V/H/S/Mixtape review: Gwar hosts a gory, music-themed mixed bag

The long-running horror anthology series V/H/S returns with V/H/S/Mixtape, hosted by metal band Gwar and built around a theme of music and sound. As with previous instalments, the film strings together a decidedly diverse ragbag of shorts, connected by the thinnest of tissue — here, interstitial segments featuring Gwar's assorted members cracking Halloween dad jokes in their trademark extravagant outfits.

The five mini-movies vary significantly in length as well as quality, and the overall register is darkly humorous: the film serves up movie morsels that would struggle to frighten a toddler.

What does the new V/H/S instalment deliver?

The opener, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, directed by Renee Zhan, drags on a bit, according to the review, but maintains a reasonable gags-to-gore ratio. Its tale follows murderous puppets taking revenge on visiting studio executives who would dare to "reimagine" some ageing IP best left dormant.

The segment's funniest gag, the review notes, is the bright major-scale title song the puppets sing about how all things must die. The puppets were designed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop — the workshop founded by the late creator of the Muppets, lending an odd pedigree to the on-screen carnage.

How does Flying Lotus's short measure up?

Flying Lotus contributes the stop-motion exercise Another Cabin, which posits a young boy in a rural cabin living with a mean old grannie who tries to push him forward when a tentacled demon tears the roof off the house in search of a snack.

The review flags one jarring element: the characters' resemblance to the cast of the early-2000s animated series The PJs sits uneasily alongside the short's very different register. Still, the brevity of the piece works in its favour.

Is the anthology format still working?

The V/H/S franchise has long operated as a vehicle for filmmakers to deliver compact, high-concept genre pieces within a loose framing device. V/H/S/Mixtape follows that pattern faithfully, with the music-and-sound theme giving the connective material — Gwar's costumed banter — a thin justification for existing.

The verdict from the review is measured: an uneven collection whose strongest moments come from craft details such as the Creature Shop puppetry and Flying Lotus's stop-motion work, rather than from genuine frights. With the series continuing to recruit directors like Zhan and Flying Lotus, the next instalment will show whether the format can still produce a consistently strong lineup rather than another mixed bag.