A disgraced internet personality attempts to win back his followers by livestreaming one night alone in a haunted house. But when he accidentally pisses off a vengeful spirit, his big comeback event becomes a real-time fight for his life.

For in-depth thoughts on Deadstream, please see my colleague Devin McGrath-Conwell’s review from its original SXSW festival premiere here.

Video Quality

Deadstream comes to Blu-Ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio. While the film may be limited when it comes to aesthetic wonder due to the conceit behind the story, it is great to have the film looking like the best version of itself in high definition. The footage captured by the various consumer-grade cameras (details of which you can find in the special features) looks as good as the source will allow, especially as the POV shifts from Shawn to other mounted cameras within the house intended to capture night vision and other specific moments.

The picture occasionally shifts to intentionally undefined murkiness during the darker moments, while other shots have some good depth and detail in the shadows. Fine detail can be found with some of the camera setups, such as picking up on some texture from the debris in the house and the practical makeup effects. The cinematography of the film is very intentional, and, while it may not always be a crystal clear presentation, this disc captures it as well as you could hope. The colors in the film are pretty solid with some hues shining through with nice saturation. We are thrilled this one made the cut for a Blu-Ray, as the format allows the film to shine.

Audio Quality

Deadstream comes to Blu-Ray with a really good DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that serves the movie well. The movie is not slavish when it comes to replicating the consumer grade audio experience, as the sound designers discuss in the supplements. There is a deliberate escalation of supernatural sound effects as Shawn gets further into his nightmare. The environmental sounds provide the perfect creepy atmosphere for the story. Surround channels get some excellent activity during the more chaotic scenes, and the low end of the track is especially active during the unsettling confrontations. Dialogue and sound effects remain in harmony where nothing gets muddled in the track. This track is quite precise and effective, and will be appreciated by fans who pick up this disc. There are English SDH and French subtitles provided.

Special Features

RLJE Entertainment has provided Deadstream with an optional sleek new SteelBook available exclusively at Wal-Mart that is truly lovely in person. The front features the poster artwork of the demonic claw holding the GoPro camera in its grasp, and the rear features Chrissy through grainy camera footage. The interior sports stills from the film including the wheel of “Stupid Things To Do” on one side and Shawn with the livestreams comments on the other. Photos of the SteelBook can be found at the end of this review.

Audio Commentary: Writers/Directors Vanessa & Joseph Winter, Producer/DP Jared Cook, and Actress Melanie Stone provide a great commentary track in which they discuss the many, many challenges faced during the production, how the film evolved from their initial idea, the collaborative nature of the production and more.

Monsters & Makeup FX – Bringing Deadstream To Life: A 14-minute featurette in which Makeup Department Head Mikaela Kester and Monster Creator & Puppeteer Troy Larson discuss their history with genre cinema, collaborating with the Winters, the concept they intended for this film, going completely practical with the effects, the creation of various moments and more.

On The Set Of Deadstream: A 12-minute behind-the-scenes look at the filming and creation of various moments from the movie including multiple angles of the same moment, hair & makeup preparation, shot setup and more.

Bloopers: A nearly four-minute collection of amusing mishaps and goofing around on set.

Daystream – Test Footage and Rehearsals: An 18-minute selection of footage that was filmed prior to production during the day which allowed the team to understand if the movie might play out like they imagined. This is provided with commentary with Vanessa & Joseph Winter.

The Cameras & Lighting of Deadstream: A nearly 12-minute conversation with Director of Photography Jared Cook in which he breaks down how the look of film was created from nearly all angles. At one point, Cook mentions that you could potentially take this information and make your own Deadstream.

Sound Designing and Mixing Deadstream: A 20-minute piece with Sound Designer & Mixers Doug May and Brenden Bytheway in which they discuss landing on the philosophy of the sound design for this project, the foley work, experiences during production and more.

True Scary Stories From The Set Of Deadstream: A six-minute piece in which you learn some of the real-life history of the house used during production and various crew members discuss their supernatural experiences while filming.

Deleted & Extended Scenes: There are eight unused moments totaling four minutes included here that prove to be an entertaining watch even if it is understandable why they were cut.

Final Thoughts

Deadstream is a very creative effort which truly sells the creepy hauntings going on inside this house, especially thanks to the decision to focus on practical special effects. Every craft element is completely on point which allows you to stay firmly planted in the reality of the story. The script itself is where we find ourselves a bit disappointed, as the comedic side of this “horror comedy” lacks any major laughs. Joseph Winter is almost too good at playing such an insufferable character, and his obnoxiousness leans more grating than humorous. Whenever Chrissy is on screen (in whatever form), things pick up as he has someone to bounce off of in a meaningful way. As a horror film, the story is a bit more successful thanks to the build-up of scares and the aforementioned practical effects. Overall the movie is solid, but we wish it could have nailed the tonal balance a bit better. RLJE Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and some terrific special features and packaging.

Deadstream will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray SteelBook, Blu-ray and DVD on July 18, 2023.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: RLJE Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.