V/H/S/99 Breaks Shudder Streaming Record

Less than a week after it debuted on streaming service Shudder, V/H/S/99 has already broken a record for the service and has become the most-watched film debut for the streamer since its inception. Funnily enough, the record it has broken was previously held by the previous entry in the series, V/H/S/94, which debuted on the streaming service just last fall, leaving some fans wishing the series would get a wider theatrical release. This latest film marks the fifth entry in the franchise, which kicked off back in 2012, and a sixth film in the series has already been announced. 

“By every metric V/H/S/99 has been a wild success, with subscribers watching in record numbers and debating with each other on social media about which segment of the anthology was their favorite. We are thrilled that the revival of the series continues to be embraced by our audience, and already looking forward to next year‘s V/H/S/85,” Craig Engler, GM of Shudder, shared in a statement.

Per press release, “Shudder Original Film V/H/S/99 — the fifth installment in Studio71’s blockbuster V/H/S film franchise and the second to premiere exclusively on Shudder since the streamer revived the franchise last year — debuted to record numbers in its opening weekend. Through its first four days of release, the film registered 28% more unique viewers than the previous record holder, V/H/S/94, which premiered on Shudder in 2021. V/H/S/99 also accounted for nearly 22% of all on-demand streams on Shudder during the same time period and was AMC+’s #1 most-watched movie of the weekend.

“In V/H/S/99, a thirsty teenager’s home video leads to a series of horrifying revelations. The film features five new stories from filmmakers Maggie Levin (Into The Dark: My Valentine), Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City), Flying Lotus (Kuso), Tyler MacIntyre (Tragedy Girls), and Joseph & Vanessa Winter (Deadstream). V/H/S/99 harkens back to the final punk rock analog days of VHS, while taking one giant leap forward into the hellish new millennium.

“Shudder recently announced the greenlight of a sixth installment of the found footage anthology, V/H/S/85, with genre filmmakers David Bruckner (Hellraiser, The Night House), Scott Derrickson (The Black Phone, Sinister), Gigi Saul Guerrero (Bingo Hell, Culture Shock), Natasha Kermani (Lucky), and Mike P. Nelson (Wrong Turn), set to debut in 2023.

“The franchise’s previous installment, V/H/S/94, also debuted to rave reviews from film critics, with The New York Times calling the film ‘a grisly, gory gem,’ and a 90% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. V/H/S/94 continues to be a top-performing title nearly a year later.”

V/H/S/99 is now streaming on Shudder.

What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!