The Wasteland Reviewer

Stream (2024) Written Review

Don’t you love when you can tell that filmmakers absolutely love film? When you have a small-scale production company like Fuzz on the Lens Productions, you must have a passion to keep that train going. You can tell the team has a deep love for horror and all things that turn people’s stomachs. There is an obvious love for campy, gory practical effects as their latest venture, Stream, is filled to the brim with blood and guts. This new horror film is exactly what you want from a midnight showing with a group of people who just want to enjoy some campy B-horror excess. 

What are the elements that give Stream its personality? The first thing you will notice are all the over-the-top, bloody, gory kills. The set up is perfect to put them on display as a quiet hotel in the woods gets turned into an open buffet for masked killers with creative streaks. But most importantly, all these kills are streamed live for entertainment and open for bidding to make some serious cash. The wonderfully campy fun of Stream knowingly wicks at the audience when our main family checks into this murder hotel and they are advertising “GAME NIGHT” on the bulletin board. Once the film gets going, you see what the film is about. With each kill, the gore increases with some disgustingly fun practical effects that are quite wild. The film also has a dark sense of humor making for the perfect campy horror tone. There are certain elements of the film that are serious and need emotional weight which do feel odd next to the skipping campy killers running around this empty hotel. 

Does the story deliver along with this wild tone? With the overall concept, Stream delivers. There are plenty of wild twists and kills that make this killing spree streaming show element of the story work so well. The final scene of the film really drives home the film’s themes of how normal people (young parents with their kids for example) can sit and watch this for pleasure, which is horribly screwed up. This final sequence also sets up a bigger and twisted world which makes you want to see a sequel. But the heart of the film is the story of the Keenan family. The patriarch of the family is sad and nostalgic which leads to his wife renting the hotel to have this family vacation. Their teenage daughter is distant and constantly sneaking out and getting into trouble. The young son is distant in his own way as he sits and streams video games in his room all night. This horrific experience pulls them together and that makes for the strongest emotional elements of the story. There are plenty of other running threads and characters (probably a few too many) but one interesting one is about a retired cop who teams up with the protagonistic father. 

How about this wild ensemble cast? This film is full of horror film alumni which makes for plenty of fun Easter Eggs for the audience to appreciate if they are in the know. The biggest issues for this ensemble are the number of characters (which does leave many of them time to stand out) and the obvious inconsistencies in performances throughout the film. The father and mother (including Halloween franchise alumna Danielle Harris) are good anchors for the film. Re-Animator alumnus Jeffrey Combs makes for a fun and campy antagonist running the show. The real acting standout is Tim Reid who portrays that retired cop. His presence and authenticity outshine everyone else. Other fun minor appearances from Dee Wallace and Mark Holton make for some fun moments. Tony Todd is in the film briefly but makes the most with that amazing voice of his and his intimidating presence. Most of the rest of the cast are inconsistent and unfortunately don’t always feel comfortable and authentic at the moment. 

Is Stream the kind of late-night horror movie worth getting your friends together and checking out? Honestly, that is the most ideal way to experience this campy fun time. This is a film that has a lot of flaws. There is also an excess of blood, guts, and gore that will turn many away. But if you love the classic camp of what horror can be and are ready to get your stomach turned inside out, look for that late-night showing of Stream and enjoy the ride.