Entertainment
The Unrated Netflix Comedy That Reinvents Supernatural Terror
By Robert Scucci
| Published
For years, I’ve been looking for the perfect found footage comedy, with mixed results. The Creep franchise is the closest I’ve come, and I’m beyond glad it’s slowly becoming a media empire that explores morbid humor through its found footage delivery. Mark Duplass is a picture perfect psycho, and his sense of menace pushes the franchise to hilarious extremes. While Creep (2015), its sequel, Creep 2 (2017), and its television spinoff, The Creep Tapes (2024 to present) lean into comedy, it’s still a horror franchise at its core. It’s close, but not quite what I was looking for.
This brings me to 2022’s Deadstream, which scratched that years-long itch so well that I wish I had clicked on it sooner while browsing Netflix. The problem is that I don’t read reviews because I don’t want them influencing my own. If I had, I would have found exactly what I was looking for much sooner than this past weekend.
Deadstream is inherently obnoxious and over the top, parodying streaming and prank bro culture so convincingly that you’ll feel like you’re watching the real thing. Husband and wife team Joseph and Vanessa Winter must have exposed themselves to countless hours of YouTube brainrot to pull this off, and it shows through their co-writing and directing efforts.
Shawn Is Perfectly Obnoxious
After having his channel demonetized for a cruel prank involving the homeless that lands him in serious trouble, Shawn Ruddy (Joseph Winter), the personality behind the Wrath of Shawn YouTube channel, decides it’s time to fire the GoPros back up and embark on his most ambitious project to date. Having gone on record saying he’s genuinely afraid of haunted houses, he resolves to livestream his trip to Death Manor, which is supposedly haunted by the evil spirit of Mildred Pratt.
Going all in, Shawn pulls the spark plugs from his car, throws his keys down a sewer grate, breaks into the house, and sets up shop. He mounts cameras in what he believes are the most haunted rooms and immediately starts testing his luck. He conducts a séance, destroys what appears to be a precious artifact, and runs around with a camera strapped to his head while documenting everything on one of the many iPads he brought with him. He also makes sure to plug his sponsors whenever the opportunity presents itself.
When one of his fans, Chrissy (Melanie Stone), shows up at the property, his viewers encourage him to keep exploring with her. Shawn soon realizes her presence will cause far more problems than he anticipated, especially since he promised his sponsors he’d be doing this alone. After reciting a mysterious Latin phrase at Chrissy’s urging, he has reason to believe he actually conjured Mildred’s evil spirit. What started as a clout chasing stunt becomes the ultimate test of his will and integrity as the stream takes a sinister, supernatural turn that even he cannot stage.
Production Values That Make Sense
Lesser found footage horror movies often stumble in the production department. There’s nothing more infuriating than characters recording on iPhones while transitions still crackle with VHS era static. Deadstream avoids this technological tomfoolery by leaning into modern streaming logic. Shawn is tech savvy, uses high-end GoPros, and essentially sets up a closed circuit system on his iPad.
We get glimpses of the house’s floor plan from this digital vantage point, while the GoPro strapped to Shawn’s head captures his immediate reactions. Across all devices, we see exactly what Shawn is experiencing, and it’s immersive enough to feel like a real livestream.
What really pulled me in, though, is Shawn himself. He’s irritating in the best way. Loud, rude, constantly talking smack to his audience in real time, and completely disrespectful of his surroundings because he’s so focused on his brand that he doesn’t yet grasp how serious his situation will become. Even when he takes what appears to be a supernatural beating, he laughs it off and keeps romping through the property. At one point, he tapes a GoPro to a Slim Jim because he’s trapped in a compromising position and has run out of tripods. It’s classic live streamer behavior pushed to its most ridiculous extreme.
If you’re looking for a straight up found footage comedy, Deadstream is it. There are genuinely effective jump scares here, but its real charm comes from Joseph Winter’s Shawn Ruddy, who even recorded his own theme music to congratulate himself for his brilliant idea to livestream inside a haunted house.
As of this writing, Deadstream is streaming on Netflix.
Entertainment
Nothing Phone 4a gets an official launch date
We knew Nothing would be up to something (sorry) during this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but the company just made it official by sending us an invite for the launch of its next smartphone, the Nothing 4a.
The event is technically happening during MWC, which is held from March 2 to 5, 2026, but it will take place in London, UK. It starts at 10:30 a.m. GMT (5:30 a.m. ET), and it will be livestreamed on Nothing’s website.
The invite’s tagline is “something new is coming,” though there’s not a lot of mystery here, as the invite also says that the event is about the Nothing Phone 4a series.
