Director – Charles Band (The Alchemist, The Dungeonmaster)
Starring – Emma Massalone (Yellowstone, Female Friendly), Kaitlin Moore (America’s Most Wanted, Something’s in the Air), and Aaron McDaniel (Murder of God’s Banker, A Crime to Remember)
Release Date – 2024
Rating – 3.5/5
I’ve been a fan of Full Moon Features for decades now and I will be the first to admit that some of their more recent titles have lost the spark that made their films so enjoyable in the first place. I might be one of the few people in the world that enjoy the Evil Bong franchise along with Weedjies and a few other films they’ve released. However, they have released just as many turds in recent years like Ooga Booga, Unlucky Charms, and several others. I’m always open to their new release but I never know what to expect.
A few days ago I was sent a press release and screener link for the newest Charles Band directed film, Death Streamer. I was going to hold off a week or so and include it in my October horror binge but I couldn’t wait. I had to see it now.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows three true crime podcasters who come across a live video of a man killing a beautiful young woman. When they find a second live video of a beautiful young woman getting her throat ripped out, they start looking further into it in hopes of finding their next story. However, the closer they get to the source of the video the deadlier it becomes when they learn that the person responsible is a vampire using smart glasses to record his feedings. **Spoiler alert**
Death Streamer isn’t as fun as Full Moon’s Subspecies but it’s still a fantastic vampire film. We don’t get a lot of films from this sub-genre any more so it was great that Full Moon stepped away from their puppet flicks to give us something a bit different.
The acting in this one is great. The characters in this one are so much fun. They have so many great personalities and the cast did an amazing job bringing them to life. I didn’t care for the dialogue at times but the cast did a fantastic job with what they were given.
The story for this one is simple but works. It has a modern twist on vampires using technology to gain fame while feeding. Honestly, as campy as that is, I still liked that. I also liked the true crime video/podcasters stumbling across the live videos and trying to dig into it for their next story. It works but the dialogue could have been better. They used it to tie up gapping plot holes and so on which didn’t work. It wasn’t natural and felt awkward at times.
Finally, the film has lots and lots of blood. While some of the visual effects were horrible, the practical effects were very well done. I would have loved some decent gore but the buckets of blood we do get is very enjoyable. Overall, Death Streamer may not be an instant classic from Full Moon but it’s still a damn fine vampire film. I highly recommend checking it out when it’s available.
