V/H/S/Mixtape (2026) Review: David Moreau's Cursed

The frame narrative centers on members of GWAR - Mike Derks as BalSac The Jaws of The Death, Michael Bishop as Blothar The Berserker, Brad Roberts as Jizmak Da Gusha, Casey Orr as Beefcake The Mighty, and Bob Gorman as Bonesnapper The Incredibly Boring Cave Troll - who stumble onto a tape that shouldn't exist. What follows is a blood-soaked collection of cursed music videos, terrifying performances, and found footage. Each segment purports to be a different "track" on the mixtape, and the gimmick holds: press play, and pray it stops. One standout, "The Music of Mr. Sze," features Alex Hsu in a segment that turns a simple melody into something far more sinister. The connective tissue is thin, as these anthologies tend to be, but the band's presence gives the wraparound a loose, chaotic energy that keeps things from feeling like a random YouTube playlist.

Let's be honest about what this is. V/H/S/Mixtape is not the franchise's crown jewel - that title still belongs to earlier entries - but it's far more interesting than its 3/10 TMDb rating suggests. The IMDb score of 6.7 feels closer to the truth. This is a movie made by people who love the format and aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.

Moreau, best known for Ils and The Eye, understands that horror anthologies live and die on rhythm. A mixtape is the perfect metaphor: some tracks are bangers, some are skips, and the transitions matter. Here, the music-video conceit gives each segment license to be visually experimental in ways the found-footage framing usually discourages. We get glitchy VHS decay, neon-soaked performance footage, and one sequence that plays like a cursed MTV broadcast from hell. When it works, it's genuinely unsettling.

The cast is a mixed bag, as expected. The GWAR contingent - BalSac, Blothar, Jizmak, Beefcake, and yes, Bonesnapper The Incredibly Boring Cave Troll - brings a theatrical, self-aware humor that keeps the frame narrative from dragging. Alex Hsu's turn as Mr. Sze is the highlight of the supporting players, delivering a quiet menace that contrasts nicely with the louder segments. Mike Ferguson and Jihad Brent also get moments to shine, though the script doesn't always give them enough room.

Where the film stumbles is in its consistency. A mixtape is only as good as its weakest track, and V/H/S/Mixtape has a few that feel like filler - segments that gesture at ideas without landing them. The pacing sags in the middle, and the frame narrative's resolution is more shrug than punchline. At ninety-eight minutes, it doesn't overstay its welcome, but it also doesn't build to anything particularly resonant.

And yet, there's something admirable here. This is a horror film that understands the genre's roots in transgression and spectacle. It's gross, it's loud, and it's occasionally very funny. It doesn't pretend to be more than it is. In an era of overly serious elevated horror, that scruffiness feels like a feature, not a bug.

Pros

• The music-video concept gives the anthology a fresh, visually playful energy.
• Alex Hsu's segment "The Music of Mr. Sze" is a genuine standout.
• The GWAR frame narrative is self-aware and fun without overstaying its welcome.
• Practical gore and VHS aesthetics deliver on the franchise's promise.

Cons

• Wildly inconsistent segments; a few feel like padding.
• The 3/10 TMDb rating reflects real audience frustration with the uneven pacing.
• Frame narrative resolution lands with a thud.
• Some cast members are underused, leaving segments feeling half-formed.

V/H/S/Mixtape is a flawed but fascinating entry in a franchise that refuses to die. It won't convert skeptics, and its 3/10 TMDb rating suggests casual viewers will bounce off hard. But for fans of the series - and for anyone who remembers the joy of a truly cursed mixtape - there's enough here to warrant a listen. Just don't expect every track to be a hit.