10 Films To Watch If You Liked Spree

Starring Joe Keery of Stranger Things fame, Spree is the latest film to go the found-footage route in showing the perils of social media usage in today’s time. The film features Keery as an optimistic, naive cab driver who aims to make it big as an online influencer. When his daily vlogs fail to bring in an audience, he resorts to more extreme methods that require violence and stalking.

If anything, the film shows the lust that social media audiences have for ‘sensational’ content and the extent to which people will go when online. Despite a polarizing critical response, Spree perfectly captures the trials and tribulations of social media fame while functioning perfectly as a darkly comic thriller.

10 Searching (2018)

One might have seen John Cho in the goofy Harold and Kumar series, but in Searching, the actor is at his dramatic best, portraying a father in search of his missing daughter. Set entirely on computers and smartphones, this found-footage thriller details the journey of the father in piecing together all clues through all her texts and online activities.

A film that keeps viewers at the edge of their seats, Searching was written and directed by debutant Aneesh Chaganty, making him a talent to watch out for.

9 Host (2020)

The phenomenon of online conference calls has risen to a great degree this pandemic season. Host, a British horror, was shot entirely on video calls with the actors managing their sound and lighting themselves.

Six friends come together for a zoom call (the ‘host’ referring to the one who started the call) but matters begin to turn awry when horror unleashes on the call. From technological horror to demonic spirits, this Shudder original charters several horror territories while being fresh enough to stand on its own. Clocking at just 57 minutes, the film makes for a pretty engaging watch.

8 The American Meme (2018)

Merchandising and art aren’t enough in today’s times for artists to create their brand. A strong social media presence is a must. This is the theme that’s explored in the Netflix documentary, The American Meme, which covers the journey of four high-profile influencers as they attempt to create a strong brand out of their online presence. The celebrities include influencers like Paris Hilton and DJ Khaled.

The comprehensively researched film further exposes the shallow ends to which celebrities can go when presenting a facade of their persona online. This, again, raises doubts about what is fake and what is real anymore.

7 Duel (1971)

Steven Spielberg’s directorial debut is high on B-movie thrills while pioneering the ‘crazy killer driver’ genre. Duel features a businessman driving on his way to meet a client. Mysteriously, a rusted truck starts chasing him and chaos ensues. The film doesn’t have much of a story, as the identity and face of the stalking truck-driver are hardly revealed.

But the film boasts Spielberg’s vision coupled with Jack A. Marta’s cinematography, rightfully making it a cult classic. The Peterbilt 281 truck has to be one of the most unique cinematic villains ever.

6 CAM (2018)

A techno-thriller produced by Blumhouse Productions, CAM delves deep into the shady and occasionally illegal world of webcam models. Just like other social-media thrillers, CAM, too, captures the desperation to which people go to gather an online following. The online toxicity rises when the protagonist discovers a doppelganger raining on her parade.

CAM is a film worth watching, not just for its unique take on the found-footage horror genre, but also for a truly terrifying lead performance by Madeline Brewer.

5 Unhinged (2020)

This 2020 film can be seen as a modern-day retelling of Duel. Unhinged stars Russell Crowe as a mentally unstable stranger who unleashes a fit of road rage while chasing down a divorcee for seemingly unknown reasons. The film makes use of its pulpy genre elements, while Crowe shines in his villainous turn.

While watching Unhinged, one shouldn’t expect a lot of reasoning. The film is purely an adrenaline-fueled ride that doesn’t need much explanation.

4 Play Misty For Me (1971)

After building his image as a blockbuster actor, Clint Eastwood decided to experiment with filmmaking, directing and starring in the stalker thriller, Play Misty For Me. Eastwood plays a radio jockey who cheats on his girlfriend in a restless daze one night. However, the woman he sleeps with is no stranger. She considers herself to be his biggest fan and becomes toxically obsessed.

The film’s tropes have been a staple for many such films, including the classic Misery. In Spree, one of the major story arcs involves the protagonist emulating the habits of his role model to toxic levels.

3 Death Proof (2007)

Death Proof might be Quentin Tarantino’s weakest film. However, it still makes for entertainment, especially for genre fans. Tarantino’s frequent collaborator, Kurt Russell, stars as a stuntman who has a ‘fetish’ of sorts to murder women in staged car accidents. However, the tables turn when his potential victims attempt to chase him down.

A tribute to the muscle car and exploitation films of the 1970s, Death Proof is a stylishly written film, featuring a good-enough ensemble. A standout from this cast is stuntwoman Zoe Bell (popularly known as Uma Thurman’s stunt double in Kill Bill) who plays herself.

2 Creep (2014)

Producer and actor Mark Duplass often dabbles with unconventional concepts, Creep being one of them. This found-footage horror marks the directorial debut of Patrick Brice, who also stars in the film as a videographer hired by a mysterious, rich stranger (Duplass). Shot entirely from Brice’s perspective, viewers get a glimpse into the titular creep’s eccentric life, as he talks about his family, fears, and lack of friends.

Creep makes for a good slow-burn thriller, and while some might find it to be too predictable, it still delivers some good jump scares.

1 Unsane (2018)

Unsane is an underrated gem from filmmaker Steven Soderbergh’s catalog, one that’s entirely shot on an iPhone 7 Plus. The premise of the film revolves around a woman recovering from an obsessive stalker. Her fear is driven to such an extreme that she decides to falsely commit herself to a mental institution. Things take an ugly turn when she seems to find her stalker as a staffer in that very asylum.

Claire Foy completely owns the role as the fragile lead, while Soderbergh proves his versatility with this successful filmmaking experiment.

About The Author

Shaurya Thapa
(727 Articles Published)

Shaurya Thapa is an Indian freelance journalist who mostly dabbles in writings on cinema, music, and human interest features. When it comes to Screen Rant, he writes lists on a wide array of subjects ranging from international films to mainstream Netflix series and comic book trivia. He also hosts a podcast called ‘BhindiWire’, an Indian parody of IndieWire.

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