Deadstream (2022) Movie Review - Brilliant Modern Tribute to Evil Dead

Welcome to Knockout Horror and to another horror movie review. Today we are taking a look at Shudder original Deadstream. This is a supernatural horror comedy in the much maligned found footage style. Written and directed by Joseph and Vanessa Winter who you may recognise from the final segment of V/H/S/99. Deadstream stars Joseph Winter, himself, as a disgraced social media personality. Having recently lost monetisation. He decides to go to great lengths to recoup some popularity. Even if it means spending the night in a haunted house and live streaming the entire thing.

This is another horror for the 2020s, much like another movie we recently reviewed – Sissy. Deadstream acts as something of a reflection of this era of live streaming, social media influencers and TikTok. With nods to PewDiePie, energy drink sponsorships and prank videos. It might not age well in the references department but the comedy horror themes are as timeless as they come. Let’s take a look.

Written, Directed, Edited By and Starring…

The first thing I should point out, here, is just how low budget this movie is. Written, directed, produced and edited by the two person team of Joseph and Vanessa Winter. You could argue that there is a distinct possibility of our team spreading themselves too thin. Plenty of low budget productions feel as though they lack focus with some areas being much stronger than others and the movie, as a whole, suffering for it. Sometimes this is a case of an overly involved director, other times it is purely down to budget constraints. I’m pleased to say that isn’t the case with Deadstream.

Deadstream benefits from the creator’s tightly managed vision. The involvement, of the Winters, in all facets of production seems to keep the project completely focused. Deadstream is well aware of the type of horror it wants to be and it never strays from that vision. The result is a horror movie that is a veritable fair ground haunted house of pure unadulterated fun.

Deadstream is part of a new style of found footage that seems to have emerged in recent years. Presented as a live stream being viewed over a YouTube style website; this is Found Footage for the 2020s. Utilising a mix of traditional found footage techniques with a liberal dose of computer screen “screenlife” horror. Deadstream follows a blueprint that works incredibly well and will be immediately comfortable, and recognisable, to people who have spent any time online. The protagonists background with controversy is something familiar to many influencers. Meaning Ruddy’s motives for undertaking the daunting task at hand feel organic and believable. He needs to do this if he wants his fame back, the advertisers demand it.

Still an Effective Horror

The risk, with this type of presentation, is that the horror could be pushed to one side. There would be a serious temptation to make the main character the focus. Deadstream, thankfully, doesn’t fall into that trap. This is a movie that, very much, wants to do things the old fashioned way and the format is little more than a vehicle for what is, at its heart, a very traditional horror movie. There are distinct Evil Dead vibes here.

It’s full of supernatural beings, spirits, jump scares and everything that made the Evil Dead movies so damn enjoyable. Sure, it isn’t necessarily going to leave you wanting to sleep with the lights on but it does more than enough to be entertaining. It is almost a case of asking the question “What would happen if we gave Ash a selfie camera and sent him to the cabin?”. This is good, old fashioned, haunted house fun. You know the kind of thing? Ghosts and decrepit monsters chasing an unfortunately ill prepared victim in waiting type of stuff.

Visually Unique

The film’s live stream presentation sets it apart, visually. Comments fly by every time Shawn checks his stream chat. and his constant interactions with the camera make for effective story exposition. Numerous cameras set up in various rooms add to the scares. Videos sent in by viewers help build tension as well as progressing the story. It’s very effective stuff. It’s nice to see such a fresh take on the Found Footage genre.

The use of image stabilisation is noteworthy, as well. Despite said presentation, there is no shaky cam here. Sure, shots can be framed a little bizarrely but that’s completely expected when filmed from a head cam by a veritable amateur. With this being said, however, there is nothing to induce nausea. Scenes are, often, brightly lit and everything looks quite nice. This is never a boring movie to look at. That’s something found footage can be all too guilty of. Deadstream’s use of selfie cams, POV cameras and live stream views is very effective.

A Mix of The Old and New

Ruddy encounters a number of antagonists in his time at the house. Each of them an impressive show of practical effects. Cameras placed throughout the house are referenced to build tension and members of the viewing audience spot things that Ruddy misses which leads to some fun moments featuring Shawn viewing back the footage. I, particularly, enjoyed the exploration aspect. With Ruddy’s journey through the house offering new opportunities for scares and new ways to inject a bit of horror.

Of course, it would all be for nought if the person we are following was unbelievable and irritating. But Joseph Winter really nails the live streamer type personality. He’s as self obsessed, obnoxious, and loud as any of the people that make their crust on Twitch. Many of the laughs come from Shawn’s reactions to events; his high pitched scream is, arguably, overused, though. He’s not a particularly likeable character but that is very deliberate and the potential for laughs at his expense are fairly high. Laughs which come thick and fast thanks to Deadstream’s strong comedy focus.

Acting is strong, throughout. This is, for the most part, a one man show but it was nice to see Melanie Stone in a brief, but effective, role. You may know her from Joseph and Vanessa Winter’s recent V/H/S/99 segment To Hell and Back. Directing is decent. This is a fairly tight production and the run time of 87 minutes is spot on. It doesn’t feel too long and the action remains consistent for much of that length. The live stream presentation is perfectly done; this wouldn’t feel out of place on Twitch or YouTube. Ruddy’s interactions with the audience feel genuine and the comments can also be quite funny. All in all, it’s technically, very sound.

Should You Watch Deadstream?

You should definitely check out Deadstream. It is a brilliant mix of the old and the new. Heavily reminiscent of the Evil Dead series of films but with a modern twist. It is eminently watchable and enjoyable, throughout. Practical effects are fantastic, scares are frequent and the live stream presentation offers plenty of opportunities for laughs.

There are a few negatives here and there. I felt the last 25 minutes or so were a little bit uneven. This isn’t a particularly scary movie, leaning quite heavily on laughs to break the tension. The humour does wain as the movie goes on and Ruddy, as a character, will definitely divide people. With this being said, they are minor quibbles. Deadstream is just a huge amount of good old fashioned horror fun.