- Source: Dead Meat (YouTube channel)
Dead Meat is an American YouTube channel dedicated to horror films and other horror-adjacent media. It covers the amount of character and creature deaths in movies, along with providing comedic commentary and behind-the-scenes information. It was created on April 7, 2017, by James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca.
History
Founded in 2017 by partners (and now spouses) James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca, the channel is known primarily for its Kill Count series, where Janisse humorously summarizes horror films every Friday, counting the number of on-screen deaths and offering behind-the-scenes insights. At the end of every episode, a tally is read out along with other data about the movie and how its kills compare to other films with similar kill-counts. Then, a Golden Chainsaw is awarded for most creative and/or brutal kill in the given film, while a Dull Machete is awarded for the "lamest" (least creative or obscured/off-screen) kill. The channel is hosted by Janisse, with Rebecca and Janisse's best friend Zoran Gvojic occasionally serving as auxiliary hosts.
The channel has covered a wide array of horror films, including well known and popular franchises like Child's Play, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Saw, Scream, and It, as well as classic horror films, cult-classic horror films, and lesser known exploitation and B-movies. The channel has also covered horror-adjacent films such Mortal Kombat and Upgrade.
Janisse and Rebecca met as film students at the University of Michigan. Their shared passion for horror led to the creation of Dead Meat in 2017. The channel quickly gained popularity, reaching one million subscribers by 2018.
In 2018, Rebecca launched the Dead Meat Podcast, co-hosted with Janisse. The podcast explores horror films, industry trends, and cultural significance, featuring reviews, interviews, thematic discussions, and games based around the horror genre and its related trivia. Content on Dead Meat includes behind-the-scenes information and research, such as the “Final Girl” episode of the podcast which drew on the work of Carol Clover. A number of actors and directors have been interviewed on the show, including Heather Langenkamp, Nicholas McCarthy, Joe Lynch, and Don Mancini.
In addition to the films primarily featured on the channel, Dead Meat has branched out to discuss other topics in the horror genre, including television and video games. This expansion was partially motivated by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, where the Dead Meat hosts sought to solidarity with those on strike by not reviewing struck media, starting with a kill count for Don't Hug Me I'm Scared.
Justina Bonilla of the The Hollywood Reporter described The Kill Count as “giving viewers a deeper understanding and appreciation of the art and technicalities of horror.” Mike Flanagan, critically acclaimed horror director, praised the channel, saying “It’s not just commentary, it’s not just critique, it’s excellent entertainment in its own right, and beautifully produced by James and Chelsea”.
Other activities
Janisse and Rebecca had a cameo in the 2022 film Scream as two fictional YouTube movie critics called Film Fails.
In 2022, Dead Meat partnered with Shudder to host the annual Dead Meat Horror Awards, which celebrates achievements in the horror film genre of the year.
On October 29, 2024, Janisse and Rebecca were featured in the music video for rapper T-Pain's "Does She Know?".
Also in 2024, it was announced that Janisse would be appearing in an upcoming horror anthology called Grind.