Hot on the heels of writer and director team Vanessa and Joseph Winter’s September release Deadstream is the new V/H/S/99. Both titles are part of the Halloween slate for the horror streaming platform Shudder. Eager fans of both haunted house stories and influencer-horror should get a kick out of what this new filmmaking team has to offer. Coming somewhere between Grave Encounters and Dashcam, the POV horror movie follows confessed douchebag, Shawn, who has fallen out of grace with his followers.

Not shying away from being kicked while he’s down, Shawn (Joseph Winter) wants to show his audience how sorry he is. He pours forth a heartfelt story online. Shawn recounts his childhood and his fear of both horror movies and ghosts and plans a night of terror inside a known haunted house. To back up his story, tidbits on the abandoned broken-down estate’s history are played out in graphic detail.

POV Movies With a GoPro

Deadstream has all the usual fare included in a haunted house movie. The title does strip back what is usually offered to balance out the gags opting for humorous spirits instead of particularly scary ones. Shawn’s production equipment is a good addition though. There is a bit of an upgrade from the found footage handheld camera usually seen in films like this. Here we are treated to a strap-on GoPro-type headgear. What’s more, Shawn has multiple cameras that don’t confine you to one person’s shaky-cam vision. Horror tropes galore fill the Deadstream movie with the familiarity that made this worthy of a few laugh-out-loud moments.

All things considered, there were only a few minor faux pas in the set design. Filmmakers went to great lengths to cover set pieces in dust and, add realistic embellishments, and then at other times, they forgot which just made it more noticeable.

The comedy-infused horror elements are suited to most styles. Other gags are nothing more than toilet humor, but there are plenty of more astute jokes as well as cute horror movie references that even out the scorecard. I did find the proceedings a little exhausting about halfway through while waiting for the finale. Nonetheless, Winters’ screams and increasing triage moments went down a treat.

Deadstream Where to Watch

Deadstream is streaming on: