DEATH STREAMER (2024)
Label: Full Moon Features
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 72 Minutes 14 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.00:1)
Director: Charles Band
Cast: Aaron McDaniel, Emma Massalone, Sean Ohlman
In the Charles Band directed Death Streamer (2024), the second release of Full Moon Feature's Pulp Noir line-up, a m modern-age vampire Arturo Valenor (Sean Ohlman) uses the internet and technologically smart glasses to live stream the seduction and murder of women, where he has amassed quite a following. See you can never undersell the appeal of sex and murder, and he's really tapped into something, I mean besides these young women veins. He's aided by his female companion/tech support chic Li Chen (Chili Jean), and an unnamed creep in a gimp mask (Travis Stoner). This live stream catches the attention of a trio of live streamers, hosts Alex Jarvis (Aaron McDaniel), Edwina (Emma Massalone) and Juniper (Kaitlin Moore) who run a supernatural investigation themed show called the Church of Chills, which they broadcast from an abandoned church, which they seem to live in as well, sleeping in tents on the premise. When they accidentally tune into the vampire's feed they're intrigued and set about exposing the truth of the channel, livestreaming the broadcast on their own live stream, and digging into whether the murders depicted are real, and if the bloodsucking host of the live stream is truly a vampire or not. They become more intrigued when they notice a small detail about where the vampire bites his victims, which leads them to believe what they are seeing is an actual murder by a real vampire. As they go down that rabbit hole they find that the vampire in none too pleased by the new found exposure, and has sets his sights on the trio who are now stalked by the centuries old tech-savvy vampire.
Not a bad watch, it doesn't really break any new ground or do anything groundbreaking, but it's a well-made low-budget Full Moon production, on par with the previous Pulp Noir entry Quadrant, maybe even a bit better. The acting from the young cast is pretty decent, but not great either, but on the plus side there's plenty of bloodletting and even more nudity, which is sort of what you would expect from a Full Moon production. The biggest beef I had was I felt that the vampire was weak sauce, not charismatic, not scary, and lacks any of the the creepy charisma and threat of Full Moon's greatest vampire, Radu from the Subspecies series.
That said, a decent enough watch and totally on par with contemporary Full Moon offerings, but it didn't set the world on fire either. If you are a Full Moon devotee, among which I would count myself, this is a fun watch, but if you're coming in cold and are unaccustomed to the Full moon scrappy style and the low-budget glory of a Charles Band production you might be a bit disappointed. Another drawback is that it is mostly set inside the church, which is apparently a real church that Charles Band purchased in Cleveland Ohio, probably nearby the Full Moon Manor, which is also located in Cleveland. The look of the film is low-budget but slick, it's handsomely shot by cinematographer Thomas L. Calloway who worked on Slumber Party Massacre II, Critters III, Demon Wind, Action U.S.A, Night of the Scarecrow, and Feast, with some nice atmospheric lighting and shadow, he does a lot with what was certainly very little. There are also some good practical blood effects, but less effective are the digital effects, a lot of which looks like prompts fed into an A.I. art generator, those being the look of the live stream as seen through the vampires smart glasses, the intro to the Church of Chills which is seen far too much for my money, as well as a terrible looking horde of bats, and the way that a vampire sort of dissolves after being staked all look pretty terrible. The bats in the Full Moon promo look far superior to what we get in the actual film. So, the practical stuff, the nudity, the basic premise, I thought it was enjoyable, just not great, and certainly on par with Quadrant, if not a bit better. I know there is a black and white noir version of this streaming on Full Moon's streaming platform, and I liked it enough that I may have to check it out, I bet some of the questionable CGI and digital effects might be smoothed over by the monochromatic presentation, though I do wish they had included the B&W version on the disc.
Audio/video: Death Streamer (2024) arrive on region-free Blu-ray from Full Moon Features in 1080p HD widescreen framed in 2.00:1 widescreen. The digital source looks terrific, colors are string, black levels are solid, and depth and clarity were pleasing. As usual FM only offer lossy audio, we get both Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround with optional English subtitles. The tracks are clean and well-balanced, dialogue sounds fine, as does the synth score by Jonathan Walter (Bring Her To Me, Quadrant).
Extras include the 15-min Videozone: Behind The Scenes which includes auditions from the cast and some exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. We also get a 10-min Death Streamer - Los Angeles Premiere, plus Trailers for the film and other Full Moon properties. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided wrap, which true to most Full Moon flicks, looks a lot cooler than the actual film, but I will say everything you see in the illustrated artwork is actually seen in the film.
Special Features:
- Videozone: Behind The Scenes (25:28) includes auditions for the cast, behind-the-scenes,
- Full Moon Features Trailers: Death Streamr (1:37), Quadrant (2:04), Bad CGI Gator (1:52), Subspecies 5 (2:19), Aimee: The Visitor (1:43), Bring Her To Me (1:44)
- Death Streamer: Los Angeles Premiere (9:41)
Screenshots from the Full Moon Blu-ray:
Buy it!
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