Spree
RLJE Films | Release Date: August 14, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
5
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The Film StageJoshua EnciniasAug 14, 2020
An equal parts terrifying, thrilling, and satirical look at how social media can warp the mind. Read full review
83
The PlaylistMarshall ShafferAug 13, 2020
Koltyarenko serves a bitter pill for viewers of his film, many of whom will likely see themselves as part of the solution to the problem of online radicalization by attempting to grapple with it in this film. The viewers are actually more part of the problem by tuning into Kurt’s stream in the first place. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperAug 13, 2020
Every frame of the film is bursting with sensory overload information, from the shaky, hand-held camera angles to the constant scrolling of viewer messages to the occasional use of split screens. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerAug 14, 2020
So while there's nothing incredibly new here in the narrative, it's also a reminder that Keery has natural charisma, and is turning that to increasingly interesting ends. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 10, 2020
I have to say I went along with it, more amused by the craft and bursts of wit and gripped by a bit of tension, here and there, than appalled by the inhumanity. It taps into our shared phobia about ridesharing and “over-sharing,” not that EVERYbody is alarmed by these phenomena. Read full review
58
ConsequenceMichael RoffmanAug 10, 2020
Spree works better as a performance piece for Keery, who never eases up on the pedal. He’s legitimately haunting as Kurt, and like the best sociopaths in film, there’s a subtle guilt that comes from wanting to see what he’ll do next. Oddly enough, that feeling speaks louder than anything actually said in the film. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJul 23, 2020
To the extent that it works, much credit goes to Keery, for finding the real human need inside this twentysomething cipher. Read full review
50
The VergeAdi RobertsonJul 23, 2020
The film leans hard into dark comedy rather than outright horror, which saves it from seeming like technophobic scaremongering or a “kids these days” moral panic. If you’re the kind of person who can laugh at slapstick murder vignettes, a lot of Spree works very well. Read full review
40
The GuardianCath ClarkeAug 14, 2020
Spree is meant to comment on the shallowness of social media culture; the trouble is, it’s a film with the depth of a puddle. Read full review
40
EmpireIan FreerAug 12, 2020
A forced, over-ripe satire on the hunger for social media, bolstered by an engaging performance by Joe Keery. But if you really want to feel the real-life impact of the ’Gram on a young psyche, stick with Eighth Grade. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyAug 14, 2020
An awkward and mostly unpleasant hybrid of social critique and horror-comedy, detailing how this psycho kid decides to take the gloves off and become internet famous. Read full review
30
SlashfilmBen PearsonJul 23, 2020
Keery turns in a good performance, insomuch as Kurt’s thirsty loser is a 180-degree turn from Steve Harrington on Stranger Things, but there’s nothing enjoyable about him slipping into the skin of this maniac, and very rarely anything enjoyable about the experience of watching the film itself. Read full review
30
VarietyJessica KiangJul 23, 2020
If you are in need of more reminders of the most extreme of the potential evils of internet interaction than you get every time you fire up an app, by all means, smash the like button on “Spree.” For the rest of us, the best advice might be to mute, block, vote down, unfollow or simply log off and go look at a tree. Read full review
10
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAug 13, 2020
Coarsely merging social-media critique and slasher comedy, this shallow take on the evils of internet addiction is as unoriginal as it is unfunny. Read full review
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