LIVESCREAMERS is a haunted house thriller like you’ve never seen before. Showing that virtual reality hauntings are just as deadly as the house down the lane. A new mode of filmmaking to refresh the ‘Found Footage’ genre. It is more apt to say the film is ‘created’ by Michelle Iannantuono rather than just written and directed because the film feels more like a multimedia artwork that goes beyond traditional filmmaking. This film was so fresh and a lot of fun, but also, Iannantuonno shows us that hell is a door marked ‘content creation’.

A popular content creation group who live stream multiplayer video games have their hands on ‘House of Souls”, an indie horror game. Lucy, a fan of the group, has won the chance to play along, too. But in ‘House of Souls,’ in-game injuries affect the streamers, meaning the group is now playing for their lives.

The horror subgenre of Found Footage is changing to encompass the increasing footage we make and the technology we use. Technology has drastically changed; found footage used to be video cameras and physically ‘found’. Now, Found Footage is found on hard drives, phones, and the dark recesses of the internet.

Sometimes, the downfall of Found Footage is the questioning of who found and edited the footage. A good film like LIVESCREAMERS can pull you in, and I think most audiences are willing to suspend disbelief the more they are absorbed into a world. Being a new format does not automatically make a good film, but LIVESCREAMERS doesn’t have to rely solely on this because it is a legitimately entertaining film

I don’t have the hand-eye coordination to play video games, but I do like watching other people play them. Me and obviously millions of other people. So, the themes presented in LIVESCREAMERS are not too surprising. Through horror, the film addresses the many landmines of content creation. Cracks in relationships, hemorrhaging money despite sponsors, and parasocial relationships developed by fans that can quickly slide into chaos. The film also importantly addresses the lack of screen time for minority content creators and how this contributes to prejudice in the online space. All that from just one horror movie, and done effectively, with nuance! Iannantuono’s creation is impressive.

In terms of the performances, they were pretty convincing; acting from a gaming chair must be pretty peculiar. It must have taken a lot of teamwork, so I have to list them all: Michael Smallwood (HALLOWEEN KILLS), Christopher Trindade,  Sarah Callahan Black, Ryan LaPlante, Maddox-Julien Slide,  Anna Lin, Evan Michael Pearce, Coby C. Oram and Neoma Sanchez. Having nine main characters that are all fleshed out is a screenwriting feat in itself.

Video game mise en scène is something I have not commented on before but really should. LIVESCREAMERS reminds us that horror games are a legitimate form of horror media, just as frightening as a horror feature film. Personally, I can watch pretty much anything, but as soon as it is me in the driver’s seat- I’ve been known to throw a controller or two. Iannantuono herself developed this in-film ‘House of Souls’- impressive. Is this niche Found Footage the future for the style? I hope so.

Michelle Iannantuono is an award-winning whose other films r include LIVESCREAM (2018) and DETROIT EVOLUTION (2020)- a queer transformative fan film of the Detroit Become Human video game- both available on youtube. 

LIVESCREAMERS is available now on VOD via Octopunk Media, it is available on Amazon US/UK as well as Vimeo Worldwide.

“It is more apt to say LIVESCREAMERS is ‘created’ by Michelle Iannantuono, rather than just written and directed because the film feels more like a multimedia artwork that goes beyond traditional filmmaking”