Spree (2020)

Director: Eugene Kotlyarenko

Genre: Thriller, Comedy

Runtime: 93 Minutes

Main Cast: Joe Keery, Sasheer Zamata, David Arquette, Kyle Mooney, Mischa Barton, Joshua Ovalle, Frankie Grande

Plot: Kurt Kunkle wants nothing more than to be famous on social media. He’s ran his @KurtsWorld96 account for years with no success whatsoever, but whilst working for Uber Spree, he comes up with an insane and highly illegal plan to finally go viral.

My Thoughts: One thing I told myself when cinemas closed back in March was that when they finally reopened and we eventually started to get new movie releases, I would watch as many of them as I could, no matter what. Enough of turning my nose up at dramas that sounded boring, action movies I was pretty sure would be terrible, and little indie movies I knew nothing about. Think of it as a late new years resolution, if you like. It’s led me to watching a movie I HATED (more on that later this week) but it also led me to this absolute gem of a movie called Spree.

Let me be blunt, this movie is balls-to-the-wall BONKERS. We all know Joe Keery best as the loveable Steve from Stranger Things, and this role of his might just be my favourite. Kurt is completely unhinged but still somehow a likeable guy, but his desperation to go viral leads him to his downfall. To tell you what exactly he gets up to would spoil the fun for you, but give the trailer a watch and that will tell you all you need to know.

Sure, the cynic in me could point out that in real life, Kurt would have been caught almost instantly (I mean, I’d like to hope so at least!) but this isn’t real life. A few users on Letterboxd compared Spree to American Psycho (2000) and the TV show Black Mirror and they are so right. If you aren’t yet sick of movies involving heavy use of social media, I cannot recommend this one enough. Go in open minded and just…enjoy the ride!

Best Bit: I kid you not, this movie includes a guy getting murdered by being ran over whilst the Gummy Bears song plays at full blast. It’s glorious!

Worst Bit: Because of the nature of the movie, it relies heavily on current trends so it will a) be a huge turn off for some people and b) age terribly – but I would still recommend it in a heartbeat.

Fun Trivia: Spree premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2020. Shortly after, distributor RLJE Films paid $2 million to acquire the rights to the film.
(Sorry folks, I couldn’t actually find anything fun and interesting about this one!)

My Rating: 4 out of 5 bottles of water that you should never accept from Joe Keery, should you ever happen to meet him.