Once upon a time, not so long ago, found footage films included the discovery of a VHS or DV tape. As technology has advanced, the footage that is ‘found’ is now almost always something to do with a file on the internet, most commonly linked to someone’s YouTube channel or social media account. The last few years have also seen a shift away from footage that takes place over a number of days, to some kind of live-streamed event gone awry. The move to a continuous stream of video foregoes the necessity for lots of set-up, and when staged within the guise of a YouTube channel, makes it easy to stuff a load of exposition in early and then let the scares begin.
The latest in live-streamed found-footage films is SXSW’s Deadstream. Written and directed by Vanessa and Joseph Winter, Deadstream places a cancelled vlogger into a haunted house as he tries to win back his legion of followers. Shaun Ruddy (played by co-writer and director Joseph Winter) hosts the YouTube channel ‘Wrath of Shaun’, a platform where he does lots of pranks and silly dares. After one of his pranks received an angry backlash, Shaun was forced out of the spotlight. He is eager that his return stunt will see him welcomed back to the internet, but he doesn’t expect the building he ventures into to actually be haunted.
Following in the trend set out in films like Spree and DASHCAM , Deadstream makes Shaun as irritating a protagonist as it can. Whilst he’s not as unhinged as Joe Keery’s Kurt, or as controversially opinionated as Annie Hardy’s Annie, Shaun isn’t an easy character to connect with. He’s exceptionally self-involved, whiny (even before the supernatural elements kick in), and completely over-the-top with his presenting style. He’s also incredibly stupid. In a move to sell the ordeal to his audience, Shaun is seen removing the temptation to flee by destroying his car and highlighting how remote the location is. Once this self-sabotage has happened, it’s not hard to predict that at some point later, he’ll regret that decision. Through all of Shaun’s trials and tribulations the audience never fully warm to him, but similarly to both Kurt and Annie, that works in the viewer’s favour. It’s an excuse to not have to feel guilty for enjoying the punishment that Shaun goes through.
In terms of story progression, tone and style, for the bulk of the first half, Deadstream plays like any other live-stream horror, but once the horror aspects intensify and the haunting begins in earnest, the movie hits its stride. From these moments on, Deadstream changes from the more typical fright fest to a gloriously gloopy modern-day riff on Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead. The low budget production and practical effects draw an obvious comparison to Raimi’s work, but it’s also Deadstreams tonal changes that display plenty of similarities. Like Raimi’s classic, Deadstream effortlessly transitions from scare moments to gross gags, meaning that the audience will be squealing in one scene and guffawing in the next. Deadstream is the perfect midnight movie to entertain the masses as it ramps up the fun and fluids to create a modern spin on classic creepy chaos.
Deadstream
Summary
Evil Dead for the livestream generation, Deadstream is gloriously gross and fiendishly fright filled.
Deadstream was reviewed at SXSW 2022. Deadstream arrives on Shudder from 6th October.
