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As we move into a primarily digital age, scary movies have started to revolve entirely around the horrors of the contemporary era. Modern ghost hunters, digitally-streamed exorcisms, and webcam killers have officially taken over new horror film concepts, and the new Hulu film Spree is no exception to the trend. Spree follows a fame-obsessed live streamer who is hellbent on gaining a following — and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.
The concept of a ride-share killer is not new. In 2016, the movie Ryde was released featuring David Wachs as a murderer who hijacks a ride-share vehicle and proceeds to murder all those who enter it. Unfortunately, the movie received pretty poor reviews. It scored barely sixty percent on IMDb, and many audience reviews warn others not to waste their time on the film.
Ryde‘s poor reviews beg the question: Does Spree do a better job executing the ride-share-killer trope? I wouldn’t watch the movie a second time, but the movie could still be worth watching for the right horror fan. The movie appeals to a particular audience because of its featured iconic actors and primarily digital content. However, the movie’s viewing style and the messy execution of the story leave it up to the horror consumer to decide if they want to take a chance on Spree.
Messy Execution
The film opens up to a montage of boring and poorly-edited YouTube clips made by the main character Kurt (Joe Keery). This opening sequence drones on for about five minutes before the movie dives into actual story content, possibly in hopes of searing the wannabe-YouTube-personality of the main character into viewers’ minds. While it theoretically serves a purpose in writing the film, as it solidifies Kurt’s intentions with the later action of the movie, the production’s execution of the concept hits the ground running straight into a really boring movie experience.
Look, most horror fans are watching scary movies to get right into the spooky elements of the story — Spree puts this component on the back burner right from the very start. After the montage, a series of FaceTime calls and snippets of live streaming by Kurt perpetuate the slow anticipation of the horror aspects of the movie. It’s hard to call the first quarter of this movie horror at all because it overwhelmingly fails to pick up its scary-edge-of-your-seat pace.
That being said, the horror elements begin to quicken after the first quarter. This happens when Kurt decides to start murdering people in his rideshare while also live streaming for his YouTube series “KurtsWorld96.” Kurt hooks up multiple cameras in his car and starts poisoning people with toxic water bottles. Unfortunately, he fails to gain a following even after filming gruesome murders and then dumping their bodies on camera. He actually doesn’t start to get his footing until other influencers with larger followings start to live stream events from his car, triggering a bridge to the climax of the movie when Kurt begins to gain an enormous following on his channel.
An Unrealistic Storyline
This plot seems interesting on paper, but a lot of the aspects are severely unrealistic. It’s hard to believe that authorities, or other people watching the live streams, wouldn’t pick up on a young guy murdering people in his car for as long as Kurt goes undetected. This makes for an unrealistic storyline, taking away a part of horror which fans would likely miss — the fear that comes with watching a story that could happen in real life.
The fear which stems from watching a scenario that could happen in real life (like being murdered by a masked serial killer hiding in the closet) is lost in Kurt’s situation. Sure, you could be the unlucky first or second kill, but anyone after that would likely be saved when the cops pull over the car and arrest the murdering psycho. While the movie does a good job at illustrating what could happen to people in a world where law enforcement doesn’t pick up on live-streaming murders, the storyline is just not believable enough to terrify seasoned horror fans.
Spree places a lot of emphasis on the storyline’s digital component and fails to consider the reality of a situation like a live-streaming serial killer. It also features a few really unlikely deaths (like two people being stuck in a sunroof without the other passenger noticing), giving the movie a cheesy component that misses the actual horror mark. Seeing characters die in overdramatic and animated ways makes horror movies like this borderline comedic, and the draw of horror is completely lost as a result. These negative aspects of the film could be deal-breakers, but a few elements like the cast and a meaningful twist, make it potentially worth watching.
A Worthy Cast
If you’ve already decided to skip Spree, then so be it. However, regardless of the poor execution, this film does feature a star-studded cast. As previously mentioned, the movie revolves around Joe Keery, who is best known for his role as Steve in Stranger Things. But the movie also features a classic horror veteran, two Saturday Night Live cast members, and even a popular Viner who younger audience members may recognize.
Playing the role of Kurt’s dad is David Arquette. Classic horror fans will recognize Arquette from his role as Dwight “Dewey” O’Reilly from the Scream series. Arquette was a huge name in horror back when Scream was popular in the nineties and now again in the 2022 reboot of the same series, where he will reprise his lovable Sheriff Dewey. Spree also features Kyle Mooney and Sasheer Zamata, who are members of the current Saturday Night Live cast, adding a more welcome comedic element to the movie’s horror vibe.
Another humorous addition is Josh Ovalle’s feature, a popular content creator for Vine (an active predecessor to TikTok back in 2013). Ovalle plays a more successful live streamer who happens to be someone Kurt used to babysit. This realization in the film adds a heightened level of creepiness — especially considering the main character and killer is trying to make it big in a more common service with younger audiences.
Kurt is an adult who you wouldn’t expect to try to become popular on a live-streaming platform, so his presence seems phony with bad intentions. Ovalle’s younger and more accomplished character emphasizes the element of Kurt’s blatant immaturity and skewed priorities to achieve fame, which adds depth to an otherwise depthless film.
A Redeeming Twist
A subtle but well-executed twist in the movie also adds depth to the film’s boring plot. At the beginning of Spree, Kurt is walking out of his home and can be seen saying goodbye to his mom as he trots off to his car to commence his murder spree. The movie briefly touches on the broken love between Kurt’s parents and his relationship with his dad, but doesn’t go into any further details — that is, until the true fate of his mom is revealed at the end of the film.
The story takes a sharp and dark turn when it’s revealed that Kurt’s first kill was actually his mother. Up until this point, Kurt is illustrated as a comedically-bad murderer. Failing at being noticed, even after he becomes a serial killer, Kurt is sorely unskilled at everything he does — even when he starts the killing, it’s hard to take his character seriously. But when it’s revealed that Kurt has ruthlessly murdered his mom, the audience realizes that his goal to become viral has no limits, and he will truly go to any measure to accomplish it.
Caused by a ruthless desire to be popular online, Kurt’s mental instability climaxes when audience members realize he has murdered his mom and will now murder his father and anyone else to help build his online presence. This story element adds a deeper meaning to the otherwise near-comedic horror plot, leaving viewers reflecting on the terrors of social media and how far a desire to be famous can push someone.
In the end, the surviving ride-share passenger kills Kurt and becomes famous for doing so. This action insinuates that Kurt’s murder spree will soon be forgotten, and the next wave of wannabe-internet-famous personalities are just around the corner — and who knows what they will be willing to do. This ending adds a layer of social media horror that leaves audience members questioning the ethics of fame in the digital era and what it would take to break the cycle.
Should You Watch Spree?
In the end, Spree has much to offer, but a lot of horror fans may want to steer clear of the film. The plot progression is slow and leaves the viewer exclaiming, “just get on with it already!” Redeeming qualities like the cast and the twist, in the end, are indicators of what could’ve been had the movie been produced better, but ultimately, Spree falls short of being an enjoyable horror experience.
The movie would be best for someone who isn’t a diehard horror cinephile or for a horror fan who wants a good laugh at Steve from Stranger Things murdering a bunch of people in his ride-share.