By Jason Guyer
By Jason Guyer
In 2020, opinions are everywhere — and this column is no exception.
One of the most popular vehicles that such views are delivered to society is social commentary, probably because everyone has an opinion about society and how we are and should be living in it.
The one I most dread is negative commentary on social media and the internet (or even technology in general).
Generationally there is always this assumption that the current generation is “the best” generation.
A large chunk of my life took place between the internet and social media so naturally many in my generation and before say the same thing.
In my view, culminated and formed by experiences, the internet and social media are what drives what is wrong in the world and it will ultimately be the downfall of civilization. It’s perhaps an insane argument and one that happens across the board with the generations before a given generation. Your parents always feel their generation is better than the current and their parents and grandparents thought the same before them.
What forms this opinion is bias.
We all live in and experience our own generation. Therefore, we have a want or need of our own experience to be the best experience.
The internet and social media is never as nefarious as it is made out to be, but it has created new negative aspects to deal with in life.
This is true with progress and any progress throughout history.
The Industrial Revolution created negative issues, too. You find them or experience them and then do what is necessary to fix them and move on.
There is also the fact that no matter how many people complain, progress is not going backwards. The human race will most likely never live in a time where the internet and technology does not exist. So we have to amplify the good aspects to the internet and social media and learn what the bad is and deal with it.
Social commentary can be a good thing to show the world what people perceive as bad or, at least, what some in the world perceive as bad.
This is what Eugene Kotlyarenko aims to do with his film, “Spree.”
“Spree” is a horror/thriller that is a social commentary on the way people clamor for attention and likes on social media.
The film follows Kurt Kunkle, a rideshare driver (think Uber) who tries to use his abilities and experiences to gain fame on social media.
When this fails to lead Kunkle to the attention he desires, he devises a plan to change that. This plan, however, is sadistic and deadly for his rideshare patrons (unbeknownst to them).
Kurt Kunkle is played by “Stranger Things” Joe Keery.
I am going to be upfront about “Spree.” Without Joe Keery this film is garbage.
The “found” footage style is made worse by what amounts to Snapchat or Instagram snippets/videos.
The format wears thin really quickly. Luckily the film jumps between full screen footage and these mobile-phone-screen-size chunks of video.
I have never been a huge fan of “found” footage but this makes the genre worse, not better.
My disdain for “found” footage follows this logic: I understand I am watching a film, something that is most often fake, and I want the movie to be made well and a good film, not to necessarily feel more real.
“Spree,” at times, feels staged and fake as the “found” footage trope would suggest it should.
However, while the surroundings often feel staged, Joe Keery’s Kurt Kunkle never does. Kurt Kunkle feels like an extreme version of people we know.
Joe Keery also makes the character of Kunkle likeable with shades of Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman. And yet, Kunle is even more likeable because he is not sadistic like Bateman.
Bateman was a serial killer who enjoyed it. Kunkle is an extension of the craziness of attention-seeking on social media and Kunle feels like just as much a victim as those who become a victim to Kunkle.
The character of Kunkle appears intelligent, is funny and extremely likable in a friendly and warm way. This is the charm and genius behind Joe Keery’s performance. He makes the viewer his friend before walking down such a dark tunnel in his life.
“Spree” is not sadistic in its intentions and does not aim to be “American Psycho.” The film draws parallels to “American Psycho” but those parallel lines are not close to one another. “American Psycho” had a soullessness to Patrick Bateman brought on by or amplified by society.
“Spree” is the exact opposite. The commonality may be how both Kunkle and Bateman are killers but Kunkle does not feel soulless like Bateman.
In fact, it is quite the opposite. Kunkle feels like a person he is likable (in all but the killer ways). He feels like someone we know or ourselves (at least in part) because he cares. He just cares about the wrong things.
Kunkle seeks other people — specifically he seeks attention, admiration and love from those people. It may be a superficial version of it but he is still seeking those things and it separates his character from a character like Bateman.
Quite frankly, Keery’s performance in “Spree” is one of the best this year, even if the film is subpar and always feels beneath his ability.
The film itself feels more like Bateman as a soulless commentary on social media and the internet-driven lifestyle but Joe Keery makes Kunkle’s experience feel more human and is more of a commentary on society than the film itself.
As I said above, this film would have been garbage in the hands of almost any other actor. Joe Keery makes this film what it is.
“Spree” is a film I don’t usually like but one I ended up liking anyway because of Joe Keery.
Davis Arguette plays Kris Kunkle, Kurt’s Dad, and it is good to see him back in films. Plus, there is even a Marissa (The O.C.) sighting that adds a little more to the “Spree” experience.
“Spree” mirrors the life experience of the average person in the digital age. Some may hate it but the only thing we can do is experience it, learn from it and make the best of it.
“Spree” is a film I would not normally watch but in 2020 with COVID, the film experience is a different experience than it used to be.
We must focus less on the negative and we have to make the best of it.
Now “Spree” may not be the best of the film industry over the years but it is right now and it is worth the experience the film provides. In the end that is what “Spree” is all about — the Kunkle experience. In Kurt’s own words, “This is Kurt from Kurt’s World and today I’m going to draw my life.”
Kurt Kunkle wants people to experience his existence and his life with him and not feel so alone.
The truth behind the internet and social media, and maybe life in general, you may not enjoy the entire experience but at least you get to experience it.
Go out and find a way COVID safe way to experience Joe Keery in “Spree.”
IRATE SCORE: 3.5/5
Jason Guyer is an avid moviegoer and works in the graphics department at the Eagle Times. For questions or comments he can be emailed at [email protected].
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