In Spree, we follow 23 year old Kurt Kunkle (Joe Keery), an attractive and likable young man with dreams of social media stardom. He works as a ride share driver for an Uber/Lyft-esque company called Spree. Kurt seems like a good enough guy, but he hides a darker side. In reality, Kurt is actually a psychopath who has decided to live-stream a murder spree where he kills anyone unlucky enough to step into his ride. He does so in an attempt to acquire more watchers/followers, and we tag along for the ensuing insanity.
Spree is a story told almost completely from the POV of cell phone cameras, as well as some dashboard, mounted, and security cams. It's a harsh commentary on the surface culture world we live in, and it comments on this culture via a new inductee to this style of life (Kurt). Most of the people being axed off are completely unlikable jerks, and it's not hard to root for their imminent demise.
As stated previously, Joe Keery as Kurt is a very likable and magnetic presence. While he isn't all that different from his victims, he's still far more charming than any of them are (take one scene where he shows his clear hatred and intolerance for racists). Kurt has some depth to his character. He comes from a broken home consisting of a loser, junkie father who moonlights as a DJ (David Arquette) and a "star-fucker" mom. All he wants is to be seen, a common desire for most youth and young adults of today.
Kurt's negative aspects become clear when it's reveled that he doesn't care about any one but himself, only cares about getting as many watchers as possible, and has clear contempt for anyone who doesn't have a social media presence or isn't interested in that kind of lifestyle (He muses at one point while driving by a homeless camp that he can't understand why they don't care if any one sees them, and that he could drive over all of them and no one would notice.).
As the film progresses Kurt begins to take more and more of an interest in upcoming stand-up comedian Jessie Adams (Sasheer Zamata), who has a strong social media presence and whom he admires. Sasheer is sprinkled throughout the film, but her role gets beefed up during the last act. She is likable enough, and works well as a counter-point to Kurt. It is through her that the filmmakers state their views on and message about surface culture.
Spree is best described as a dark comedy. It's more funny than it is scary. The film definitely drags at odd points, and while it feels fresh enough to watch a story told through the pov of cell phones and live streams, the gimmick does kind of grow stale after a while (though there is a clear reason why the story is told this way, which is revealed in a 13th hour twist that was actually pretty sweet).
Spree stretches believability at moments, but it's a ton of fun while you're watching it. It's a fairly memorable movie, and Joe Keery comfortably carries the weight of the proceedings on his shoulders. The film is funny, scary, dark, disturbing, and surprisingly sad when all is said and done (We can see the good person Kurt could have been.). Spree is a flick that takes a harsh look at the surface obsessed culture we are all living in, and the appeal/allure it has to the people living within it. It's certainly not a great film, but it's definitely quite good, enjoyable, and fun. I'd say Kurt is a good choice for your next ride share driver, just...don't drink the water.
3.5 STARS
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