Ominous October - Deadstream (2022)

 
Streaming Service: Shudder
Movie Name/Year: Deadstream (2022)
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Length: 1h 27min
Rating: Unrated
Production/Distribution: Winterspectre Entertainment, Jared R Cook Productions, Stonehaven Entertainment, Blue Finch Films Releasing, Koch Films, Mis. Label, VOD Factory, Velvet Spoon, YES TV, Première TV Distribution, Shudder
Director: Vanessa Winter, Joseph Winter
Writers: Vanessa Winter, Joseph Winter
Actors: Ariel Lee, Cylia Austin-Lacayo, Hayden Gariety, Jason K. Wixom, Jaxon Harker, Joseph Winter, Marty Collins, Melanie Stone, Pat Barnett, Perla Lacayo

 
IMDb Blurb: A disgraced internet personality attempts to win back his followers by livestreaming one night alone in a haunted house. But when he accidentally pisses off a vengeful spirit, his big comeback event becomes a real-time fight for his life.

Cat’s Point of View:
When we watched the trailers for movies coming out this October, Deadstream caught my attention. I enjoy watching paranormal investigation shows now and again so the premise of Deadstream was right up my alley – and great for the beginning of the spooky season.
 
In addition to TV and streaming service paranormal content, I have been known to watch a few YouTube streamers’ videos now and again. I get a kick out of urban exploration videos sometimes. 

My point is that Deadstream latched on to this particular corner of paranormal “entertainment” that has a somewhat blurry line with “social influencer” and brought a fresh spin to the haunted house genre.
 
Let me tell you, this was a wild ride.

 
I got exactly what I expected from Deadstream, and then some. I laughed, rolled my eyes, and then even covered my eyes in a few places. There were good thrills and face-palm moments. What else would you expect when sending a cowardly guy into a legitimately haunted house alone? I believed everything they were selling me, and it was fabulous.
 
Deadstream got a phenomenal amount of mileage out of the practical effects and skillful editing. There were very few moments where CGI effects were necessary – and that’s a feat when you’re dealing with ghosts. I’d say a good 90% of the practical effects looked pretty good. 

With a lower-end budget, Deadstream exceeded my expectations. I caught an interview with the writing/directing team, and they revealed that a good number of the ‘creatures’ (or ghosts, as the case may be) were developed and created in the garage of the effects artist during the Covid-19 lockdown. I was impressed.

 
It was no surprise when the dynamic writing/directing couple of Vanessa Winter (Devil's Got My Back, Studio C, V/H/S/99: To Hell and Back) and Joseph Winter (Abandoned in Space, It Came From the Lab, V/H/S/99: To Hell and Back) explained in the same interview that Deadstream was essentially a love letter to the creature features of the 80s, but with a modern streamer spin. I was really feeling the Evil Dead (1981) or Army of Darkness (1992) vibes. I can’t wait to see their segment in the anthology releasing later this month.
 
Joseph Winter also gets big kudos from me for taking on the lead role. He went all-in with his portrayal of the embattled streamer, Shawn. I appreciated the depth that they gave to the character beyond the activity shown in the haunted house framework. Melanie Stone (Chasing Shadows, We're Alive: Frontier, Cupid for Christmas) was also a fun addition to the small cast. I won’t give away spoilers, but I nearly jumped out of my skin a few times she appeared on the screen.

 
There were a lot of jump-scares. For this sort of production, I pretty much went in expecting to be startled every few minutes, so it wasn’t shocking or annoying. It’s just something to keep in mind while watching. I also have to hand it to this production team – for a “found footage” genre movie, Deadstream has steadier camera work than I was expecting…especially when the primary camera was attached to a moving person.  A little shaky-cam was unavoidable in this format, but it really wasn’t as bad as I was worried that it could be. 
 
I love a good horror comedy, and Deadstream was an absolute delight to kick off Ominous October. Join us this month for our spooky selections!
 
You can catch Deadstream premiering as a Shudder original starting Thursday, October 6^th.

 
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 92%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore – 66%
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 7.2/10
 
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5
 
Trust the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – R
 
Movie Trailer: