Parents' Guide to V/H/S/94

This surprisingly good fourth entry in the horror anthology series moves things forward in time and achieves a more advanced storytelling style, especially in the disturbingly relevant fourth tale. While the V/H/S series initially combined the concept of telling scary stories with the thrill of viewing forbidden late-night movies on grungy cassettes, V/H/S/94 seems more evolved, more ambitious. With the exception of Simon Barrett -- director of Seance and writer of You're Next and The Guest -- the talent here largely consists of up-and-comers, and they go all-out with inspired ideas, camerawork, and visual effects.

The Rat Man (Storm Drain) and The Empty Wake episodes begin with endearingly old-fashioned setups -- in a creepy sewer and a dark funeral home, respectively -- before they go wild with their surprising monsters. And the cyborg episode (The Subject) is the kind of over-the-top gorefest that horror hounds dare each other to see. The wraparound segment (Holy Hell) is a little less enthralling due to its extra-jerky camerawork and its cast all wearing the same outfits. But Terror is scary in more ways than one. Its monster attack is well-executed, but the real monsters are the main characters, exhibiting cult-like thinking in their narrow, violent beliefs. It's the most relevant of the segments. But don't miss the extra-short The Veggie Masher, too, just for fun!