Is ‘Spree’ Based on a True Story?

The big picture

• True crimes have often fueled the creativity of filmmakers, who depict horrors like the fame-obsessed Kurt's killing spree in the 2020s.
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  Not reflecting real cases, the film's director was inspired by a true story of an Uber driver's fatal scare.
• Joe Keery's transformation into Kurt Kunkle involved deep research into social media underdogs and rideshare drivers for authenticity.

True crimes have been the subject of speculation for filmmakers for decades. From rampant serial killers to elaborate attacks, movies have highlighted the gruesome details and addressed the devastating consequences. Spree (2020) plays on the general fear of the stranger driving you when you call for a car service, which may have potentially deadly ulterior motives. It also emphasizes the modern phenomena of going viral, tapping into the mindset of smaller influencers who are desperate to be seen and build their audience/followers. With these realistic modern concepts, it's easy to believe that the film was based on a true case, but the film actually fuses these two ideas together, creating the ultimate fame-crazed serial killer with unlimited access to potential victims in a private space. The real-life character of Kurt Kunkle (Joe Keery) and each kill he specifically carries out does not directly reflect any real-life driver murder cases, but is loosely inspired by one in particular.

What is 'Spree'?

Spree follows a series of murders across the city of Los Angeles by a deranged “Spree” (like Uber or Lyft) driver who is also a young influencer vying for fame. It kicks off with a series of framed, nostalgic found-footage-style Youtube clips that feature our awkward protagonist in familiar video trends like “how-to” or “draw your life.” Kurt also introduces “The Lesson”, stating that it will be his big break, and slowly divulges the details. We don't really see the first unsuspecting participants in the slaughter, as the screen cuts to the next scene the moment they disappear from the spiked water.

The first kill that appears on the screen is the most creative. Three intoxicated friends (played by Frankie Grande, Mischa Bartoni Lala Kent, oddly enough) continue their nocturnal Los Angeles adventure on Kurt's Spree ride, arriving at a rooftop junkyard with half of his torso sticking out of the car's skylight. Two of them end up being mauled by protective guard dogs while the other gets a makeshift lobotomy with Kurt's drill. But the murder that makes him go viral is the boy he used to babysit and is also a successful streamer and influencer, Bobby Base Camp (Joshua Ovalle). Kurt's plans are later interrupted by the police due to a stray shot by a drugged-out K-pop star, and he is eventually killed by Jessie Adams (Sasheer Zamata), a comedian who also lives by the “all eyes on me” mantra. The weirdest part of the film is the comedian's final selfie with Kurt's smashed face and the resulting Kurt Kunkle fan sites, bringing it back to the social media addiction that has captivated modern technological era.

Is “Spree” inspired by real events?

Although Spree is a fictional film whose plot doesn't quite resemble any case of carpool drivers killing each other, the director Eugene Kotlyarenko revealed after the film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival that it was inspired by a true case. He mentioned that the co-writer of the film Gene McHugh learned about this particular case and declared, “We should take this horrible thing that happened and use it.” Kotyarenko did not reveal which specific case sparked this conversation and idea, but there is speculation that the film was based on the case of Jon Dalton, an Uber driver from Michigan who murdered six people in Kalamazoo in February 2016. Dalton eventually pleaded guilty to all charges in 2019 and was sentenced to life in prison. Obviously, Kurt's unearthed gem concluded a little more dramatically, and he also killed nine people in a crazy spiral of fame, including his parents. Jon Dalton's case was also more of a shootout as Kurt planned and promoted a longer plan that lasted an entire day, and it was all filmed live as well. Kurt's spree realistically shouldn't have lasted all day, considering all reputable carpools are tracked, so four passengers in a row not arriving at their original destination would have raised enough suspicion to investigate the driver.

How Joe Keery Prepared for His Role in 'Spree'

Keery completely erased his charisma from his role a Strange things and opted for a more awkward and forced personality. To prepare for the Kurt Kunkle-worthy character, Keery spent hours scrolling through different social media platforms, focusing especially on would-be influencers with small audiences. While talking with The Hollywood Reporter, said, “What was really the most important thing for me and the most helpful thing was watching the people who don't have any kind of audience. People who are in the single digits. A lot of these people share a lot of qualities with Kurt because they're trying to gain some traction.” Adopting his gestures and tone of voice, Keery gives us the classic “intros” and “outros” accompanied by stiff hand gestures, as well as the phrase we universally know shouldn't be said: “follow for follow “. Jessie Adams perfectly expresses the question we've all been thinking: “Sir, are you a Twitterbot or is there a real-life human child?” This research rabbit hole was prompted by a 35-45 minute compilation of videos that Kotyarenko first sent him, inspiring Keery to do more research not only on the less successful influencers, but also on the more prominent ones. and controversial.

Keery also researched rideshare drivers. In the aforementioned The Hollywood Reporter Interview, he also mentioned that he would take shared elevators to work every day, learning how the drivers would introduce themselves and interact with a passenger. Although the film did not directly resemble a specific case, the creators and actors went to great lengths to maintain the authenticity of the character. The meticulous research behind Kurt Kunkle's construction, along with Keery's talented acting skills, brought the character to life, making it quite easy to believe that the film was based on a real massacre. They even promoted it by creating a YouTube channel, Instagram and TikTok account after Kurt's, Kurtworld96, rooting the character's presence in reality. The team's dedication to the character, the film and the promotional social media accounts give this chaotic film its gory charm.

Spree is currently available to stream on Hoopla in the US

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