Spun Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Spun Blu-ray Movie Review

"You know what the best thing is? I'm not hooked. I could stop at any time."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 10, 2024

Higher than high on its own supply, then-rookie director Jonas Akerlund's hopped up, tweaked out feature film debut, Spun, is a migraine wrapped in a hangover, triple-dipped in cocaine-addled performances and boiled in a spoon to make sure you feel it all deep in your veins. It's an outright assault on the senses, going far and above the usual drug movie to attempt to induce the feeling of a drug trip while introducing a jittery cast of the most unlikable, unrepentant, unredeemable addicts you'll ever see on screen. It also arrives on Blu-ray with an infamous unrated cut that, somehow, amplifies the seizure-stricken insanity even more. By the time it reaches its destination -- not that it ever seems to know where it's going, just what it wants to do to your brain -- it's mostly bark and no bite. Surface with no depth. Style but little substance. A flashbang grenade that goes off in your face and leaves you stunned, wondering why your eyes are burning, your ears are ringing and your hair is on fire. Sound like a good time to you? Wait, seriously? Okay, I guess read on then...

"Based on the truth. And lies." Spun spins the fictional(?) tale of a crystal-meth addict who struggles to get his next fix while obsessing over a recent breakup. Jason Schwartzman stars as Ross, a young man who finds his maniacal world crumbling around him over the course of one long weekend. Ross tries to score from his regular dealer, Spider Mike (John Leguizamo), who realizes during Ross's visit that he's misplaced his stash. Distracted by the frantic drug search, Spider Mike's girlfriend, Cookie (Mena Suvari), enlists Ross to pick up her stripper friend Nikki (Brittany Murphy) from work, and when he grudgingly agrees, he learns that Nikki might have an inside line on her own source of speed, courtesy of "The Cook" (Mickey Rourke). Meanwhile, two bumbling cops (Peter Stormare and Alexis Arquette) are onto Spider Mike's trail, and in his paranoid-delusional state, he sets out to find out who set him up. A black-comic drug drama from music video director Jonas Akerlund, the 2002 film also stars Patrick Fugit, Blondie lead vocalist Deborah Harry, Eric Roberts, Chloe Hunter Nicholas Gonzalez, Charlotte Ayanna, Josh Peck, Larry Drake, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, China Chow, Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, and filmmaker Tony Kaye (yep, the same Tony Kaye booted from American History X).

Want a fun new way to rewatch Spun if it's already a part of your go-to flicks? Imagine Schwartzman's Ross is actually Rushmore's Max Fischer, in his 30s. Go ahead. Think about it. I'll wait. It's these kind of mental games you almost need to play on the regular to enjoy Spun. Otherwise it's little more than a loud, brash, angry indie about sad, self-destructive people entertaining themselves with sad, self-destructive activities. A running gag is a gagged stripper that Ross leaves tied up in his apartment for most of the film, stopping by now and again, always with a reason as to why he can't untie her and has to head out the door. She is non-plussed. If that makes you crack a smile, 1) God help you, 2) have you considered therapy? and 3) this is the sort of thing that passes for dark humor in Akerlund's frenetic... comedy? Far more disturbing than it's intended, former meth-heads the internet over assure me Akerlund nails exactly what it's like to do methamphetamine to the point of stupefaction, and exactly how meth culture behaves around one another. If used as a means to keep kids off drugs, well then, have at. Show 'em Spun and hope they're horrified a la Requiem for a Dream. The problem, though? Spun doesn't present as Requiem does, meaning you're expected to laugh your way through the amoral hijinks without much thought as to the collateral damage each of the film's characters do to the non-addicts in their lives.

Speaking of Requiem, Spun seems to take a few too many cues from Aronofsky's drug opus, including the wholesale theft of several hyper-stylized visualizations (chief among them shots of drug prep and rapid pupil-dilation, which pop up often). Other sources of cinematic inspiration are less homage and more pilfered treasure troves. James Merendino's SLC Punk (with a killer performance by Matthew Lillard) leaps to mind. But each of these "inspirations" are far more compelling and affecting than Spun, and bringing them to mind by practically plagiarizing some of their scenes and styles doesn't help in the slightest. It was akin to a person sitting in my home theater, constantly suggesting better films to watch. More frustrating are the performances, though I don't blame a single one of the actors. Pushed, pressed and catapulted to every extreme, the all-star cast shouts, yelps, undress, masturbate, scream, laugh, lose their minds, attack one another, fidget, poke, tremble, hyperventilate and... good God, they're put through the paces. Normally that would be cause for praise, but without any solid ground to be had (everyone, addict or no, is hyperactive beyond hyperactivity) there's nothing but up, up, up and up. Cranking up, turning the volume up, jumping up, acting up, shooting up... up, up, up. Spun only rests in its closing minutes, tacking on a literal series of afternoon naps and some eleventh-hour comeuppance that doesn't really register in any meaningful way. Even Ross sleeps through it. Why shouldn't we?

