clothing inhales a vapor being emitted by a substance on her hands. The woman counts down from ten in a voice as another woman passes behind her. A team raid a warehouse during what is believed to be a bust. They find a jet behind the warehouse. A voice emanates from the speakers: "All are welcome. All are watching. Tonight is the night you've been waiting for. Track my signal. The signal is the stimulant. The signal is the sedative. The signal is salvation." They discover multiple rooms with sets displaying static. They spot a man sitting in one of the rooms, but they realize he is dead, with his eyes gouged out and the substance dripping onto the floor.
The team enters the room seen in the tape and encounter more cultists. Slater orders to search the floor with team while the remaining officers keep going as one of the televisions begins to play a newscast.
Storm Drain[]
- Written and directed by Chloe Okuno
- "The Masher" commercial directed and edited by Steven Kostanski.
Channel 6 reporter Holly Marciano and her cameraman Jeff are filming a story about the Rat Man. The duo descend into a drain, where they find several encampments. They are approached by a man covered in slime. Holly tries to interview him, but they attempt to flee. They are captured by other residents of the sewers.
They are taken deeper into the sewers by the dwellers. The minister of the church appears and announces that a new order will soon begin. He then summons the Rat Man, which is revealed to be a creature dubbed "Raatma" that he and the other dwellers worship as a god. Raatma proceeds to vomit liquid, which the minister pours over Jeff's face. Holly is then brought before Raatma.
The film returns to the newscast after a brief commercial break, where Holly's co-anchor explains that she was rescued from the drain and has returned to work at the Channel 6 station, though Jeff is still missing. Holly gives her report. She vomits the black liquid onto her co-worker's face. Chaos rises as the co-worker screams in pain, ripping off his flesh before flopping down. Holly cheerfully finishes her report as if nothing happened, ending off her report with, "Hail Ratmaa."
Holy Hell (Interlude 1)[]
The officers go deeper into the building and come across a room set up to look like a church, with a screen at the front and mannequins in the seats. The screen begins to play footage from a home.
The Empty Wake[]
- Written and directed by Simon Barrett
A woman named Hailey is assigned to host a wake for a man named Andrew Edwards, whose family has requested that the service be recorded during the night. Hailey's boss Ronald and another assistant leave the building for the night. A thunderstorm begins outside, causing the power to flicker. Hailey then calls her friend Sharon. Hailey calls Tim and says that she thinks Andrew may still be alive. Tim quells her worries by explaining that the body is most likely releasing gases that are causing the noises. The building begins to lose power. A man arrives to the wake, during which Hailey allows him to pay his respects. Gustav thanks Hailey for the opportunity and leaves.
Sharon reveals to Hailey that Andrew had committed suicide by leaping from the roof of a church while he was shouting gibberish. The power cuts out again. The casket suddenly jerks in her direction. Hailey discovers the doors are chained shut. She finds the casket tipped over and empty. She is attacked by Andrew's corpse, but it cannot see her. She finds the top of Andrew's head. Hailey is able to distract Andrew by playing music via control, but Andrew's eyes lock onto her. The storm strikes the home as the camera cuts out. Hailey rises and crawls through the window and into the area.
Holy Hell (Interlude 2)[]
The officers discover parts strewn across the floor and upside-down crosses hanging from the ceiling of rooms. They plan to exit the building. A television begins to play footage from a laboratory.
The Subject[]
- Written and directed by Timo Tjahjanto
A man wakes up to find his body gone and replaced by robotic spider-like legs. He falls from his restraints and catches fire, which is soon extinguished by Dr. James Suhendra. He carries out a lobotomy on a woman with the initials S.A. and sedates a man after he wakes up early. Subject 98 is equipped with blades for hands, and S.A. becomes a cyborg that responds to speech. The rest of the tape is presented from her point of view. James celebrates S.A.'s success as a report states that a rash of disappearances are driving wedges between the police and the public. James is suspected of kidnapping his patients, and S.A.'s self is shown onscreen.
S.A. wakes up during the procedure and hits James, before attempting to undo her restraints. James beats S.A. repeatedly with a tray, and her life drops before he is interrupted by a knock at the door. James throws a blanket over S.A. as the officers break in as the tape cuts to the feed of Jono. The police shoot him dead, and begin hunting the lab for survivors. They discover S.A., and argue over whether she should be killed or kept alive as she is not classified as human anymore, despite technically being a survivor. A blackout occurs in the lab, and Jono witnesses S.A. escape, but does not say anything.
Another officer attempts to shoot the lock and free the group, but triggers an explosion. An alarm begins to sound and James's plan begins. James states over a prerecorded intercom that his creation is his alone, and that those who try to take it from him shall die. Jono and the commander survive after the commander hurls a grenade at 98. S.A. comes to and flees through the building. She then falls through a hole in the floor into a room, where she finds blueprints for her parts, including a machine-gun-arm. She approaches a mirror, and sees her form for the first time. S.A. finds and equips the arm and fights her way through the building. She discovers Jono behind a door, and spares him after he begs for his life and promises to help her out of the lab. Jono grabs a gun and shoots the commander dead before being attacked by Subject 98. S.A. uses the last of her strength to tear out 98's brain. She collapses next to Jono, and her battery dies. The tape cuts to a camera, which shows S.A. standing up on her own accord.
