#melanie stone

[brokehorrorfan]

Broke Horror Fan presents Deadstream on limited edition, fully functional VHS! Our latest tape is on sale now at Witter Entertainment.

The 2022 Shudder Original horror-comedy arrives on VHS in slipcase packaging. 25 orange tape variants autographed by filmmakers Joseph & Vanessa Winter with a Wrath of Shawn sticker are also available.

Each tape includes an exclusive introduction by Joseph & Vanessa Winter plus special features after the film: Monsters & Makeup FX and On the Set.

For optimal VHS viewing, the film has been cropped from its original aspect ratio to 4:3 full frame. It is officially licensed from Shudder and approved by Joseph & Vanessa Winter.

A disgraced internet personality attempts to win back his followers by livestreaming himself at an abandoned haunted house. When he accidentally unleashes a vengeful spirit, his comeback event becomes a real-time fight for his life.

[minilev]

[deep-love-fan-blog]

Also this?????????!?!?!?!?

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Deadstream (2022)

Deadstream (2022)

Not rated

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/10/review-deadstream-2022.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

Deadstream is a movie I'd heard a lot about when it first came out, but never got around to watching until now. A found footage horror/comedy in which the main hook is that the protagonist is livestreaming everything for his fans, this film is largely a one-man show for Joseph Winter, who co-wrote and co-directed it with his wife Vanessa Winter. It is an often hilarious spoof of the culture surrounding YouTubers and livestreamers paired with a genuinely scary supernatural horror movie, one where the two sides come together to create the feel of a topsy-turvy Scooby-Doo episode, with ghostly frights and impressive creature effects paired with self-awareness and a moral parable out of The Twilight Zone. I did have a few nagging questions about some things, but other than that, this is perfect spooky season viewing for somebody who wants a movie that's actually scary but still fairly lighthearted.

Our protagonist Shawn Ruddy is an internet personality known for livestreams on a fictional site called LivVid in which he, a guy who's "afraid of everything," pulls dangerous and often illegal stunts with the stated purpose of overcoming his fears. In truth, however, it's all for the clicks and views, as evidenced when one stunt he pulled ended with a homeless man winding up in the hospital, forcing him to record an insincere apology video in order to salvage his career and reputation. Six months later, he's making his triumphant comeback to streaming with what he calls his most dangerous stunt yet: spending the night in Death Manor, a house in rural Utah where several people have died and which is reputed to be haunted. Sure enough, the place has ghosts up to the rafters, and naturally, they don't want him around. Unfortunately, as a self-imposed challenge to make sure he wouldn't back out and lose sponsors, he locked the door to the house and threw away the key, meaning that he's trapped in there for the night even though his life is now in clear danger.

The basic concept is ingenious, and a very modern twist on found footage for the age of livestreaming. The film is not subtle in its parodies of people like PewDiePie (who Shawn mentions by name) and MrBeast, aggressively mercenary and often unethical entertainers whose only qualms come from the possible legal or social consequences of their actions, not any sense of right and wrong. Everything we see of Shawn in the first act paints him as a deeply phony person who doesn't take the situation he's in seriously, but is pretending he does for the people watching. He aggressively watches his language (and bleeps it out when he does curse) to avoid saying any bad words that might get his videos demonetized, but he also built his career on doing things that should not make him a role model for children, the product of hyper-literal online moderation systems that fixate on dirty but otherwise harmless language and sexuality while letting genuinely toxic behavior slide. Whenever he grabs some of the energy drink that's sponsoring his show, he always knows to make sure the logo on the label is facing the camera so his viewers can see that he's enjoying a healthy, energizing can of Awaken Thunder. Once the actual ghosts come out, of course, this demeanor starts to crack as genuine fear enters his voice, culminating in a breakdown where he realizes what a terrible person he's been. It's still very much a comedy too, of course. Even during his big breakdown, Shawn still brings up, without any prompting, a racially-charged stunt he did in the past that he was criticized for in order to insist that he's not racist. Watching this, I got the sense that Joseph and Vanessa Winter have Thoughts about the crop of influencers who have risen up on sites like YouTube and Twitch, with Shawn serving as a symbol of everything that people find rotten about those sites and their personalities. Joseph's performance walks a fine line, making him enough of a jackass that I wanted to see him suffer but still lending him enough humanity that I wanted him to survive. Shawn is not exactly a likable guy, but he's not a one-dimensional caricature, and making him come across as an ignorant doofus instead of actively malicious oddly enough makes the satire sting harder. There is an actual person beneath the character he plays online, but the line between the real man and the character has been blurred by the pressures of online fame pushing him to go further and further in pursuit of the constant high.

