Spree (2020)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A social media-obsessed rideshare driver attempts to go viral by livestreaming himself murdering his passengers.
The story
In Southern California, a young man named Kurt Kunkle is obsessed with becoming a social media star. Jealous of an internet celebrity friend, Kurt finds work as a driver for a rideshare app called Spree. He equips his car with cameras and begins a livestream entitled 'The Lesson' to teach viewers how to become famous. To gain attention, Kurt picks up a passenger and kills him with a poisoned bottle of water. Despite the act, he fails to gain significant viewers, leading him to target more passengers, including a comedian with a large following, in a desperate bid for notoriety.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Kurt Kunkle, seeking internet fame, begins livestreaming his crimes as a rideshare driver for the app 'Spree.' After murdering a passenger and failing to gain traction, he targets a comedian named Jessie. After killing several more passengers, Kurt discovers Jessie is performing in a livestreamed comedy show that night. He kills his former babysitting friend, Bobby, to hijack Bobby's audience, and later picks up Kurt's father, Kris, to take him to a club. During the night, a DJ named uNo drinks poisoned water and is shot by a police officer during a pursuit involving Kurt. Kurt eventually finds Jessie again and takes her to his house, gloating that she cannot call for help. However, Jessie fights back, and after a violent struggle, Kurt kills his father and is ultimately crushed and killed by Jessie using his own car. Jessie becomes a nationwide star by posting a selfie with Kurt's body, while Kurt's murders are compiled into a film titled 'Spree.'
- First release year
- 2020
- Runtime (minutes)
- 93
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Eugene Kotlyarenko
- Writers
- Eugene Kotlyarenko · writer; Gene McHugh · writer
- Cast and characters
- Joe Keery · Kurt Kunkle; Sasheer Zamata; Mischa Barton; John DeLuca; Josh Ovalle; Lala Kent; Frankie Grande; Kyle Mooney
- Genres
- found footage; black comedy; horror
- Themes
- social media obsession; desperation for fame; psychopathy
- Tone and mood
- gonzo-style satire; black comedy; horror
- Premise and plot tags
- found footage; social media; rideshare; murder; villain protagonist
- Content notes
- murder
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, with critics praising Joe Keery's performance and the film's premise, though some found it lacking in depth.
- Production trivia
- The cast spent hours watching content from influencers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok as research.; The production involved filming in-character social media posts such as unboxing videos and vape reviews.; RLJE Films paid $2 million to acquire the rights to the film shortly after its premiere.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…