Deadstream

Streaming on Youtube or other social medias is very popular all over the world. People love to stream talking about video games, movies, sports, art,  historical events and so on. And it seems that especially during the pandemic this was a great way to gather people, as a lot of countries had very strict Covid rules. And in moments like these people had the chance to see each other in smaller groups and even limit their social life to make sure people stay safe, where streaming turned out to be a great way to make it possible. It seems that it is still very popular to stream, and no matter what hobbies you have you can find a streamer that will fit your taste. One of the most odd streamers i have come across ( not even knowing people would stream about this ) is a streamer who calls herself Tiffany Liew on YouTube. She does live streaming videos where she is knitting ( yes you heard that right ), and if you love knitting then i guarantee you will love her YouTube channel. When i said odd i didn´t mean anything negative towards Tiffany Liew herself, it´s just that she does something completely different as a streamer and i think that is cool. Am i good at knitting? No i am terrible, but if i ever want to learn i will definetely check out her videos from now on. If you are curious to see her channel and her content, just write in Tiffany Liew on YouTube and you should find her easily. When we talk about streamers or let´s even say vloggers, there are horror films that includes this subject. Some films are alright while there is especially one film i really enjoy. And that is the 2014 found footage horror film Creep from director Patrick Brice. This film tells the story of videographer Aaron ( Patrick Brice ) who answers an online ad for one-day job in a remote town. The man who made the online ad, his name is Josef ( Mark Duplass ) and he wish to record a video before he dies. It turns out he has not long to live through a disease, so Aaron accept the job to make Josef final wish come true. But as they begin working on this video, Aaron notice that everything is not right with Josef. As a found footage horror film i have to say Creep is really well made and definetely worth picking up on DVD or Blu Ray. Speaking of streaming, i have heard about a found footage horror film called Deadstream. I read some reviews late last year that made the film interesting so i finally got a chance to check it out. Is this the found footage horror film everyone should be watching, or is Deadstream just as horrible as the 2017 film The Clapper ( a film i still don´t understand why it was even released ) ?

Internet vlogger Shawn Ruddy ( Joseph Winter ) isn´t as popular online as he wants to be, so to become more popular he comes up with the idea to visit one of the most haunted houses ever and record everything. At first everything seems pretty calm, until he notice that something strange is going on in here.    

Since this is pretty much a one man vlogger found footage horror film, you know you won´t see many characters in the entire film. And to be able to make that work you have to have an interesting story and a great main character as well. In the case of Deadstream i do have some positive things to say and especially one detail that i did not like about this film. But let us begin with the positive details, and i especially enjoy the lead character Shawn played by actor Joseph Winter. As a vlogger and a streamer you can not deny that he have a big passion for his work. This character is actually quite funny in some scenes, because he´s not as tough as he might seem. And it is in the scenes when he panic´s where the fun begins, that he clearly wasn´t prepared to meet any evil entity or spirit in this haunted house that he visits. What about the scary scenes? Since this is a found footage film you can´t expect a lot of CGI effects, since it is only practical effects. And this is actually something i appreciate with this film that they don´t focus on using digital effects in the entire film. It actually helps the old story surrounding this house become more interesting. There is especially one scene where Shawn gets attacked what seems to be like some kind of demonic zombie ( not sure how i could explain it ) and the practical make up effects looks great. I love when they make a real effort to make details such as these work. So what is the negative part about this film? The house itself doesn´t look that spooky. I would have prefered if they made the house look like it used to be, without the graffiti painted walls. I understand it is supposed to look like a house no one have lived in for a very long time, but i think they could have done it much more effective than they do here. Otherwise this is not a bad found footage horror film, there are elements that works and will definetely please fans of this genre. Directors Joseph Winter and Vanessa Winter deliver a horror film that not only looks good but does have some entertaining moments. Deadstream shows that there is no limit of what you can do as a streamer or a vlogger, and that might be a warning sign that we probably shouldn´t take too many risks. Worth a watch, especially if you love vloggers.

Rating: DDD