If it sounds like I hated Spun, well, I didn't. I didn't like it in the least. But I didn't necessarily hate it either. It accomplishes precisely what it sets out to accomplish. It evokes everything it means to evoke, provokes everyone it intends to provoke, offends anyone it sets out to offend, and does all of it with a f--- you attitude that dares you to criticize the film for living up to its every promise and ambition. I can respect that, truly. I just don't enjoy that sort of thing. It's mind-numbing, exhausting and, ultimately, hollow. Capturing a subculture on film is merely pointing a camera and saying action while actors tear apart a set. Commenting on that subculture, offering insight, exploring its ends and means, measuring the dimensions of the human condition, now that's something that matters. Spun doesn't matter. At most it's fun. If this is your sort of thing. No judgement. For a handful of you it will be hilarious. Lap it up and laugh it up. For others it will be a trip down memory lane; a relief that you no longer suffer from the throes of addiction, endangering yourself daily and acting like a monster for no discernable reason other than the chemicals in your system. For the rest of us, there's more to be gained from watching movies than anything I picked up from my time with Spun.

Spun Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot in 16mm, Spun is a gritty, grimy film and its 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer doesn't stray from the gristly aesthetic. There does appear to be an unhealthy dose of de-noising to reduce the aggressiveness of the film's grain field, which is a shame as it also wipes away some finer detail beneath the grain. But then again, grain is still such a prominent part of the image that it could just be lower clarity I'm seeing. In another movie it would be a distraction. Here it's just another element in the flash pan. Akerlund and DP Eric Broms set out to shoot a down-and-dirty indie, and that's what they've achieved. But while detail is mediocre, colors are relatively strong, with reasonably lifelike skintones and punchy primaries. Black levels are nice and deep too, backed by slightly hot, often stylized contrast leveling that suits the photography just fine. I also didn't detect any banding, blocking or other anomalies that could be traced to the encode. Far as I can tell, it's technically sound. That said, it's difficult to discern where intention ends and a less-than-admirable transfer begins.

Spun Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Spun's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track certainly does its job, though it may leave your ears ringing from the crescendo of screams, cries, shouts and panicky voices that come together to form an unholy chorus of chaos. Dialogue is intelligible on the whole, even if the fly-on-the-wall nature of the shoot leads to several lines trailing off or being buried in noise. What noise? Just raw noise, from smashing furniture to videogame bleeps and bloops to slamming doors. So. Much. Noise. It's all as intended, of course, and bolsters the tone and tenor of the film. Dynamics are solid, with low-end support lending power to the mania. And the rear speakers get quite the workout. Directionality isn't entirely "precise" as it is assertive and noisy itself, but it creates an immersive experience that drags you into the center of the meth-heads' world and refuses to let go. As unrelenting lossless mixes go, Spun's 5.1 track is the anarchic highlight of the disc.

Spun Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

For a special unrated cut edition of a film, Spun's Blu-ray release doesn't offer a whole lot; a few redundant deleted scenes, a music video, and trailers for Spun, Bang Gang and 100 Streets. I would've legitimately been interested in a director's commentary, as more insight into Akerlund's process and intent may, I suspect, help people like me appreciate the film in a new light. Ah well. The real draw here is the unrated cut anyway, which is what will attract fans in the first place.

Spun Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I remember the time, I tell ya, I was about... I was little. I don't know. Four, five years old. Something like that. We had this old dog... and it had a litter of puppies. And I walked in the bathroom one day and my mother was standing there... kneeling down. Dog had a litter of about eight and my mother was bending over and she was killing each one of these little puppies in the bathtub. And I remember I said, "why?" She said, "I'm just killing what I can't take care of." Then my momma said to me... she looked at me and she said, "I wish I could do that to you." Maybe she... maybe she shoulda. Still reading? That's the meat of Spun's dramatic side, so it's halfway to your heart. The rest is too dizzying and chaotic for my tastes -- it's humor is even too dark for me, and I love a good black comedy -- but it goes down a bit easier thanks to a solid, largely faithful AV presentation. It's the inclusion of the film's unrated cut, though, that will earn the most cheers from fans. It doesn't alter the film all that much but it does restore Akerlund's original vision. If Spun is your jam, have at. Its price-point is a bit high but I doubt that will matter.