Stream

Originally I didn't feel the need to write a review for this pretty run of the mill bad horror movie. But then I saw that this movie had suspiciously good reviews and felt compelled to counteract them.

This movie doesn't have much to offer aside from the many cameos from horror movie icons such as Tony Todd, Jeffrey Combs, David Howard Thornton, Felissa Rose, Bill Moseley, Danielle Harris, Tim Curry, and probably others that I'm forgetting. The gore is also pretty good if you like gorey movies.

The acting from the nameless actors is subpar, the script and plot is boring and stupid. A movie this bad needs to have a 90 minute runtime, stretching this to 120 minutes is an unforgivably arrogant move. Everything about this movie is so generic, nothing really stands out. Don't bother wasting your time with this one. Plot holes galore!

I was very impressed with the gore in the film, and there are some fun scenes, but everything that doesn't involve the killers is boring as hell. All of these characters are flatly written and acted with only the seasoned actors standing out.

The gore is the real star of the show and it is not disappoiting. There is a scene where two of the killers play tik tak toe on one of their victims. There is also a very impressive decapitation with one of the most realistic fake heads I have ever seen.

In the end, I am not mad I went to see it. I wish the film had been better but the gore does help you get through all of the other stuff.

I went into Stream without knowing anything about it. Having seen it, I feel like it's a mixed bag, with its strengths being awesome and its weaknesses dragging it down.

Stream falls into a horror subgenre with which I don't have much experience. But it seems like this movie was made for one purpose: carnage candy. It will surely delight fans of exploitation films. My jaw dropped several times at these shocking scenes.

Everything else to do with the horror elements are done well. The masks look great and there are some good jump scares and suspenseful moments. And the music is beastly.

As for the negatives, the best kills happen in the first half. My jaw rarely dropped in the second half. And anything not to do with the horror elements is poor. I try to give a little leeway for such a low budget independent film, especially when it comes to the acting talent available to them. But every conversation is overly long and awkward.

It's like they should cut here, but they continue for an additional 10 or 15 seconds. And this happens 70-80 times, multiple times within the same scene. I was bored and distracted, waiting for something fun to happen.

If that was cleaned up, and a few unnecessary scenes were deleted, Stream could have been a breezy 90-100 minutes. Instead, it's 130 minutes without warranting that runtime.

I had a solid time with this movie, and any fans of this subgenre should check it out. Support independent films.

(1 viewing, opening Wednesday 8/21/2024)

I liked Stream, it has more story than your typical slasher but that's ok, it's a nice change of pace that paid off in the end but can be a little tighter which would've helped more overall at the start. The best parts for sure are the who's who of horror alum, it made for a fun exciting watch of seeing who would come next and pop up. Had a great time on that front, also the practical gore was insane (obv Damien Leone) and it had a nice mix of scary and funny moments which made a rollercoaster or emotions. The killers masks were sick and the concept is really unique and can go anywhere. Some of the dialogue could've been better but the acting was good, especially from all the leads. I think the filmmakers are just touching the surface is what this franchise will be and I'm here for it. They laid a good foundation and I hope to see a sequel or prequel soon. This was made with a target slasher/horror audience in mind and it was accomplished.

In Stream, Danielle Harris plays the mother of a 16-year-old girl - that makes me feel very old! Harris is just one of the many horror icons that appear in this gory throwback to when horror didn't feel the need to be 'elevated' - just fun. And it almost succeeds. Almost.

The film takes place in a hotel, where the Keenans - father Roy (Charles Edwin Powell), mother Elaine (Harris), daughter Taylor (Sydney Malakeh) and son Kevin (Wesley Holloway) - have decided to take a family break. Unfortunately, the building has been chosen by an underground organisation as the latest location for an online game of murder, the hotel guests stalked and killed by masked maniacs, with the whole thing streamed live for the enjoyment of gambling sickos.

Director Michael Leavy is clearly aiming for the same level of success enjoyed by his pal Damien Leone (director of the Terrifier movies), even to the point of casting Art the Clown himself, David Howard Thornton, as one of the killers. Leone provides the splattery effects, so gorehounds are well catered for, but what lets the film down are the weak script, which is full of plot holes, the performances, an overlong runtime (at just over two hours), and the generic killers, which reminded me of The Purge and The Strangers, amongst others.

If you're in it for the gore and the cameos (which include Dee Wallace, Felissa Rose, Tony Todd, Bill Moseley and Tim Curry), then you won't be disappointed, but considering the talent involved, I had hoped for the film to be much better overall.