#ChadGetstheAxe (2023) Brings Familiar Yet Fun Livestream Found Footage Thrills

Title: #ChadGetstheAxe

First Non-Festival Release: September 1, 2023 (Digital/Streaming Platforms)

Director: Travis Bible

Writer: Travis Bible, Kemerton Hargrove

Runtime: 83 Minutes

Starring: Spencer Harrison Levin, Michael Bonini, Taneisha Figueroa

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

Four social media influencers, Chad (Spencer Harrison Levin), Steve (Michael Bonini), Jennifer (Taneisha Figueroa), and Spencer (Cameron Vitosh) team up to take an opportunity to live stream a visit to an abandoned house in the middle of the woods near Steve’s hometown. This eerie mansion was home to the murders of several people by a mysterious cult. As the group begin their livestream, it becomes clear that some of the cult’s followers never left.

Brisk and cheeky, #ChadGetstheAxe skewers influencers in familiar ghost hunting misadventure.

A clear rebuke of influencers of all shades, #ChadGetstheAxe works through its measured understanding of what makes virality so alluring and dangerous. Cue Logan Paul inspired main character Chad and his crew of miscreant friends that are willing to put themselves in harm’s way for a bump in views. Throughout the film, the true main players: Chad, Steve, and Jennifer consistently put themselves in harm’s way, perceived or otherwise, for the sake of building their following. The most outrageous stunts pull in the biggest views. High on dopamine thrills of executing various stunts, the crew is largely unaware of the true dangers that lurk within the walls of the house.

Immersive in its design and scope, this screen life thrill ride captivates its audience through its ingenious integration of cult lore. While the crew finds ways to one-up each other, a continuous live chat, visible in the bottom corner of the screen, adds important details that go largely ignored by the influencers. In fact, the stream of comments ranging from the inane to abusive overshadow the more helpful commentary by a true crime content creator, who is clearly eager to display her knowledge of the house. This adds to the basic lore Steve briefs the group on when pitching the idea, but he clearly underestimates how in over their heads they are. This further adds fuel to the fire of influencers going places they have no place being and doing things they should not do for attention.

Its characters are various shades of irritating, but #ChadGetstheAxe manages to flesh them out beyond the stereotypes. Each of the four influencers occupy a different sect of the field. Chad is the decently famous jerk who knows that provocation means views. He yearns to be the loudest and most obnoxious onscreen to garner the most attention. When the veil is lifted, it is revealed that he does have a talent for thinking his way out of problems, even if it doesn’t always go to plan. Steve is the social climber who betrays his morals for a taste of fame. More of a toady than anything, Steve refuses to stand up for himself which leads to him being thrown into uncomfortable situations. Jennifer and Spencer occupy different halves of a social media couple. Spencer seems happy just to be with Jennifer, even if his affections aren’t fully returned. His views on social media are clearly a means to an end for his music career and he takes no further stock in it. Jennifer takes the lead on their channel as she has a knack for aesthetics, which makes sense why she would pick Spencer, despite her not truly feeling much toward him. Critiques of vapidness can be true while acknowledging that #ChadGetstheAxe does a solid job of bringing these characters to life while staying true to its source material.

While it largely works, #ChadGetstheAxe is pulled back only by some awkward dialogue and stilted performances. Toughing it through some particularly rough exchanges and individual streaming moments, each character has their own moment where the writing just feels off with what they are saying. Each actor does well with the material, but the overall chemistry of the group feels off. This may be more subtle commentary on the more transactional relationships of professionals in the industry, but it comes across as awkward between the cast members.

A delightful caper into the dangers of messing around with things and people that you should not, #ChadGetstheAxe adds just enough to the influencer focused sector of horror to be a solid recommendation. Its clever humor and strategic worldbuilding make this low budget pov horror film a fun roller coaster ride worthy of a late night on demand rental. It stumbles in its execution a bit but is nevertheless a good ride. Chad may get the axe but the film surrounding his exploits certainly doesn’t.

Overall Score? 7/10