Stranger Things Fans Are Obsessed With Joe Keery's Underrated 2020 Horror Movie

Actor and musician Joe Keery tends to steal scenes whenever he's in them, whether he's playing the wannabe tough guy son of a rancher in the FX series "Fargo" or ice-cream-scooper-slash-supernatural-slayer Steve Harrington on Netflix's "Stranger Things." It's really hard not to love him as Steve, who starts the series as kind of a jock jerk and ends up becoming a sort of big brother to the show's many younger characters, especially Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), ultimately making him one of the very best characters on "Stranger Things." And with the extended break between seasons of the Duffer Brothers' smash-hit Netflix show, many viewers have started looking for their favorite stars from the series in other places, which has led them to discover an underrated Keery-starring horror-comedy movie that was released in 2020: Eugene Kotlyarenko's "Spree"!

"Spree" initially released to mixed-to-positive reactions from critics. In his own review for /Film, Ben Pearson was appreciative of Keery's performance but found the film to be shallow overall, pointing out the unfortunate rash of killers in our own world that mirror "Spree" just a little too much for it to be truly entertaining. Other viewers found the satire of "Spree" to be pitch-perfect, with Keery's twisted acting and the movie's clear understanding of internet culture making it both horrifying and hilarious. Really, almost every single review for "Spree," whether positive or negative, points out that Keery is truly fantastic, which makes this the perfect vehicle to really excite his fanbase.

"Spree" stars Keery as Kurt Krunkle, a Los Angeleno who is desperate to go viral and will do anything to do it, including brutally killing people in his job as a rideshare driver and broadcasting it live for all to see. There's a lot of humor to "Spree," as the movie satirizes not only content creator culture but also the internet at large, with some truly disturbing (and funny) comments scrolling through as Kurt goes about his murder spree. He even ends up meeting his match when he picks up comedian Jessie Adams ("Saturday Night Live" alum Sasheer Zamata), and she's totally unimpressed with his schtick, resulting in a battle for much more than just views and likes. Ultimately, the film is a little shallow, which might be the point, and it can be difficult for some viewers to separate the fiction of Kurt's killings with real-life shooters who've tried to use violence to gain notoriety and the attention of their online peers. However, for fans who can compartmentalize and just want to see Keery shine, "Spree" ought to deliver.

Indeed, folks on Twitter/X have been effusive in their praise for the film, highlighting how the movie's handling of social media/internet reaction is so accurate that it's almost eerie. Others compare it to the beloved 2014 cult classic found footage film "Creep," which stars Mark Duplass as a man who just really wants a friend. Both "Creep" and "Spree" use their unique formats in creative ways and have compelling performances at the center, though "Spree" definitely leans much more heavily into critiquing society. 

The cult following for "Spree" seems to be growing, with some extreme love in people's reviews over on Letterboxd. One of the most popular reviews reads, "This is like if Joker wanted to be an influencer instead of a stand-up comedian," which is actually a pretty accurate description of the film (although "Spree" feels like a movie for younger audiences, more so than Todd Phillips' "Joker"). But as unsettling as it can be to watch a character carry out killings in a way that feels like they could actually happen, that's also what makes it kind of brilliant. And again, while it seems like the movie doesn't have much to offer beyond a condemnation of social media addiction, perhaps it can be seen as a character study, with Kurt Krunkle serving as, say a Tyler Durden for the TikTok generation (i.e. a charismatic monster who makes it easy to miss the point).

It will be interesting to look back on "Spree" in a decade or so, at which point it will either have become a predictor for regular occurrences or serve as a chilling reminder of the past. Either way, it's a shocking movie that captures a disturbing moment in American history, and folks are fascinated.