Deadstream Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Deadstream Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 17, 2025

My birth state of Utah has rather sadly been in the news quite a bit lately as this review is being written both for a natural death and for an unnatural one, but for a hopefully more felicitous use of one of America's more scenic locales (in my not so humble opinion), albeit not exactly one that's going to get the approval of any Chambers of Commerce, check out Deadstream. Filmmaking couple Joseph and Vanessa Winters evidently reside in the state (at least according to the all knowing internets), and this appealing "DIY" outing was filmed at an abandoned property outside of Spanish Fork, though a t shirt focal character Shawn Ruddy (Joseph Winter) holds up advertising available merch mentions a tiny burg a bit further south, Payson. The underlying conceit of this horror comedy is not exactly innovative in any of its formulations, offering a standard "have to stay a night in a haunted house" plot device that in this case is combined with Shawn's livestreaming of the event for his YouTube-esque viewing audience, providing a found footage aspect. Despite an admittedly rote foundation, the film is often very funny and it has some great scares along the way as well.

Deadstream received a Region A Blu-ray release courtesy of RLJE Entertainment a couple of years ago, and Randy Miller III's Deadstream Blu-ray review provides a plot summary, list of supplements on that release, and Randy's reaction to the technical presentation.

Deadstream Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Deadstream is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 (one brief "archival" video moment is in Academy Ratio as seen in screenshot 8). Arrow's insert booklet contains only the following brief verbiage about the presentation:

Deadstream is presented in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound. The high definition master was provided by AMC / Winterspectre Entertainment.

The supplement with cinematographer Jared Cook discussing the cameras and lighting in some detail should be a "must see" for videophiles, but the bottom line is rather amazingly almost all of this "found footage" was captured with newer Go Pro models (somewhat hilariously, that "archival" video was actually captured with the much more advanced RED camera and then tweaked to look horrible). As even Cook mentions, there's some background noise that was evidently unavoidable given the low light situations, but otherwise this capture is remarkably solid, with excellent detail levels and a nice accounting of the palette. This looks identical to the Region A release, based on the unscientific method of screenshot comparison. There's some very brief banding noticeable during the RLJE masthead, but the main feature doesn't offer any severe compression issues.

Deadstream Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the video side of things, audiophiles will probably want to check out the supplement on sound design, which gets into some of the choices made for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track included on this disc. This is a surprisingly forceful and immersive track, at least intermittently, though as Randy mentioned in his review, a lot of the placement tends to be front heavy. That said, there are numerous great examples of discrete channelization in the side and rear speakers, and a couple of incredibly forceful bursts of LFE late in the story are almost certain to provoke a startle response. Dialogue (actually more of a "monologue", all things considered) is presented cleanly and clearly throughout, with the possible exception of some of Shawn's panicked reactions. Optional English subtitles are available.

Deadstream Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

More information on the supplements ported over from the Region A release from RLJE Entertainment can be found in Randy's review, linked to above.

• Introduction (HD; 00:44) features a really funny little vignette with the Winters. This is accessible under the Play Menu and is authored to proceed directly to the feature.


• Filmmakers' Commentary is from 2023 and features the Winters, producer/cinematographer Jared Cook and producer/co-star Melanie Stone.


• To Hell and Back (2019) (HD; 1:45) is a short by the Winters.


• Featurettes

Monsters and Makeup FX: Bringing Deadstream to Life (HD; 14:08)




On the Set of Deadstream (HD; 11:57)




Daystream: Test Footage and Rehearsals (HD; 17:53)




The Cameras and Lighting of Deadstream (HD; 11:27)




Sound Designing and Mixing Deadstream (HD; 20:00)




True Scary Stories From the Set of Deadstream (HD; 5:54)




Real Life Scares at Death Manor (HD; 3:37) seems to be a prank played by the filmmakers on prospective vandals.




Outtakes (HD; 3:43)




Deleted & Extended Scenes

911 Call (HD; 1:14)




No Nudity (HD; 00:26)




Toboggan (HD; 00:23)




Getting COVID (HD; 00:17)




Dog Sledding (Extended) (HD; 00:25)




Baby Moses (Extended) (HD; 00:34)




Spuds 2 My Nuts (Extended) (HD; 00:25)




Bathtub Scene (Fart Edition) (HD; 00:20)

Cam Footage really should have been authored with a Play All button, considering how short some of the following are:

EXT House (HD; 00:36)




Master Bedroom (HD; 00:16)




Nursery Cam (HD; 00:20)




Bathroom Cam (HD; 00:22)




Hallway Cam (HD; 00:22)




Safe Room Cam (HD; 00:26)




Chrissy Cam (HD; 00:17)




Beef Cam (HD; 00:22)




Spear Cam (HD; 00:21)




Mildead Cam (HD; 00:19)




Victory Cam (HD; 00:24)




Shawn (HD; 00:27)

Trailers

Original Trailer (HD; 1:56)




Tie-Ins Trailer (HD; 00:57)

An insert booklet offers two fun essays and the typical cast/ crew and technical information. Packaging features a reversible sleeve and slipcover.

Deadstream Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Arrow's relatively recently announced partnership with Shudder has already resulted in some interesting Blu-ray releases, including Perpetrator and Hellbender, but for my money this is easily the best of this year's bunch, at least so far. There are both laughs and chills aplenty in this film and this Arrow Blu-ray offers secure technical merits and some fun supplements. Recommended.