Beyond Shawn, most of the living human characters we see are the people watching his stream, some of whom record videos in order to give him advice and let him know the house's history and that of the various ghosts within it, a fun use of the livestreaming conceit to let us know that Shawn's nightmare is being broadcasted to the world and that people are reacting to it with both horror and gallows humor. The only person Shawn actually meets face-to-face is Chrissy, a fan of his who followed him to the house and knows a lot more about what's actually happening than she lets on. I don't want to spoil anything except to say that I was able to figure out pretty quickly what her actual deal was, but I can say that Melanie Stone (who worked with the Winters again that same year on V/H/S/99 in one of that film's best segments) made Chrissy an exceptionally memorable character. From the moment we meet her, we see that she's kind of unhinged and clearly has a hidden agenda, one that Shawn is right to be suspicious of. She was an excellent companion for Shawn, her weirdness treading the line between hilarious and creepy and often managing to be both at the same time. Whenever Stone was on screen, I knew I was in for something good.

Finally, there are the scares. This was filmed in a house that's reputed to be haunted in real life, and the Winters exploited that to the fullest, making heavy use of its dark, dingy environments to make it feel like a place where Shawn would be in danger exploring even if there weren't any ghosts around. As for the ghosts themselves, all of them are realized with creative practical effects work that gives us a hint as to the awful ways in which they died. Mildred, the house's first occupant, gets the most screen time out of them and the most ways to torment Shawn. An heiress and failed poet in life who killed herself after her lover (who also published her poems) died, she turns out to have a number of uncanny similarities to Shawn, the both of them having pursued fame in their respective times to the point that Shawn even compares her to himself as an old-timey version of an influencer. She has a creepy look that the film makes the most of as she stalks and taunts Shawn, serving as a highly entertaining antagonist with a flair for the dramatic. The other ghosts, ranging from a young boy with his deformed conjoined twin growing out of him to a bloated woman to a 1950s cop to a man covered in moss, were all imposing presences with appearances that called to mind zombies more than ghosts. This did raise a few questions with how they were presented as corporeal presences in the house who Shawn is seemingly able to fight with normal weapons, even though Mildred is shown to require a special ritual to defeat her for good. That said, the vagueness felt like the point here, like Shawn had no idea what to do either and was just winging it as he fought to survive.

The Bottom Line

Deadstream was a lightweight but incredibly fun horror/comedy whose premise is golden in its simplicity, and which largely fulfills it thanks to a pair of great performances, cool ghosts, and its sense of humor. This is excellent spooky season viewing, and between this and their work on V/H/S/99, I'm excited to see whatever movie the Winters are working on next.

[onenakedfarmer]

Currently Watching

DEADSTREAM Joseph Winter and Vanessa Winter USA, 2022

[sporadicivanvannorman]

image ID: Ivan Van Norman leans over the We’re Alive: Frontier table, reaching over a map with minis on it. In the background, Melanie Stone and Josh Petersdorf watch. 

[scaredycatscreeches]

31 Scary Movies in March Day Six: Deadstream

One of my favorite things going into Deadstream is how it’s set up from audience perspective. Sure, we follow the main character. But it’s kinda like we’re part of the movie as the audience, in a way. It’s a different type of found footage, a more modern take on the genre. I’ll be honest, this movie was fantastic. I really enjoyed watching this one.

