Category: New Releases

In September 2023, Meta announced a collaboration with EssilorLuxottica to create new Ray-Ban smart glasses. Among its many features, users could livestream everything they saw while wearing the glasses, which caught Charles Band's attention. These glasses gave him the idea for his second film in his Pulp Noir series: a high-tech vampire movie. He used the Full Moon manor in Cleveland and a rundown church he bought and restored for locations. Despite being told buying this church was a bad idea, Band believed it had potential and continued renovating it. Along with directing, Band co-wrote the screenplay with longtime writer Neal Marshall Stevens, using the pseudonym Roger Barron. After assembling his cast, Band shot in the manor and newly renovated church for roughly six days. Following its announcement in mid-2024, Death Streamer hit streaming services and Blu-Ray/DVD/VHS in October.

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Rating

Synopsis

Alex Jarvis (Aaron McDaniel) hosts Church of Chills, a true crime podcast with Edwina (Emma Massalone) and Juniper (Kaitlin Moore). While editing their latest episode, Juniper comes across a mysterious livestream depicting a young woman's bloody death. Little do they know that a vampire named Arturo Valenor (Sean Ohlman) runs the live stream from his hidden lair. Along with his cohorts, Lil Chen (Chili Jean) and Thug (Travis Stoner), Arturo kills beautiful women and streams their deaths. As Alex, Edwina, and Juniper dig further into the streams, they realize that the deaths aren't staged. Soon, Arturo finds out that the Church of Chills crew knows about his streams and targets them. Alex, Edwina, and Juniper must fend for their lives as they try to tell the world that vampires exist. Will they succeed, or will they be the next victims of Arturo's death streams?

 

Review

Coming off of Quadrant, Death Streamer has much to live up to as the second Pulp Noir movie. I'm happy to say that, while the film has its issues, this is a solid entry in this series. It's not as strong as the Subspecies franchise from Full Moon's heyday, but it's an exciting twist. The idea of a killer live streaming their victims is a unique concept, especially with the killer being a vampire. Sure, in a realistic world, platforms like Twitch, Kick, or TikTok would instantly ban it. However, with the rise of supposed murder streams on the dark web, it's not out of the realm of possibility. Admittedly, the viewer and sub-count go wildly out of control without rhyme or reason, breaking the immersion. Granted, I can forgive a low budget movie for those mistakes more than a $200-million blockbuster doing the same thing.

Much like the last Pulp Noir movie, the acting is solid and easily the film's best aspect. Aaron McDaniel is an enjoyably egotistical and eccentric host that you initially love to hate. As time passes and things worsen, his more human side comes through, and you start liking him more. Emma Massalone and Kaitlin Moore work well off him, providing a mix of sincerity and sarcasm. You can believe that they've stuck around for a while despite their bickering and disagreements. While much of their dialogue is exposition-heavy, they at least deliver it in a way that makes it entertaining. Even with the goofy glasses, Sean Ohlman makes for an intimidating vampire that you can believe is a master seducer. Even the side characters, played by Chili Jean and Travis Stoner, have their standout moments.

Thomas L. Callaway's cinematography adds plenty of mood and atmosphere to the production, especially with the colored lighting. The lighting reminds me of the look of early Dario Argento movies or Joe Dante's The Howling. While the title theme gets played a bit too much, Jonathan Walter's score goes a long way to provide ambiance. Effects-wise, there are some decent practical effects, but there's also some wonky CGI that sticks out badly. Also, for all the boobs and blood on display, the kills are pretty routine, and none stand out in particular. Despite its 72-minute runtime, some scenes go for slightly longer than necessary, but it's an otherwise breezy watch. While I wouldn't call this a modern horror masterpiece, it's still a decent watch for Full Moon fans and newcomers. Overall, Death Streamer is a decent hi-tech vampire flick and a good sign for future Pulp Noir movies.

 

Buy Death Streamer from Full Moon Horror: https://bit.ly/3UwPDWu.

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