Spun, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, is a raw, chaotic, and unapologetically grim look at the lives of methamphetamine users spiraling through a haze of addiction, paranoia, and emotional numbness. Unlike conventional drug dramas that romanticize or moralize substance abuse, Spun throws viewers into the heart of the chaos and refuses to let them look away.
The story follows Ross (Jason Schwartzman), a college dropout who gets sucked into a three-day meth-fueled nightmare. Ross isn’t your typical drug addict—he’s intelligent, quiet, and drifting through life. But when he reconnects with his dealer, Spider Mike (John Leguizamo), and gets entangled with the erratic meth cook known as The Cook (Mickey Rourke), his world quickly devolves into a blur of speed, filth, and emotional collapse.
Each character in Spun is a casualty of their own habits. There's Nikki (Brittany Murphy), The Cook's manic girlfriend who lives in delusion and desperation, and April (Chloe Hunter), whom Ross literally ties to a bed and leaves for most of the film. Their lives intersect in increasingly bizarre and disturbing ways as the drug-fueled madness spirals out of control.
What makes Spun stand out is its hyperkinetic style. Åkerlund, known for his background in music videos, brings a visual assault to the screen: fast cuts, animated drug sequences, hallucinations, and grotesque close-ups. The editing mirrors the manic, disjointed mind of a user on meth, making the film disorienting by design.
But beneath the wild visuals lies a bleak message—Spun is not about redemption or recovery. It’s about stagnation. The characters don’t learn. They don’t change. They just keep spinning, locked in a loop of destruction with no real end in sight.
The performances are intense and often unsettling. Mickey Rourke’s Cook is equal parts charismatic and disturbing, while John Leguizamo is unpredictable as ever. Brittany Murphy gives one of her most haunting performances, balancing heartbreak with hyperactivity.
Spun is a film that polarizes. It doesn’t hold your hand or offer solutions. It’s abrasive, uncomfortable, and intentionally messy—just like the world it portrays. For some, it’s a grimy cult classic. For others, an unwatchable descent into madness.
Either way, Spun sticks with you. Like a bad trip, it lingers—fast, frantic, and disturbingly real.
