Deadstream

With Deadstream you may initially wonder oh no not another entry in the social media sub-genre that are becoming ubiquitous. But doubts are soon dispelled by our man whom you may come to love to hate.

Making excellent use of technology writers and directors Joseph and Vanessa Winter skilfully blends the absurdity of the online ‘star’ self-creator Shawn Ruddy (Joseph Winter) who after a public disgrace is looking to revive his fortunes and follower numbers.

He hits on the idea of livestreaming from the most haunted house in America once owned by poet Mildred Pratt. This is a slick operation which includes his centre of operations and cameras set up around the house so the viewer gets both Shawn’s POV and a more traditional
film experience though still very much within the scope of social media tech.

At first there’s a goofiness about it as Shawn doesn’t appear to be getting anywhere and just reacting to his followers’ comments that appear on screen. He’s later joined by fan Chrissy (Melanie Stone) which is where the film starts to get into gear with some true horror and plenty of laughs as Shawn annoys the ghost (that has a habit of sticking its finger up his nose) and gets himself into a nightmare of a mess. Which he can’t get out of easily as the idiot has sabotaged his car in an act of hubris.

There are other presences in the house adding to Shawn’s dilemma. And it’s a dilemma as the Winters have developed Shawn’s character much more than is usual for this type of film. It’s not positive as he comes over as self-absorbed so the multiple knocks he receives register high on the comedy scale, and not that much sympathy.

A vague companionship to Dashcam can be drawn with the POV and onscreen follower chatter but this strikes a much more satirical note than that film.

Deadstream was presented at London FrightFest in August and will be available on Shudder from 6 October.