As Screenlife storytelling transitions into the livestream era, movies like Michelle Iannantuono’s Livescreamers have me most excited. Early Screenlife films like Unfriended and The Den read like one-takers but are computer-set events like someone recorded their computer monitor or laptop screen. What Livescreamers offers — or examples like Spree, Deadstream, and #chadgetstheaxe — is the propulsive energy of a continuous stream devolving into chaos. Creators who put on celebrity identities face dreadful realities, not the protective online bubbles they’ve built where their antics draw millions of views. Livescreamers cherrypicks elements of Stay Alive, House on Haunted Hill, Unfriended, and cringy video game playthrough streams to create something horrifying that both sells its chills and comments on the vulnerable current state of livestream culture.

Low-budget restraints might hold back specific effects, and the film’s narrative throughline is a little wonky in spots, but what Iannantuono accomplishes comes from a place of authenticity. Livescreamers emerges from the Venn diagram overlap of enthusiastic gamers and passionate horror fans, with a dash of fearlessness as Iannantuono’s screenplay delves into the trecherous underbelly of each fandom.

The film’s perspective follows popular video creators Janus Gaming as they set out to conquer “House of Souls,” a horror survival title still in early access. Mitch Mackey (Ryan LaPlante) sits atop the food chain as Janus’ originator, a channel he expended to include a “diverse” group of personalities working in unison. Players include queer supergamer Dice (Maddox Julien Slide), chaotic presenting himbo Taylor (Coby C. Oram), resident chat-loved hottie Gwen (Sarah Callahan Black): the usual streamer suspects. Also included in the “House of Souls” episode is community contest winner Lucy (Neoma Sanchez), a megafan who gets to share a room with her idols. You’ve seen these online personalities before, either loved or hated them, and you can probably assume what happens when “House of Souls” begins — you’re reading Bloody Disgusting, after all.

Iannantuono’s ability to explore and exploit the horrors of being a content creator in the GamerGate era hits incredibly close to home (as someone who knows prominent games journalists and women journalists in multiple industries). Livescreamers is a virtual haunted house flick, but it’s also a vicious social commentary that isn’t afraid to chastise the public’s behavior. Michael Smallwood’s Nemo delivers a killer monologue about his experience with a “fan,” and why he chooses to keep DM’s locked as a Black gamer content creator. Movies like Deadstream or #chadgetstheaxe appropriately label their protagonists as attention-seeking, morality-devoid lunatics chasing viral acclaim, which Livescreamers highlights — but Iannantuono also bangs the drum for abused creators. Games journalism is probably the most thankless iteration of journalism, which the script validates. Look no further than Janus’ reported “Top 3” comments from their fanbase, a depressing trio of sexualization and racism despite Lucy’s insistence that the community is a positive force.

Then again, this wouldn’t be a proper Screenlife adaptation without touching on the monsters some creators become. Goofball duo Jon (Christopher Trindade) and Davey (Evan Michael Pearce) laugh their way through sexuality appropriation as the two hetero bros urge homoerotic fan fiction, shipping same-sex romance as comedy. Iannantuono is precise with her frustrations concerning YouTubers, Twitch streamers, and the like’s fakeness when generating their on-camera personas, whether that’s misleading couples acts or gross betrayals of company trust. Livescreamers gets juicier strikes against Janus employees mount, although some emotional arguments land with whimpers. Dramatic bleakness can feel like regurgitated tropes and stereotypes speak louder than the otherwise organic showmanship these creators express, especially in how some fates are sealed. That’s not to discredit Iannantuono’s justified and angry depictions of gross fangirl manipulation or how priorities shift when dollar signs become benchmarks, but may be a case of having too many points to make in a wonderfully brisk 90 minutes.

Livescreamers makes a striking impression as avatars explore “House of Souls,” which is cleanly rendered and intricately designed. Mechanical inspirations are drawn from Until Dawn, while storytelling revolves around folkloric siren mythology turning into a multiplayer game from the bowels of the dark web. Between Quick Time Events, controller steadiness mini-games, or Resident Evil-like puzzles, Iannantuono isn’t faking the film’s playable functionality. Easy references like the name of Anna Lin’s toxically cheerful host “Zelda” are surface-value decoys. Livescreamers plunges into the deep end regarding how faithful the game’s levels unravel, and how players react to in-game elements. Frauds are exposed for their moronic choices, while the graphics are surprisingly polished when compared to indie horror titles you can buy on Steam right now.

The film is rarely frightening outside a jump here and there but is sustainably creepy. “House of Souls” brings this deliciously medieval vibe as players explore a mansion filled with anything from art galleries to dank wine cellars, including steel knight’s swords (which may or may not be used as weapons). Livescreamers utilizes an “if you’re hurt in the game, you’re hurt in real life” dynamic, and isn’t afraid to unleash squishy, gratifying gore effects on a budget. Iannantuono earns points for even trying a beheading via livestream — let alone pulling off a suitable enough special effect. Gameplay mirrors anything from the unsettling handheld viewpoint in Fatal Frame to zombie escape sequences from Resident Evil, all with enough tension to blend with bloody accents when the worst happens.

I’ve admittedly never seen Iannantuono’s Livescream, but think their follow-up Livescreamers is a nifty horror take on the perils of online content creation. Iannantuono brings passion and experiential knowledge to the table, which shines through the “al dente CreepyPasta” as one character hilariously quips. Don’t expect legendary effects since this is an indie, small-scale production in a single livestream studio. Livescreamers can’t always meet its ideas with the production value they deserve, and does start-and-stop momentum when sporadic emotional beats stumble, but Iannantuono’s voice as a filmmaker is transfixingly confident. For all of the production’s shortcomings, she never loses control. As a more than casual gamer and ravenous horror fan (who thinks there should be more video game-centric horror films), Livescreamers scratches an itch that bleeds programming code and speaks assertively to its intended audience.