10 Most Terrifying Social Media Horror Movies

6. Deadstream

Sissy Movie
Shudder

The lengths to which people will go to maintain a strong online presence...

Obviously here at WhatCulture, we sacrifice goats to the YouTube gods on a daily basis in order to bring in those views, and Deadstream's Shawn is someone forced to go to the extreme in order to win back his audience.

A 2022 offering, Deadstream sees Shawn - played by co-writer and co-director Joseph Winter - lose a bunch of subscribers and sponsors after posting a controversial video. In fact, he's down to his very last sponsor; a sponsor who will drop him if he fails to go through with his promise to spend a whole night streaming in the ominous Death Manor.

Given how a key part of Shawn's previous popularity was him performing tasks to overcome his fears, it doesn't come any more fear-inducing than having to spend time in a haunted house where several people died. Also, that same sponsorship deal will be cancelled if Shawn doesn't explore every nook and cranny of Death Manor, and throwing an extra spanner in the works is a surprise appearance at the property by a superfan, Chrissy.

What makes Deadstream terrifying is how the majority of it is a found-footage film, immersing the audience right in the thick of it with Shawn and Chrissy. Even better, Deadstream is one of the better found-footage movies in a horror subgenre so often synonymous with trash.

 
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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.