I like that the main character is a pretty good depiction of a controversial YouTuber/internet creator doing whatever they can to stay relevant. The guy’s name (Shawn Ruddy) even sounds like what you’d expect for a cringey, canceled Youtuber.  I love all of the obvious bad decisions the character makes in his journey to regain his lost fame. This even reminds me of a youtube video I would watch at three in the morning against my better judgment. 

Super intense stuff here. Also what is up with found footage films and bathrooms? (I am referring to Grave Encounters.) Found Footage is something I don’t normally mess with them because I am a wimp!

Since this movie just came out, I do not want to share too much about this movie. Just watch it for yourself!

[stuff-diary]

Deadstream

Movies watched in 2022

Deadstream (2022, USA)

Directors & Writers: Vanessa Winter & Joseph Winter

Mini-review:

I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into with this movie, but it was actually a fun watch. I'm a sucker for horror-comedies, and this one pretty much ticks all the boxes of what I look for in this subgenre. It's clear that the filmmakers didn't have much money to work with, but they made the most of it and there are several grotesquely memorable and funny scenes. There is also some pretty creative puppetry and practical vfx work going on here, which is something I'm always thankful for when it comes to horror.

[assortedmelons]

Celebrity Melons

[brokehorrorfan]

Broke Horror Fan presents Deadstream on limited edition, fully functional VHS! Our latest tape goes on sale next Friday, July 26, at 12pm ET/9am PT via Witter Entertainment.

The 2022 Shudder Original horror-comedy arrives on VHS in slipcase packaging. 25 orange tape variants autographed by filmmakers Joseph & Vanessa Winter with a Wrath of Shawn sticker will be available.

Each tape includes an exclusive introduction by Joseph & Vanessa Winter plus special features after the film: Monsters & Makeup FX and On the Set.

For optimal VHS viewing, the film has been cropped from its original aspect ratio to 4:3 full frame. It is officially licensed from Shudder and approved by Joseph & Vanessa Winter.

A disgraced internet personality attempts to win back his followers by livestreaming himself at an abandoned haunted house. When he accidentally unleashes a vengeful spirit, his comeback event becomes a real-time fight for his life.

About Shudder: AMC Networks’ Shudder is a premium streaming video service, super-serving members with the best selection in genre entertainment, covering horror, thrillers and the supernatural. Shudder’s expanding library of film, TV series, and Original Content is available on most streaming devices in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Over the last few years, Shudder has introduced audiences to groundbreaking and critically acclaimed films including Rob Savage’s Host, Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona, Phil Tippett’s Mad God, Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge, Joko Anwar’s Satan's Slaves, Josh Ruben’s Scare Me, Kyle Edward Ball’s Skinamarink, Christian Tafdrup’s Speak No Evil, Chloe Okuno’s Watcher, Demián Rugna‘s When Evil Lurks, and the latest in the V/H/S film anthology franchise, as well as the fan favorite TV series The Boulet Brothers' Dracula, Greg Nicotero’s Creepshow, and The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs.

[vulgar03]

doodles + music hcs/what i think they’d listen too hehe..

[wouteke]

JASPER THE (GRILL)MASTER

[chicayn22]

Sexiest Actress Tournament - Round 1

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[imaslave4u]

Rolling Stone (July, 1997) 

[rose-the-witch1]

I want all of your favorite song artists you can remember so we can bond over music in the reblogs and replies

I'll start:

The Rolling Stones

AC/DC

Mother Mother

Steam Powered Giraffe

Fish in a Birdcage

Caravan Palace

Cosmo Sheldrake

MGMT

Gabriel Templar

Melanie Martinez

Toby Fox (yes, video game soundtrack creators count)

FOLLOWERS, GO WILD! REBLOG THIS WITH YOUR FAVORITES! TAG YOUR FRIENDS!

and just so this gets some traction i'm tagging @aub-reality @rylielightbulb and @mansplain-manipulate-malewife

also there's no limit on artists you can remember. it can be 50, it can be 5, just list some