A Different Kind of Wrath: A Review Of New Found Footage Flick “Deadstream”
Shawn Ruddy (Joseph Winter) is lucky this thing doesn’t have a sharpie.
Found footage is the KISS of horror subgenres. Just when you think it’s run its course, a new crop of films come along to prove it’s staying power. But instead of numerous “farewell” tours, found footage gets a great movie or two that comes along to make amateurs think they can hit the same heights. Ten years ago, we had “Chronicle,” “The Sacrament” (maybe Ti West’s best film. Fight me), and the “V/H/S” series.” This October, Deadstream will breathe more life into a subgenre more than a few of us are sick of.
Shawn Ruddy is famous for hosting “Wrath of Shawn,” a “Jackass”-type online show where he does intentionally stupid things for likes. In the wake of a scandal, Shawn tries to win back viewers by spending a night in a house nicknamed “Death Manor” while livestreaming (get it?) the whole time. Will it be his last bad idea?
…it could really be one of a few last bad ideas.
Written, directed, and co-produced by Vanessa and Joseph Winter (who also plays Shawn), “Deadstream” is hilarious. Most of the scares appear in the back end, but there are a ton of knowing jokes about influencer culture and found footage films, including some great gags involving t-shirts. And that’s what sets “Deadstream” apart from other found footage films. It’s very visual! There’s not much extraneous shaky cam and we can clearly see what’s happening to Shawn as he’s tormented by various ghouls. There are some neat makeup designs on display, even if some of them lose a bit of muster in close-ups.
Speaking of close-ups, the Winters are obvious Sam Raimi fans. You’ll laugh as the deck is stacked so high against Shawn then recoil as it comes crashing down. His terrible mistakes (like removing the spark plugs from his car and padlocking himself in the house) are frontloaded within the first 10 minutes so we don’t have to worry about him making them later when he’s faced with demons and some gross-out gags (dirty stuff is so much more visceral in found footage).
L-R: Vanessa and Joseph Winter
The performances in the subgenre are never really a highlight, especially when so much of what happens is shown to us by offscreen characters. So it’s that much more remarkable that Shawn is one of the funniest characters in a horror film I’ve seen in years. It would have been easy to make him an asshole you can’t wait to see get his comeuppance, but the Winters have calibrated him to be dumb schmuck with just the right amount of naivete. Even the reason for the aforementioned scandal isn’t quite what you’re expecting. Shawn seems pathologically incapable of self-reflection, which pays dividends, especially in a film about a livestream.
If you see one Sam Raimi-inspired horror film featuring a canceled celebrity being tormented by the inhabitants of a dark, foreboding house…well, see two. “Barbarian” is really good, but it’s not half as fun as “Deadstream.” 2022 has another jewel in its crown.
Deadstream is available to stream on Shudder on October 6, 2022.
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