V/H/S/94 2021

The movie is structured into multiple segments, presented as a collection of tapes discovered by the members of a SWAT team amidst a chilling backdrop in an abandoned warehouse linked to a ritualistic mass suicide by a cult.

In the frame narrative titled “Holy Hell,” penned and helmed by Jennifer Reeder, we are introduced to a mysterious woman clad in white, who inhales a vapor from a gelatinous substance. This eerie scene escalates as she counts down from ten in a disconcerting voice, unsettling viewers as another woman stealthily passes behind her. Meanwhile, the SWAT team – comprised of Slater, Oursler, Sprayberry, Spivey, Petro, Nash, and their cameraman Gary – embarks on what is presumed to be a drug bust, only to find a private jet concealed behind the warehouse. A distorted female voice echoes ominously, proclaiming: > “All are welcome. All are watching. Finally, followers, 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.” As the team navigates the tense, narrow corridors, they stumble upon various rooms that resemble prisons, complete with televisions broadcasting static. In one room, they find a man, strangely motionless, only to realize with dread that he is dead, his eyes gouged out, with the same viscous substance the SWAT team is trailing ominously dripping to the floor.

As they venture further, seeking suspects, the officers enter a room already depicted in the tapes and encounter more dead cult members, leading Slater to command a search of the upper floor with a separate unit. A nearby television crackles to life, hinting at foreboding revelations.

Transitioning into the segment “Storm Drain,” crafted by Chloe Okuno, we follow Channel 6 News reporter Holly Marciano and her cameraman Jeff as they investigate the legend of the Rat Man lurking in the storm drains of Westerville, Ohio. Their quest leads them underground where they confront homeless inhabitants and a man smeared with a disturbing black slime. When Holly attempts to interview him, she finds herself in grave danger as he spews black liquid and utters the strange word “Raatma.” Their attempt to flee fails, and they are captured by the sewer’s residents.

Deeper beneath the city, Holly encounters a local church minister who had previously given her an interview. He announces a new order and calls upon the Rat Man, revealing it to be a grotesque creature half human, half rat—dubbed “Raatma”—which the sewer dwellers worship fervently. In a gruesome turn, Raatma vomits black liquid that melts Jeff’s face, leading to his tragic demise. Holly is then presented to Raatma, and as the creature growls, her screams echo through the darkness.

A brief interlude showcases Holly’s return to the newsroom post-rescue, where she unwittingly substitutes words with “Raatma” during a report, spiraling into chaos as she vomits the fatal black substance on her co-anchor during a live broadcast, culminating in his horrific death while Holly manically signs off with, “Hail Raatma.”

The tale continues in “The Empty Wake,” brought to life by Simon Barrett, where a young woman named Hailey, tasked with hosting a wake at Jensen Funeral Home, encounters unsettling occurrences linked to the deceased Andrew Edwards. Left alone as the storm rages outside, unsettling noises from the casket disrupt her reading. When a strange relative arrives, chaos ensues as Hailey discovers the casket empty and the corpse ready to attack her.

Moving into “The Subject”, a segment created by Timo Tjahjanto, we find ourselves immersed in the horrific experiments of a deranged scientist in Indonesia, where kidnapped individuals are transformed into mechanical hybrids in a chaotic setting filled with violence and desperation.

Lastly, the ominous narrative culminates in a segment titled “Terror,” directed by Ryan Prows, detailing a white supremacist militia’s nefarious plans to detonate a government building using an imprisoned vampire’s blood. As chaos erupts and fatalities mount within the compound, a horror unfolds leading to destruction in their blind quest for power.

Through these visceral segments, the film intertwines threads of cult fanaticism, grotesque transformations, and the depths of human depravity, compelling viewers to delve into the chilling narratives that challenge the bounds of horror. The SWAT team’s harrowing exploration sees them grappling with unimaginable horrors lurking within the walls of the warehouse, leading to an increasingly desperate struggle for survival as each chilling story unfolds.