The need to be seen on the internet is an insidious phenomenon that shows no signs of fading away anytime soon. Everyone appears to be gunning for that perfect angle that will gain traction and earn them the attention that will finally leave them fulfilled. In director Eugene Kotlyarenko’s Spree, that drive for attention leads to some truly bizarre and incredibly violent places. For those viewers who found the nihilism of Joker to be a bit too much to stomach, do not expect to leave this film feeling any more positive about the state of the world. The comparisons that have been thrown around to films such as American Psycho and Taxi Driver are apt, yet this film does not have the pure depth of criticism to be as cleverly done as those films. Spree is about as subtle as a sledgehammer, but it is incredibly entertaining in a way that makes you worry that those who do not get what the film is doing will take away the wrong message.
Kurt Kunkle (Joe Keery, Stranger Things) is like the majority of the youth these days; obsessed with social media. Kurt is a young twenty-something who has been making videos for over a decade as “KurtsWorld96” while rarely ever cracking double digits in views. Kurt has been plugging away all these years, doing all the things he sees social media celebrities doing, but he is tired of getting nowhere with his efforts. This failure of content is made all the more unpalatable by the fact that he used to babysit Bobby, aka @bobbybasecamp (Josh Ovalle), an influencer on the level that Kurt cannot even fathom reaching. Kurt finally has what he thinks is the perfect plan to go viral. Armed with GoPros, dash cams and a lack of morals, Kurt plans to start killing people while live streaming his ride-share job at Spree. Surely that is finally going to get people’s attention, right?
One of the darkly hilarious things about Spree is how even killing multiple people does not give a boost to Kurt’s fledgling channel. His content is too “weak” to be exciting. It is a fair commentary on how desensitized we have become as a society. Kurt realizes he needs to tap into a bigger pool of followers when rising comedian Jessie Adams (Sasheer Zamata) ends up in the back of his car. She is safe at first, but Kurt’s stalker-like interest in her is troubling to be sure. When Kurt has to start upping his game from simple poisoning , the movie goes off the rails in a great way. Compared to something like American Psycho, Spree actually does not get as violent as it could. It relies a lot on the audience filling in some of the more brutal kills in their minds. The film also lessens the blow of the initial kills by dispatching more one-note personalities; sexists, white supremacists, other people who “deserve” it. The film is wonderfully over-the-top in a way that will thrill the dark souls in the crowd.
If you only know Joe Keery from Stranger Things, you will be pleasantly surprised by his excellent portrayal as the genial, pathetic protagonist. He seems so natural when he is blurting out “follow for follow” to a passenger that you will still be cringing long after the film is finished. You would view him like a puppy dog if you had not just seen him take a drill to a lady. He carries this film on his shoulders since he is in every shot, but the supporting cast are also quite strong. David Arquette, who is having a strong year, showcases where his son picked up his pathetic streak as his drug-addled DJ father. Zamata is wonderful as a complicated rising social media star who thrives on the engagement, but may have something deeper at play. The film has a lot of insanely dark humor, and your experience with it will largely depend on how much immorality you can stomach. You can decide for yourself what it means that I was on board for the mayhem the entire time.
Spree is a film tailor made for the ADHD generation. There are so many frantic cuts from mounted camera to mounted camera that the film can never settle for too long. Younger generations are already conditioned to be unable to hold a thought for longer than a minute, and this film plays into that. The implementation of split screens and multiple viewpoints is handled effectively, but by the end of the film, you will likely need to go on a walk just to clear your head. The film itself has some very cogent things to say about the place of social media in the world, and the way in which Spree brings it to life works well in its own blunt manner. Sure, the film could have went a bit deeper in the satire, but subtlety is not an art form that is widely embraced by the audience that needs to see it. The final pointed gag will have you rolling your eyes in exasperation, and then you will subsequently realize that the film is spot-on, unfortunately. The film is mean-spirited, dark fun that takes aim at all of our obsession for outward approval. At the very least, it will make you do a double take before taking the water in your next rideshare.
Video Quality
Spree arrives on Blu-Ray with an excellent AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The film is shot in a very specific way with Kurt’s cameras and other surveillance footage capturing what we see. There are some inherent limitations due to this, but the transfer looks as excellent as you could hope for a brand new movie to look. There are a lot of vibrant colors to showcase here, and the transfer captures the visual palette of the film accurately. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows. There are scenes in which Kurt does not have his interior lighting going, but the shadowy backseat avoids any signs of crush. The bright whites of the interior lighting do not fall victim to any blooming in this presentation. Skin tones appear very natural across the entire cast, and compression artifacts and other such digital nuisances are nonexistent. The Blu-Ray presentation is pretty wonderful in its technical accuracy.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures this world perfectly. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it always comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. The other overarching presence in the film is Kurt’s techno mix that provides a pleasing low-level texture to the sound design. There is little in the way of action sequences, but some activity from the passengers or non-vehicle locations engages the surround speakers in a really pleasing way. Ambient sounds are precisely placed in the rear channels. The audio track is not pushed to the limit with this content, but it nonetheless proves to be an excellent sounding presentation for this feature.
Special Features
- KurtsWorld96 Social Media Content: Eleven videos totaling over 32 minutes of extended footage from the movie that shows the content that Kurt shot for his “fans.” These are fascinating to watch and showcase how truly amazing Joe Keery is in this role. The full fourteen-minute “Draw My Life” sequence is essential in revealing everything that has went down in Kurt’s life, which made me appreciate the film even more.
- Director Commentary: Director Eugene Kotlyarenko provides a very fun and informative track in which he discusses his intentions for the film (to savage influencers), the actual shooting of the film with all of the mounted cameras, executing stunts, finding Josh Ovalle through social media, scenes they had to cut for time and more. His vocal patterns weirdly match Kurt’s pretty closely, which makes for an at-times eerie experience. Those who enjoy the film should appreciate getting some fun details from the shoot.
Final Thoughts
Spree is not the subtlest of social satires, but it is truly a blast to experience in all of its dark glory. Joe Keery is incredible in this pathetic role of a guy who just wants fame a bit too much. This movie is wildly over the top, which is one of the joys from my viewpoint. RLJE Films has provided a pretty solid Blu-Ray with a great A/V presentation and an engaging assortment of special features. You will not feel good about the state of the world by the end of the film, but you should have quite a fun ride if you delight in dark humor. Highly Recommended
Spree is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: RLJE Films Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
