Joseph & Vanessa Winter Talk ‘Deadstream,’ ‘V/H/S/99,’ The Struggles Of Making Indie Horror & More [The Playlist Podcast]

Found footage filmmaking is now one of the pillars of the horror genre. This Halloween season, Joseph and Vanessa Winter are a filmmaking duo with not one, but two brand-new found footage horror films arriving on screens, with their directorial debut, “Deadstream,” and a segment in the recent anthology, “V/H/S/99.” And in this episode of The Playlist Podcast, I got the chance to speak with the directors about the literal blood, sweat, and tears that went into bringing these projects to life.

The first film is their feature directorial debut, “Deadstream,” which is a found footage film about a YouTuber/Influencer who finds himself attempting the biggest stunt of his life as he spends a night alone in a haunted house. But the premise alone doesn’t do the film justice. It’s a really fun horror-comedy that is surprising with equal moments of hilarity and scares. If you’re a fan of indie horror, this is a must-see.

LISTEN: ‘Halloween’: The Best & Worst Of John Carpenter’s Classic Slasher Franchise [The Playlist Podcast]

One of the most interesting aspects of the film is how the protagonist is just so unlikeable. In contrast to many horror films, “Deadstream” gives you the chance to actively root against the main character. And that is by design.

“We had been brewing on this idea for years,” said Joseph Winter. “And once we saw the trend of these influencers start to get toppled with their own controversies and the non-apology videos they’d release and thinking about that with our character started making it feel like, ‘Well, what if that gives us license to really torture this guy?’ Where you start to feel like it’s really fun to see this guy creatively get tortured by ghosts.”

Their second film that was recently released is “V/H/S/99,” in which they have a segment called “To Hell and Back.” And as the title implies, the story follows a couple of guys who find themselves trapped in literal Hell and have to find their way back to Earth. It’s also a brilliant mix of frights and fun. It’s also incredibly ambitious when compared to other found footage films, especially short films. This much ambition—creating literal Hell on a small budget—was not lost on the filmmaking duo when they set out to make this vision come to life.

READ MORE: ‘V/H/S/99’ Review: The Found Footage Horror Anthology Injects Much-Needed Humor [TIFF]

“I was also terrified and not sleeping for two months over those exact concerns,” said Vanessa Winter. “They were almost done with principle [photography] for most of the segments, so they kinda just sent us the money and trusted that we would deliver. So, there were multiple times when I thought, ‘What have we gotten ourselves into?’” 

Ultimately, both “Deadstream” and their segment in “V/H/S/99” were able to stick the landing. And if you want to watch both, they’re available to stream on Shudder. (Seriously, subscribe to Shudder already. It’s awesome!) You can hear our full discussion below:

The Playlist Podcast is part of The Playlist Podcast Network, which includes Bingeworthy, Be Reel, Deep Focus, The Fourth Wall, and The Discourse. We can be heard on iTunes, AnchorFM, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, and most places where podcasts are found. You can stream the podcast via the Spotify embed within the article or click on the lead image at the top page. Follow us on iTunes, and you’ll get this podcast and our other shows regularly. Be sure to subscribe and drop us a comment or a rating, as we greatly appreciate it. Thank you for listening.