It’s like “Nerve” meets “Scream” and I loved it.

“Spree” follows a ride share driver who destines for Internet fame, and decides to go on a killing spree to gain notoriety. It stars Joe Keery, Sasheer Zamata, David Arquette, Kyle Mooney, and Mischa Barton, while Eugene Kotlyarenko directs a script he co-wrote with Gene McHugh.

A few summers back, a little movie called “Nerve” came out. Directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, who just directed Netflix’s latest attempt at a blockbuster, “Project Power” [turns to camera: it’s fine], “Nerve” was full of color, energy, and just enough social critique of fame-thirst kids to be interesting. I got a lot of “Nerve” vibes while watching “Spree,” with a nice helping of “Scream’s” trademark blend of dark comedy and horror kills.

Joe Keery is best known for his work on the show “Stranger Things,” and I’m excited to see him in more features. Keery has a weird energy to him, sometimes funny, other times awkward, and it’s as entertaining as it is slightly unnerving to see how detached some of these vlogger kids are. It’s almost a better Joker performance than Joaquin Phoenix, with a little “American Psycho” and Ted Bundy thrown in…

Aside from a watchable Keery, the film has some clever kills and some genuine surprising moments, and I wish I could’ve experienced this one in a packed theater (remember those?). There are some jump scares/kills that would erupt a crowd, and also credit to Kotlyarenko and McHugh for writing a few laugh out loud moments.

The film only runs 93 minutes and it’s pretty well-paced, even if the climax takes a little bit to get to the point. But this is a lot of fun, and if you get together with some friends (while staying socially distanced, of course) or grab a drink and kick back yourself, I really think this is one of the more enjoyable films of 2020 so far. If it were a Lyft rider, I would give this trip… a solid 4 stars [note: I always give my drivers 5 stars, but that didn’t work for the joke].

Critics Rating: 8/10