Spiral:
From the Book of Saw
Year: 2021
Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella & Chris Rock
Runtime: 93 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 21/05/21
Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella & Chris Rock
Runtime: 93 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 21/05/21
Saw is the film that got me into the horror genre and considering that horror is probably my second favourite genre of film I am understandably very attached to that film, and its many, many sequels. Saw was so successful that it rejuvenated the horror genre back in 2004, and thanks to how much profit it made there were six sequels made in the six years following. These sequels vary in quality from nearly as good as the original to downright awful with the plot becoming increasingly convoluted and the focus of the films shifting away from the mystery thriller narrative of the original film to torture porn gore fest. 2010’s Saw 3D was the final nail in the coffin for the series, an abysmal end to things, but it was always going to be that, or so we thought. 2017 saw the series revived for a full-blown sequel that rooted itself firmly in the ways of the old films but with some new hands at the steering wheel and it was pretty good despite playing it a little too safe. It was a test to see whether people wanted Saw back, could the horror series that defined the 00’s bring itself back from the dead for another shot? It seems that question still doesn’t have an answer.
Spiral follows Detective Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Banks (Chris Rock) as he follows a trail of breadcrumbs left by a new Jigsaw copycat. As Zeke draws closer to uncovering the person behind the new spate of grizzly killings, the more he moves himself into the killer’s crosshairs.
That’s kind of all I can really say without giving away too much of the plot, but what I can say is that Spiral is the lovechild of Saw IV, and David Fincher’s 1995 crime thriller Seven, and there’s definitely a lot of good and bad things about that.
Indicated by the full title, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Spiral is more of a spin-off from the previous eight Saw films rather than a direct sequel. You don’t need to know anything about Saw going into this film, but an understanding of the basic premise certainly wouldn’t hurt. As such, Spiral tries to set itself apart from what has come before, and whilst it for the most part succeeds, the insistence to try and remind audiences that it is still a Saw film can clash with the new direction writer Chris Rock wanted to take the series in. I feel like had Spiral had a different director than Saw series veteran Darren Lynn Bousman then it would have really be able to spread its wings and distinguish itself from the mainline entries.
Spiral follows Detective Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Banks (Chris Rock) as he follows a trail of breadcrumbs left by a new Jigsaw copycat. As Zeke draws closer to uncovering the person behind the new spate of grizzly killings, the more he moves himself into the killer’s crosshairs.
That’s kind of all I can really say without giving away too much of the plot, but what I can say is that Spiral is the lovechild of Saw IV, and David Fincher’s 1995 crime thriller Seven, and there’s definitely a lot of good and bad things about that.
Indicated by the full title, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Spiral is more of a spin-off from the previous eight Saw films rather than a direct sequel. You don’t need to know anything about Saw going into this film, but an understanding of the basic premise certainly wouldn’t hurt. As such, Spiral tries to set itself apart from what has come before, and whilst it for the most part succeeds, the insistence to try and remind audiences that it is still a Saw film can clash with the new direction writer Chris Rock wanted to take the series in. I feel like had Spiral had a different director than Saw series veteran Darren Lynn Bousman then it would have really be able to spread its wings and distinguish itself from the mainline entries.
Bousman has a tendency to utilise the worst parts of the old Saw film to anchor Spiral in that universe too. With choppy editing and sped up shots during traps to disorient and artificially panic the viewer, and over-reliance on flashbacks where the person having the flashback is not present in said flashback.
Spiral is at its strongest when it’s not held back by the shadows of its predecessors. Rock delivers a strong performance as Zeke, and this coupled with the rookie cop storyline played by Max Minghella gives Spiral some great character chemistry that was often missing in the previous films.
Zeke spends much of the film battling his own colleague’s resentment of him for his past actions, and I feel like more time should have been spent on this. Which would have given the twist ending considerably more clout. Spiral should have been longer than its measly ninety-three-minute runtime to provide the opportunity for the backstories of these interesting characters to be expanded upon.
Samuel L. Jackson crops up for a small role and he’s good in it as ever, and whilst I feel like the father/son relationship between him and Zeke definitely needed a bit more development, I’m glad he wasn’t used too frequently to detract from a story that was ultimately about Zeke confronting old ghosts.
What surprised me the most about Spiral was just how often the film utilised jump scares. Part of why I loved the Saw films so much when I was younger was because there weren’t any jump scares in them, or if there were it was only one or two in the whole film. Spiral has one every few minutes, and it’s always the same thing of someone jumping out of nowhere in a dimly lit area. It’s the worst kind of jump scare anyway, but how much it’s used is kind of concerning because it’s always so obvious when it’s going to happen, and it’s literally the same scare every time.
The traps this time around are definitely gruesome and gory to satisfy that Saw itch, but they don’t stand out as much as some of the series most iconic traps. The first and second traps are probably my favourite, in fact the whole opening to the film is superb. Maybe I forgot how gory Saw usually is, but Spiral felt more graphic to me; maybe because the violence feels less sensationalised this time around? But there were definitely a couple of moments that had me gritting me wincing and squirming with discomfort.
Spiral’s biggest problem is Bousman. Rock has presented a story that uses the premise of Saw as a springboard for new ideas, but these ideas are often held back by Bousman’s insistence to make the film feel like a successor to Saw. The result could leave some fans alienated, and newcomers put off. But I feel as though Spiral is a step in the right direction for the series and I would love to see it continue down this route whilst simultaneously severing ties with those involved in the old Saw films. It's more original than Jigsaw was, and whilst Spiral is not quite as revolutionary as I had hoped, it’s far from a complete disaster like many of the Saw sequels are, and a film I found myself both enjoying and invested in.
Spiral is at its strongest when it’s not held back by the shadows of its predecessors. Rock delivers a strong performance as Zeke, and this coupled with the rookie cop storyline played by Max Minghella gives Spiral some great character chemistry that was often missing in the previous films.
Zeke spends much of the film battling his own colleague’s resentment of him for his past actions, and I feel like more time should have been spent on this. Which would have given the twist ending considerably more clout. Spiral should have been longer than its measly ninety-three-minute runtime to provide the opportunity for the backstories of these interesting characters to be expanded upon.
Samuel L. Jackson crops up for a small role and he’s good in it as ever, and whilst I feel like the father/son relationship between him and Zeke definitely needed a bit more development, I’m glad he wasn’t used too frequently to detract from a story that was ultimately about Zeke confronting old ghosts.
What surprised me the most about Spiral was just how often the film utilised jump scares. Part of why I loved the Saw films so much when I was younger was because there weren’t any jump scares in them, or if there were it was only one or two in the whole film. Spiral has one every few minutes, and it’s always the same thing of someone jumping out of nowhere in a dimly lit area. It’s the worst kind of jump scare anyway, but how much it’s used is kind of concerning because it’s always so obvious when it’s going to happen, and it’s literally the same scare every time.
The traps this time around are definitely gruesome and gory to satisfy that Saw itch, but they don’t stand out as much as some of the series most iconic traps. The first and second traps are probably my favourite, in fact the whole opening to the film is superb. Maybe I forgot how gory Saw usually is, but Spiral felt more graphic to me; maybe because the violence feels less sensationalised this time around? But there were definitely a couple of moments that had me gritting me wincing and squirming with discomfort.
Spiral’s biggest problem is Bousman. Rock has presented a story that uses the premise of Saw as a springboard for new ideas, but these ideas are often held back by Bousman’s insistence to make the film feel like a successor to Saw. The result could leave some fans alienated, and newcomers put off. But I feel as though Spiral is a step in the right direction for the series and I would love to see it continue down this route whilst simultaneously severing ties with those involved in the old Saw films. It's more original than Jigsaw was, and whilst Spiral is not quite as revolutionary as I had hoped, it’s far from a complete disaster like many of the Saw sequels are, and a film I found myself both enjoying and invested in.