Holy Hell (Interlude 3)[]
It is shown that Nash and Petro have killed Gary & kidnapped Spivey. Nash states "Forever starts right now". Slater pages his teammates over his radio, and Petro states that he should try not to lose his head. Slater collapses and enters a trance in front of one of the screens, which proceeds to display footage of an enclosure.
Terror[]
- Written and directed by Ryan Prows
The Militia are a white supremacist group that are plotting to blow up a building in a bid to "take back America". It is shown that they live in a compound in an area somewhere near Detroit. The compound has a room for cameras, as well as a room covered in crosses. A man is chained up and kept prisoner, and is revealed to be a vampire. Bob and Chuck enter the room. The man pleads for his life, and Greg shoots him at range. The film cuts to one of the group's videos, where Greg explains that the group intends to purge evil from America.
Members of the group set out in a car and drive past the building which they plan to blow up. Slater from the frame narrative arrives to supply guns and ammunition to the group. It is shown that the group repeatedly shoots the vampire and siphons his blood as he resurrects each time. As a test, they inject his blood into a rabbit which later explodes when exposed to sunlight. Later, the group drinks heavily and parties. Two members, Bob and Steve, shoot the vampire again and Bob spills its blood on Steve.
A bell rings and alerts the members of the group. Greg berates Jimmy, who was supposed to be on duty guarding the compound. Jimmy runs towards a body behind the truck, who they reveal is Terry. Crashes come from inside the compound, and the group realizes they are missing Steve. Greg calls for Steve. They hear a screech from inside the compound, and then a decapitated head is thrown out from within. One member begins firing a machine-gun on the compound, killing other members in the process. Tom and the others yell at him to stop but his frenzy continues so Tom shoots him in the head. Steve then stumbles out of the compound covered in the vampire's blood. Although the group warns him to stop, he continues and explodes when exposed to sunlight.
The members of the group vow to kill the vampire. They enter the compound and discover the creature hiding in the attic. It tears Tom's face off and Greg shoots wildly at it. The vampire kills Jimmy by slamming his head on the floor repeatedly, and Bob shoots at it. Bob is attacked by the vampire. Greg is dragged by the vampire into the cage. It then opens the window and lets in sunlight, causing the vampire to explode and the compound to be destroyed.
Holy Hell (Epilogue)[]
The majority of the team are now dead. Slater is tied to a chair by Petro and Nash, who rebuke him for supplying the militia in the video with guns. The women explain that they are members of the cult that has been operating out of the warehouse, where they create and distribute videotapes depicting cruelty and other acts of violence. Slater is told that he will be their final kill for this video. Using the camcorder, Petro bashes Slater's head repeatedly, shattering the lens. After pulling out the camcorder, Petro shows Slater's now heavily disfigured and mutilated head. Petro and Nash believe this will be their best tape yet, with the former wondering what to call it.
Cast[]
Holy Hell[]
- Kimmy Choi as Petro
- Nicolette Pearse as Nash
- Thomas Mitchell as Sprayberry
- Dru Viergever as Slater
- Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll as Spivey
- Dax Ravina as Oursler
- Kevin P. Gabel as Cameraman Gary
- William Jordan as Tom Tucker
Storm Drain[]
- Anna Hopkins as Holly Marciano
- Christian Potenza as Cameraman Jeff
- Brian Paul as Pastor
- Tim Campbell as TV Anchor Mark
- Gina Philips as Camille
- Hume Baugh as Camo Guy
- Sean Sullivan as Hippie
- Thiago Dos Santos as Raatma
- Kyle Durack as Storm Dweller
- Demetri Kellesis as Storm Dweller
- Sean Dolan as Skateboarder
- Sophia Machula as Skateboarder
- Anthony Perpuse as Skateboarder
The Veggie Masher[]
- Conor Sweeney as Himself
The Empty Wake[]
- Kyal Legend as Hayley
- Devin Chin-Cheong as Andrew Edwards
- Daniel Matmor as Gustav
- Adam Kenneth Wilson as Ronald
- David Reale as Tim
The Subject[]
- Shania Sree Maharani as S.A.
- Shahabi Sakri as Male Subject
- Daniel Ekaputra as Male Subject Alpha
- Budi Ross as The Creator
- Donny Alamsyah as Capt. Hassan
- Bio One as Jono
- Vincent Martin as Ali
- Novi Rahmat as Jaka
- Sekar Dewantari as Failed Subject
- Andhika Martsanda H. as Spider Subject
- Andini Effendi as Announcer
Terror[]
- Christian Lloyd as Greg
- Thomas Mitchell Barnet as Cameraman Bob
- Cameron Kneteman as Chuck
- Steven McCarthy as Jimmy
- Brendan McMurthey-Howlett as Prisoner
- Slavic Rogozine as Steve
- Daniel Williston as Wayne
- Dru Viergever as Slater