Let me tell you - I love horror movies.
Whether that means watching the best horror movies out there, or some of the funniest horror comedies, I am always down for a fun time when it comes to these films. Whether it be the scares, the music, the gore, or the acting, anytime someone puts a horror movie on the TV, I will watch it. Which was why I decided to try out the underrated horror comedy, Spree, starring Joe Keery.
And oh my God, I do not regret a single bit of my time watching this film.
It was a random pick on a random Saturday night as I was just looking for something to watch, and poof! There it appeared on Hulu. I had heard good things about it, and while it was never a huge hit (it did come out during 2020), I knew that Joe Keery fans said that it was one of his best projects he’s done outside of Stranger Things. So, I gave it a shot, and I’m here to tell you why you should, too.
If You Want To See The Scary Side Of Joe Keery, Spree Is The Film For You
Let’s be honest - half of you here probably saw the title and thought, “Joe Keery? I love that guy.” And I love him too, so much. I love his acting, and he’s freaking hilarious in Stranger Things. I mean, I could go on for hours about Steve Harrington's best moments.
But, Joe Keery in a horror movie is something else, and I need people to see him in Spree.
The basic premise of this film is that a taxi driver who operates on a ride-share platform (like Uber) wants to become famous online, so he decides to make this big streaming video that he’s calling, “the lesson.” This ends up being an all day event where he straight-up murders his customers in his car, while on a live stream.
He’s not even unnecessarily scary. I don’t look at Keery’s character, Kurt, and think he’s a homicidal maniac like legendary horror movie villains such as Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Kruger or Halloween’s Michael Myers. He just looks like a normal dude who is trying his hardest to somehow become famous online and nothing that he does works out for him, whether that be tutorials, random videos, streaming - nothing. But, it’s the way he acts later on in the film that makes me shiver.
He’s so calm about everything he does. There are rare moments where he loses his cool, but most of the time, he’s so direct with his audience as he streams. He has a smile that really unnerves you, despite Keery’s natural charisma, and you know that Kurt is just a psycho deep down. It’s a great performance from him.
The Movie Finds Some Creative And Truly Disturbing Ways To Take Out Its Victims
I have seen some gory horror movies in my time. I have even refused to watch the entire Saw franchise because I think there’s almost too much gore in those. Some of the moments in Midsommar had me gagging. I really didn’t think that a horror comedy would be able to impress me with the way they kill off people, but Spree did that and more.
Without getting into spoilers, Kurt finds some very creative and yet disturbing ways to kill his victims. It almost had me applauding him for thinking of something so creative and smart and then realizing that this dude is truly dangerous. Some of the ways in which he ends their lives are evilly smart and I hate that I was so impressed.
Again, you look at this guy and think “there is no way this man is a serial killer. He wouldn’t harm a fly.” But this movie gives us that and more, and your mouth is left gaping open in shock at what he is able to come up with.
The Way In Which This Movie Is Shot Is So Different
I know that there are horror movies out there that focus on how scary social media and modern day technology can be. The Blumhouse horror film, Cam, is a good example of that, but I don’t think there’s another horror movie out there that is filmed the way Spree is.
Throughout this film, you do not see a single professional shot of film in the way you would expect. Everything is shown through the eyes of a dash cam, a security camera, a phone recorder, live streams - anything you can think of that could be seen online. From the first moments of the film, we are given legit YouTube videos that Kurt has uploaded online as our background info on the character.
Afterward, it continues to stick to non-traditional methods of capturing the story. It’s extremely well done, and certainly caught my attention from the first moments of the film.
It Tackles The Topic Of Dependence On Social Media And Followers For Some
I am a part of the generation that grew up depending on social media, and to an extent, there are days where I wonder what it would be like if I had a bigger following. It’s movies like Spree that help me continue to realize that social media isn’t a big enough deal to have some people literally kill to get followers.
While Spree is a horror movie, at its core is a very good commentary on the effects of social media on the mind and how someone can become dependent on it, and can drive certain people to do ridiculous things in order to gain a following. While Spree is an audacious example of what someone would do, there have been real examples on social media that certainly fit this.
I’m not saying that every influencer is like Kurt, because they are certainly not, but I will say that there have been people out there who will do anything for attention just so they can get their follower count up, and Spree is an example of how far someone could go. It doesn't make it right, but it’s seriously interesting in the way that it’s told.
The Way The Film All Ties Together At The End Blew My Mind
No spoilers, but the way this film ends will make you grin and smile and shake your head in disbelief.
While it’s also a good commentary on a certain aspect of real life today - how people can sometimes spin a story in their favor - it’s the way that both of the main stars of the film, Joe Keery as Kurt and Sasheer Zamata as Jessie, get their fame at the end of this hour-and-a-half-long killing spree. It’s amazingly done - and something that I think anyone would really enjoy.
For those who want a new horror comedy to watch, check out Spree. It’s entertaining, well-acted, and has some good commentary on modern-day society. This film deserves more people talking about it, and if I can get one other person to watch it, I will.
