Deadstream
Internet personality Shawn Ruddy has built his dubious career on humiliation in the name of attention, a grown man who says “for realsies” when attempting to convey that he has momentarily dropped his hyperactive public persona to make an honest statement about the failings which saw him dropped by his sponsors, perhaps reflecting the level of emotional maturity of his target audience.
A new sponsor in place after six months in the wilderness following a stunt which saw a homeless man hospitalised, Ruddy is ready to relaunch Wrath of Shawn by livestreaming as he faces his greatest fear, a night alone in “Death Manor” near Payson, Utah, described as “the most haunted house in the United States,” or at least the most haunted which hasn’t already monetised its reputation.
Built in 1880 and abandoned since 1956 during which time it played host to a dozen suicides, Ruddy’s sleepless night is chronicled in Deadstream, written and directed by Joseph and Vanessa Winter, the former also starring as Ruddy, playing to his audience and overacting every reaction for the sake of likes and engagements as hopes for some vague noises in the dark give the unfortunate host and his viewers more than they expected.
The opening scenes testing the viewer’s ability to tolerate an attention seeking narcissist who exploits anyone he interacts with, Deadstream is that frequently favoured yet most difficult to achieve favourite of low budget horror, a variant of found footage which at least justifies the need to keep streaming (he won’t get paid if he quits) and the multiple cameras, Ruddy using both a remote control wristband and automated software to trigger the edits between his primary and motion sensitive cameras, with a spooky soundtrack mix ready to roll on cue.
Fortunately, beyond that challenge of the moronic introduction the endurance test is solely Ruddy’s as the film becomes a fast-moving mashup of The Blair Witch Project, Grave Encounters and The Evil Dead as the tortured souls trapped within the graffitied walls slip out of closets and from beneath mildewed sheets to torture their uninvited guest with whispered curses, violence and unpublished poetry.
The apparitions unpleasant in both appearance and the indignities they inflict upon Ruddy, the practical effects of Ruddy’s tally of scrapes and bruises and the grudging ghosts who manifest to inflict them are impressive, as is the derelict location even though the architecture and brickwork mark it as considerably later than the attributed date, Deadstream perhaps not aiming for originality but monstrously fun in its resurrection and execution of familiar scenarios.
Deadstream will be available on Shudder from Thursday 6th October
