V/H/S/Mixtape (2026) Film Review – A Throw-Back of Sorts to MTV Halloween Specials

Posted on by Oki Covarrubias

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The V/H/S film series is well known at this point, at least within the horror community. The franchise includes eight main films, two spin-offs (SiREN and Kids vs. Aliens), as well as a Snapchat miniseries titled V/H/S: Video Horror Shorts. It would be remiss of me not to point all of this out, as the longevity of the series is incredibly commendable. The series began as an independent horror project that was designed to showcase the work of underground filmmakers, and it continues to do so successfully.

V/H/S/Mixtape (2026) is the ninth instalment in this found-footage anthology franchise, and it promises to explore the dark, terrifying intersection of music, rhythm, and sound. To enhance the theme, the film takes on an MTV-style format where it cuts between skits, music videos, and short films; a throwback of sorts to MTV Halloween Specials that ran from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, only this time, the segments are uncensored, very inappropriate for public broadcasting, and hosted by heavy metal icons GWAR.

For those unfamiliar, GWAR can be easily identified by their monstrous costumes that portray each band member as a barbaric medieval mythological warrior. (Try saying that three times fast!) These getups make them visually perfect for the roles of horror hosts, but their over-the-top scatological humor may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Admittedly, I was taken aback by the first five minutes of the film, where one of the band members repeatedly jokes about jacking off and then proceeds to demonstrate the act.

I’m no prude, so there was no pearl-clutching on my end, but I was surprised at this introduction because I had only ever seen the first V/H/S film prior to Mixtape and expected it to be of a similar tone. Silly me! That just goes to show how little I know about GWAR, too! But this type of humor will certainly appeal to plenty of horror fans; I just don’t happen to be one of them. This scene definitely set the tone for the rest of the film, so I simply adjusted my expectations and proceeded with an open mind.

The first short features a retro children’s program with singing puppets that is set to be rebooted by a new crew led by the always wonderful Barbara Crampton as Vanessa. When Vanessa and her team visit the set and meet the puppets in question, they quickly discover that the colorful characters are more sinister than meets the eye. Children’s programming with an evil undercurrent is not uncharted territory, especially not this year with the release of Buddy. The short plays out exactly as you would expect, with campy performances and fun practical gore, but it does come off a little stale.

I started to think that the rest of V/H/S/Mixtape would mirror this type of vibe, which honestly seemed exhausting, but the shorts that follow do shift a bit in atmosphere. We get a wonderful but extremely short animated segment with no dialogue directed by Flying Lotus, a more traditional and solemn found-footage short which follows a couple as they explore an abandoned military facility near the Bulgarian border only to meet a gruesome end, and an unexpected adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s story “The Music of Erich Zann”, just to list a few.

I realized that although I enjoyed each individual segment well enough, I wasn’t too wild about the overall package. Like most literal mixtapes, listeners will hear songs that they enjoy and others that they don’t. That’s the gamble we take with anthology films, too. Each section is followed by a wraparound featuring GWAR, which often results in tonal whiplash. If the cutting between skits was smoother, I could have potentially enjoyed the overall ride much more. If anything, this is the perfect film to have playing in the background at a Halloween party! 

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