Spree (2020) Review

 "You're following me, you guys!"

-Kurt Kunkle

Rideshare driver, Kurt Kunkle (Joe Keery) is desperate to be a social media influencer, but hasn't had much luck.  But, now he has a plan to go viral by taking his passengers on a deadly ride.

What Works:

This movie only works because of Joe Keery.  With a lesser actor in the lead role, this movie flops hard, but Keery keeps it going.  While Kurt is far from a likable protagonist, he has a certain charm and earnestness, while still being socially awkward.  Keery manages to perfectly strike the needed balance for our protagonist.  While we may not like Kurt and we aren't rooting for him, there are at least moments where you feel sorry for him.

This is basically a found footage movie and uses livestreams, app footage, and security camera footage.  I love when movies can pull off this sort of creative format.  The Unfriended movies do something similar and I think it works well here.  Plus with a cast of social media influences, it actually makes sense for all of the cameras to be where they are.  Almost every shot is justified.

Finally, this is primarily a black comedy and it mostly works.  There are some really funny moments throughout the film.  Some of the deaths are hilarious and Keery's unhinged performance brings out some great reactions.  There are even some awesome moments when the livestream reads comments out loud. 

What Sucks:

I can't think of movie following a more unlikable group of characters.  I hate every single character in this movie.  That isn't an exaggeration.  All of them absolutely suck.  There is no one to root for.  I think Kurt is a complex enough character for this to work for him, but most of the other characters are undeveloped and suck, which is the point I think.  The one exception is Jessie (Sasheer Zamata), who I think we are supposed to like.  While she's the least bad out of all the characters, she is still insufferable in her livestreams and not someone I was rooting for.  The character is a stand-up comedian, but she isn't very funny.  There just isn't anyone here for us to latch onto emotionally and that's a huge problem.

One of my biggest pet peeves is livestreaming.  It doesn't matter who it is, I hate it.  I hate how people talk while they do it and I despise the comments that pop up on them.  There is a lot of livestreaming in this movie.  Like an insane amount.  Almost the entire movie.  It's not bad when other stuff is happening, but when the characters start talking to their viewers, it's hard to sit through.  

Finally, in the 3rd act, while trying to fight off Kurt, Jessie takes a moment to talk to the people watching the livestream.  She then proceeds to allow the livestream to continue instead of calling the cops and later takes a selfie.  I didn't buy into any of this and it felt like a really forced way to keep the found footage medium afloat when there were more believable options.

Verdict:

I know I sounded harsh on this movie, but I actually liked the film.  It's a fun and entertaining ride thanks to Joe Keery's performance and some solid comedy.  The characters suck and the livestreaming is tough for me to sit through, but I still recommend the film.

 7/10: Good