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During last year’s MWC, Nothing launched two smartphones, the Nothing 3a and Nothing 3a Pro. Both were slick-looking, fairly affordable mid-rangers with big displays, big batteries, and a couple of Nothing-specific software features.
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There’s no official world on what, exactly, is coming, but we’re probably going to see Nothing Phone 4a and Phone 4a Pro, both featuring Snapdragon 7-series chips. While Nothing is best known for its monochromatic designs, the new phones will probably be available in several colors.
Fun fact: Nothing’s launch event will be held just one day after Apple’s ‘special experience’ event, where the company is expected to launch a multitude of new products (as referenced by Nothing CEO Carl Pei’s cheeky tweet). As we’ve said in our recent MWC overview, it’s going to be a busy couple of weeks for gadget lovers.
Topics
Mobile World Congress
Entertainment
This curved QD-OLED Alienware monitor has hit a record-low price — save nearly $200 at Amazon
TL;DR: The Alienware (AW3423DWF) 34-inch curved QD-OLED gaming monitor is on sale for $499.99 at Amazon, down from its usual $699 list price — a nearly $200 saving on a premium ultrawide display.
$499.99
at Amazon
$699
Save $199.01
One of the biggest obstacles to upgrading your gaming setup’s monitor to an OLED is the high price point of big-brand models, but Alienware might have just solved that problem. As of Feb. 17, the 34-inch Alienware QD-OLED gaming monitor (AW3423DWF model) has dropped to $499.99 on Amazon, marking the lowest price we’ve seen for this premium ultrawide gaming screen — as confirmed with price tracker camelcamelcamel.
You’re getting a monitor that’s built around a 34-inch Quantum Dot OLED panel with a 3440×1440 resolution and a cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio, and designed to pull you into games without cluttering your desk with multiple displays. The 1,800R curve aims to keep visuals comfortably in view, while the deep contrast and vibrant color performance helps everything from competitive shooters like Fortnite to cinematic RPGs such as Final Fantasy XVI or Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
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Performance-wise, you’re looking at a speedy 165Hz refresh rate paired with an ultra-fast 0.1ms response time, which should keep fast-paced action feeling smooth and responsive. What’s more, support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 also helps reduce screen tearing and enhance darker scenes; this makes it especially great for both longer gaming sessions or when you’re playing in a well-lit room, which could normally make darker gameplay moments or cutscenes harder to see.
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Beyond gaming, Alienware also has its Creator Mode and extensive connectivity options, which make it a flexible pick for content creation or multitasking workflows. Along with customizable AlienFX lighting and a sleek Legend 2.0 design, there’s lots of added value with this record deal.
Entertainment
The Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution Elite Trainer Box is over $10 off at Amazon
TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution Elite Trainer Box has dropped to $99.45 at Amazon — about $10 off its usual $109.99 list price.
Credit: The Pokémon Company
$99.45
at Amazon
$109.99
Save $10.54
Elite Trainer Boxes tied to newer Pokémon TCG expansions don’t often fall in price, but Amazon has cut a decent amount off one of 2025’s most popular ETBs. As of Feb. 17, the Mega Lucario version of the Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution Elite Trainer Box is now down to $99.45 on Amazon, cutting its usual $109.99 list price.
For this lower price, you’ll get the same type of content Pokémon fans can expect from other ETBs:
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Nine Mega Evolution booster packs
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Full-art foil promo card featuring Riolu
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65 card sleeves
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40 Energy cards
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Six damage counter dice
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Collector’s storage box with dividers (to help keep everything organized)
If you’ve been keeping an eye on Mega Evolution pricing lately, you’ll already know how rare it is to see these boxes dip below the $100 mark. For months, fluctuating stock levels and inflated reseller listings have kept prices higher than many collectors would like. Thankfully, things are starting to shift again as newer supply settles and discounts begin appearing more frequently on Amazon.
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While prices across trading card marketplaces can vary depending on demand, Amazon remains one of the easier places to pick up Mega Evolution products that are readily available without overly breaking the bank. Dedicated trading card platform TCGplayer is completely out of stock for this version of the Mega Evolution ETB right now, so Amazon is the place to buy.
For more Pokémon TCG deals at Amazon, Ascended Heroes Tech Sticker Collections are still available for around $45. You can also pick up the Pokémon TCG’s Mega Evolution 3-Pack Blister for only $34.99.
Topics
Pokemon
Trading Cards
Nothing Phone 4a gets an official launch date
This curved QD-OLED Alienware monitor has hit a record-low price — save nearly $200 at Amazon
