“Livescreamers” - Film Review
The idea of playing video games for a living is still so foreign to many people, despite the massive industry that exists around this concept. Twitch is the most popular platform for video game streamers, and in 2023 they were estimated to have earned $3 billion in revenue. One of the largest streamers, Ninja, reported that he earned $500,000 a month on the Twitch platform alone. It’s no surprise that this career can easily lend itself to the horror genre because of its pseudo-found-footage nature. Michelle Iannantuono’s Livescreamers, the sequel to 2018’s Livescream, masterfully weaves a story of parasocial relationships, abuse of power, and horror video games that feels like it’s unfolding in real time.
Janus Gaming is a group of gamers that regularly stream together online. Nemo (Michael Smallwood), Mitch (Ryan LaPlante), Jon (Christopher Trindade), Gwen (Sarah Callahan Black), Taylor (Coby Oram), Dice (Maddox Julien Slide), and Zelda (Anna Lin) make up the streaming team. Davey (Evan Michael Pearce) is always present, but never takes an active role in gaming. They’ve come together to shoot a special episode of their online show to celebrate Lucy (Neoma Sanchez), a fan who donated the most money during a charity stream. As a thank you, she gets to be a guest on Janus Gaming’s stream of a horror video game. Things take a turn for the deadly when the damage that’s incurred in the game takes place in real life too. The only way to survive is to beat the game.
courtesy of octopunk media
The setup of Livescreamers is quite impressive. It takes place in a single room and shows the characters sitting at their personal desks, which are decorated to offer an insight into what each of them finds important. The film also has the freedom to make cuts to keep the momentum lively, because each character has their own camera focused on them. It’s the same configuration as if they were actually prepared to go live on a video game streaming site. This is an innovative take on a found footage film that plays out fairly naturally. As much as it’s a job, Livescreamers is also about a group of friends (for now) hanging out and playing a video game. Their banter is quick and there’s love between them, but it’s clear that there are hidden feelings they have for one another, and those aren’t always positive.
courtesy of octopunk media
The longer the group plays the game, the more it becomes evident that it was created specifically for them, built around the real-life issues they have with each other. Livescreamers is as much a fun slasher movie as it is a critique of the streaming industry. In a very clever way, the film examines parasocial relationships between fans and the content creators they enjoy. Because these streamers are adjacent to the mainstream, are far more accessible than Hollywood stars, and have a fame that’s built on their ability to create a sense of community, fans often feel like they know them intimately. This can lead to intense, obsessive behavior. On the flip side, as popular public figures, the streamers can use the community they’ve built to abuse their position of power. The way these revelations are explored and confronted makes for a tense ride that doesn’t feel outside the realm of possibility. Sure, a horror game that comes to life is fantastical, but the heart of Livescreamers is something that plays out every single day in the world of streaming.
In an era of multi-million-dollar blockbusters that rarely recoup their budgets, the innovation of the lower-budget Livescreamers is a breath of fresh air. The film smartly creates a small stage for interpersonal stories to blossom and break. Livescreamers unfolds like a morality play, asking the audience to reflect on their own interactions with celebrities and fame, while adding a genuinely great slasher along the way.
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