Director Eugene Kotlyarenko’s 2020 horror-comedy film, Spree, successfully utilized social media to market the film before, during, and even after its release—a unique take, even by modern standards. By using Instagram, the film creates an experience that also sustains its growth and relevance regardless of how far removed it is from its premiere date. Spree’s marketing technique is unlike any other due to the fact that it transforms Joe Keery’s Kurt Kunkle into an actual person rather than a character on screen.
Spree follows Kurt Kunkle, a social media obsessed twenty-something-year-old, as he attempts to teach his followers “The Lesson”. He works for a ride share company called Spree and live streams each of his passengers in order to grow his follower count as well as explain the motives behind each step in the lesson. As the film progresses, Kurt kills numerous people, which brings in a plethora of viewers. Throughout its entirety, Spree switches from vertical to horizontal filming to achieve the concept that he showcases every aspect of his life to the world in hopes of gaining some form of notoriety or attention.
Spree is not the only horror movie that uses this form of internet technology as a site in which horror occurs; other notable titles include Cam (2018) and Deadcon (2019). However, it is the most successful in garnering a fan base that continues to grow as a result of utilizing real-life social media. Currently, Kurt Kunkle (Joe Keery) runs the Instagram account @kurtsworld96 and posts images as well as videos taken from the film; he even includes some that weren’t featured. As of this writing, his fans—also known as “Kurties”—are dying down, so he’s calling on all of his followers to like, share, and comment to keep his fandom alive. This is an interesting method for horror movies to sustain a following for a couple reasons.
Spree makes an obvious attempt at establishing Kurt’s need for validation online as well as his drive to become a social media influencer. Social media influencers are basically celebrities who receive brand deals and are invited to red carpet events. Kurt wants nothing more than to join this elite group. In order for the film to feel as authentic as possible, the Instagram account @kurtsworld96 was created and posted for the first time on July 13, 2020. Fans of Keery’s character Steve “The Hair” Harrington on the popular Netflix series Stranger Things quickly noticed that this account randomly appeared overnight and featured a familiar face. The actor brought along his own fans, but once news broke about Spree’s plot, an even larger one grew from it.
As a result, Kurt began posting regularly about his videos, reviews, family, and friends. A fictional character, in essence, became very much like a real person. The use of engaged, active social media breaks down countless barriers in the realm of horror where viewers perceive the events in horror movies as distant and improbable, and movie villains as nothing more than fiction. In this instance, the threat of a sadistic ride share driver with nothing to lose but a follower count transforms into a possibility. It’s as if Spree is creating its own type of origin story for Kurt that extends beyond what the film reveals. Instead of it appearing as a horror-comedy, it becomes a horror documentary about a young man who has lost control and goes on a killing spree. The more he posts, the more attention his story gets, which causes an uptick in streaming and follower count.
Nearly every film uses social media in order to market their release date, cast, and story updates, but Spree takes it a step further. In order to successfully market it as a horror-comedy with commentary on the infatuation with social media, they had to make Kurt real. By creating the Instagram account @kurtsworld96, Spree showcases how a unique take on social media marketing can create a horror story with much more depth by presenting the character in a real-world setting.