Dead Meat is an American

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel dedicated to

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

and horror-adjacent media. It is known mainly for the

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

''The'' ''Kill Count'', which covers the

body count A body count is the total number of people killed in a particular event. In combat, a body count is often based on the number of confirmed kills, but occasionally only an estimate. Often used in reference to military combat, the term can also r ...

of horror media, along with comedic commentary and

behind-the-scenes https://www Googlefinans.co= In filmmaking, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK ( ...

information. The channel was created on April 7, 2017 by partners (and now spouses) James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca, who met as film students at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Content

The Kill Count

The channel is known primarily for its ''Kill Count'' series, where Janisse summarizes horror films, counts the number of deaths, and offers

insights. At the end of each episode a breakdown of the kills, known as "the numbers", is shared including a final tally, a gender breakdown, and awards for the coolest kill (Golden Chainsaw) and lamest kill (Dull Machete). The channel is mainly hosted by Janisse, with Rebecca and channel co-writer Zoran Gvojic occasionally serving as auxiliary hosts. A wide array of horror films have been covered, including well known and popular franchises like '' Child's Play'', ''

A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American Supernatural horror film, supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), ''A ...

'', '' Friday the 13th'', ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

'', ''

Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

'', '' Scream'', and '' It'', as well as classic horror films, cult-classic horror films, and lesser known exploitation and

B-movies A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...

. ''The Kill Count'' has branched out to discuss other media in the

horror genre Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defin ...

, including television, video games, music videos, comic books, and Youtube videos such as '' Don't Hug Me I'm Scared''.

Podcasting

In 2018, Rebecca launched the ''Dead Meat Podcast'', with Janisse as a co-host. The podcast explores horror films, industry trends, and cultural significance, featuring reviews, interviews, thematic discussions, and games based around the horror genre and related trivia. Content on the ''Dead Meat Podcast'' includes behind-the-scenes information and research, such as the “

Final Girl The final girl or survivor girl is a Trope (cinema), trope in horror films (particularly slasher films). It refers to the last girl(s) or woman alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. The final girl has been ob ...

” episode of the podcast which drew on the work of

Carol Clover Carol Jeanne Clover (born July 31, 1940) is an American professor of Medieval Studies (Early Northern Europe) and American Film at the University of California, Berkeley. Clover has been widely published in her areas of expertise, and is the aut ...

. In 2025, the ''Dead Meat Podcast'' became part of

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...

’s Bloody FM podcast network.

California wildfires charity stream

In early January 2025, Dead Meat announced some videos would be delayed as members of their team had to evacuate due to the Los Angeles wildfires. They hosted a livestream on January 11, 2025 and raised over $20,000

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

for wildfire relief.

Reception

Justina Bonilla of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' described ''The Kill Count'' as “giving viewers a deeper understanding and appreciation of the art and technicalities of horror.” Mike Flanagan, a 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

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. The Dead Meat Horror Awards have occurred every year ever since. Janisse and Rebecca had a cameo in the 2022 film '' Scream'' as two fictional YouTube movie critics for a Youtube channel called ''Film Fails''. On October 29, 2024, Janisse and Rebecca executive produced and featured in a music video for musician

T-Pain Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...

for the song "Does She Know?" In 2024 it was announced that Janisse would be appearing in an upcoming horror anthology called ''Grind.''

References

{{reflist YouTube channels launched in 2017 Entertainment-related YouTube channels English-language YouTube channels Works about horror fiction YouTube channels University of Michigan alumni YouTube critics and reviewers