Film Review: Spree (2008)

SYNOPSIS:

Tired of their dreary lives, college roommates Wes (Joe Uras), Alex (Josh Rainone), Kevin (Ryan McDermott) and Damien (Mark Jones) decide to go on a murder spree across the country in this humor-tinged slasher flick. So the four split into teams for a lethal game: each duo murders a person in every state. But the team that loses must confess to the homicides, while the winners will walk away without repercussions.

REVIEW:

Directed by: Mark Jones
Written by: Mark Jones
Starring: Joe Uras, Josh Rainone, Ryan McDermott, Mark Jones

When everyday life becomes boring, games as a form of entertainment seem to be a good outlet to let go and forget life’s hassles. This is the case in Mark Jones’s “Spree”, when four young men are bored with their lives, and play a sadistic game that results in a killing spree and lose of the normalcy of everyday life. The game is dictated by rules that the teams must kill as many people as possible without a gun, and take a Polaroid portrait of their conquest.

“Spree” begins with quick scenes that introduce the main players in the game. Alex(Josh Rainone) is busting out of a school building in an argument with his boyfriend, who had just cheated on him. Damien(Mark Jones) works at his dead end job, and spontaneously up and leaves his job. Wes(Joe Uras) sits in his apartment, drinking a beer. Lastly, Kevin(Ryan McDermott) lashes out in outrage when he finds out that his application to finally graduate had been denied. The four friends meet up, and discuss what has been bothering during the day.

The guys load up on drinks, as they venture back to Wes’s apartment to have a few too many brews. While drinking, the guys come up with a great idea that it would be amazing to be able to kill anyone that really bothered them. This turned into the birth of an idea that they would play a game in which they would compete in a killing spree to kill as many as possible. The teams are set as Wes and Alex taking the northern half of the US, while Damien and Kevin take the southern half of the US. The consequence of the game is the team that doesn’t kill the most will have to confess, and they must meet at the other end of the US in California.

The teams get ready to leave in the morning, and go out on their killing adventure. Unfortunately, one team actually took the game seriously and goes out on a maniacal killing spree. Wes and Alex are then the focal point of the rest of the movie, as small glimpses show Damien and Kevin just chilling as they venture through the country. Wes takes the first initiative into killing, and Alex is second when he is abused by two hate mongers in southeast US. Afterwards, the roles change as Alex begins to get addicted to the killing. When they reach California, Alex asks Wes to continue killing after the game, in which Wes accepts the offer. The ending is a confession that puts Wes and Alex in a sticky situation and on the moment decisions dooms their fate forever. There is plenty of blood and gore to keep “Spree” up to pace in the horror genre.

The targets of Wes and Alex are all people that have seemingly wronged them in the past, so the viewer is lead into the minds of the killers and not having much sympathy for the victims. One of the victims, an Ebay scammer that duped Wes in the sale of some cartoons, was one of the most comical victims in the killing spree. The kills also follow a rule that they must not use a gun to commit the murder, so alternative weapons are used such as carbon monoxide inhalation and repetitive beatings. Damien’s rants throughout the movie add comedy, as it is surprising that his partner does not snap after being annoyed by his partner’s continuous talking.

With average guys turning into psychopathic killer, Mark Jones’s “Spree” takes the viewer on a journey through an adventure out of the boringness of everyday life. Even though neither team ends up winning, their interesting story outside the boundaries of home life is a humorous and bloody excursion of viewing pleasure.

Spree (2008)