V/H/S/Beyondfeatures segments directed by seven filmmakers with varied horror experience. The upcoming movie is the seventh installment in the found footage franchise, which kicked off in 2012. Typically, each installment features a wraparound segment featuring a character or group of characters discovering a collection of tapes that contain the anthology’s short films, which are written and directed by different teams. One installment a year debuted before a hiatus between 2014 and 2021, at which point the streaming service Shudder began premiering themed installments, again at yearly intervals, with the theme ofBeyondset as science fiction.
Over the years,theV/H/Sfranchise has featured segments helmed by quite a few up-and-coming directorsincludingPearl’s Ti West,Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’s Adam Wingard, andLoki’s Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead as well as more established horror filmmakers such asThe Blair Witch Project’s Edúardo Sanchez,Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon CityandThe Strangers: Prey at Night’s Johannes Roberts, andSinisterandThe Black Phone’s Scott Derrickson. TheupcomingV/H/S/Beyondis no different, featuring several horror luminaries of the 2020s in addition to debut filmmakers and up-and-coming indie directors with buzzy projects under their belts.
How To Watch Every V/H/S Movie In Order (Chronologically & By Release Date)
The V/H/S franchise is a found footage-horror anthology hybrid made up of different segments, which can make its viewing order somewhat confusing.
Justin Martinez
Segment: “Live and Let Dive”
Justin Martinez is the only director fromBeyondwho has participated in one of the previousV/H/Smovies, having been the co-director, co-writer, co-producer, and co-cinematographer on the segment “10/31/98” in the original installment aspart of the filmmaking collective Radio Silence. Although he left the group before they rose to prominence working on movies includingReady or Not,Scream(2022),Scream VI, andAbigail, he has worked as a director, producer, and visual effects artist on many horror projects both with and without the team. See select horror titles that he has worked on below:
Director/Cinematographer/Producer/Writer (segment: 10/31/98)
Tales from the Hood 2(2018)
Jay Cheel
Segment: “A Special Presentation”
While Jay Cheel is not known as a horror director, he has a connection with Shudder, havingwritten and directed their docuseriesCursed Filmsabout movies with streaks of on-set bad luck such asPoltergeistandThe Exorcist. He is a longtime documentarian, having also directed 2016’sHow to Build a Time Machineand the 2008 mockumentaryThe Goblin Man of Norway. Since 2005, he has also been the co-host of Film Junk Podcast, which is the world record holder for the longest-running movie podcast.
Other horror movies covered on the ten episodes of Shudder’sCursed FilmsincludeThe Crow,Twilight Zone: The Movie,The Omen,The Wizard of Oz, andThe Serpent and the Rainbow.
Jordan Downey
Segment: “Stork”
Jordan Downey has been embroiled in the horror genre from the very beginning of his career, including a stint as an intern working underA Nightmare on Elm StreetandScreamdirector Wes Craven. In addition to a variety of shorts in the genre, he has helmed theThanksgiving-themed horror movieThanksKillingand its sequel, a pair of comic cult films thathe later followed with the more contemplative fantasy-horror titleThe Head Hunterin 2018. That movie, his most recent full-length release at the time of writing, was a critical darling, earning a near-perfect 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Christian Long
Segment: “Fur Babies”
Christian Long is the only filmmaker inV/H/S/Beyondwho co-directed their segment. This is in keeping with the rest of his career, as he has always partnered with his older brother Justin Long on his directorial projects, which includethe miniseriesThe Real Stephen Blattand the 2021 comedyLady of the Manor, which stars Melanie Lynskey, Judy Greer, Justin Long, and Ryan Phillippe. Christian also co-wrote those projects with Justin, as well as the screenplay for the 2013 rom-comA Case of You, which was directed byShe-Hulk: Attorney at LawandMarry Me’s Kat Coiro.
Justin Long
Although he has co-directed projects with his brother Christian,Justin Long is better known as an actor. In addition to starring in a series of Apple commercials as “Mac” opposite John Hodgman as “PC,” he has appeared in a variety of movies and shows including the 2006 comediesAcceptedandIdiocracyand the 2007 action sequelLive Free or Die Hard. He has frequently dabbled in the horror genre, beginning with an early role in 2001’sJeepers Creepersand returning with increasing frequency in the 2020s. See a breakdown of the most notableJustin Long horror moviesbelow:
Goosebumps(2023)
Mr. Nathan Bratt
Long is also set to continue his horror acting streak in the upcomingSpin the BottleoppositeFinal Destination’s Ali Larter andAnnabelle’s Tony Amendola. It remains to be seen if his co-directing career will begin to include more horror as well, but it seems that his work with Sam Raimi and Kevin Smith in the late 2000s and mid-2010s may have ignited a stronger passion for the genre, ashe has taken a rapidly increasing number of horror-related projects in the new decade, including the twisty genre hitBarbarian.
Virat Pal
Segment: “Dream Girl”
Virat Pal isa writer-director who has primarily worked on shorts, beginning with the 2014 sci-fi time loop storyDoxpara. Pal followed that with the 2016 feature-length thrillerRecapture, which centered on a blind man with a phobia that he is being followed. That blossomed into a career directing darker and darker projects, as his next three shorts were all firmly in the horror genre. Below, see a breakdown of the short films that Pal has helmed since 2014:
2014
2018
2020
Night of the Bride
2023
Kate Siegel
Segment: “Stowaway”
Kate Siegel is anotherV/H/Scontributor who is better known as an actor, as she will be making her directorial debut with her segment “Stowaway,” which was written by her husband and frequent collaborator Mike Flanagan. Flanagan, who is himself well known in the horror genre as the creator behind notable Netflix shows likeThe Haunting of Hill Houseand the director of several Stephen King adaptations includingGerald’s GameandDoctor Sleep, frequently casts Siegel in his work. See a breakdown ofSiegel’s roles in previous Mike Flanagan horror projectsbelow:
The Fall of the House of Usher(2023)
Camille L’Espanaye
Siegel is also set to play a role in Flanagan’supcomingThe Life of Chuck, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. While most of her horror genre experience prior toV/H/S/Beyondcomes from her collaborations with Flanagan, she also brings experience in the science fiction genre from her work with other creators. This primarily comes from her recurring role as Annette DeTamble in the Netflix seriesThe Time Traveler’s Wife, an adaptation of the 2003 Audrey Niffenegger novel of the same name starring Rose Leslie and Theo James.
V/H/S/Beyond
Cast
V/H/S/Beyond is the seventh entry in the long-running horror anthology series. V/H/S/Beyond is a collection of six different horror shorts with their own creative teams. Unlike other entries in the V/H/S franchise, V/H/S/Beyond focuses on horror that leans into sci-fi.
