Review of Spiral - From the Book of Saw
midlandsmovies • July 6, 2021
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
After a four year absence the Saw franchise returns to the big screen albeit rebooted with Chris Rock leading the way, doubling up as leading man and producer.
At first glance, Sprial suggests a fresh direction for the Saw franchise, instead of the previous convoluted plot of double crossing detectives and confusing flashbacks we have a fresh slate seemingly unconnected to the original story.
Chris Rock is homicide Detective Zeke Banks, a tough, unpopular officer who has been assigned a new partner after his close friend and old partner winds up murdered, tortured in the style of old Saw protagonist Jigsaw.
You read right, its 2021 and we have a cop film where a veteran is paired up with a rookie and they have to solve a series of murders. No marks for originality in this review.
However the Saw franchise isn't known to appease critics, its main demographic is horror fans and gore hounds who are thirsty for imaginative deaths and blood curdling violence. This film delivers in that respect, limbs are pulled off, body parts cut, and there is a whole new meaning for a face mask.
What Zeke and new partner Will Schenk (Max Minghella) quickly find out is Jigsaw is back, granted in the form of a copycat taking over the infamous mantle.
Police officers are being targeted, specifically ones that work in Zeke's precinct. When his father, former police captain Marcus (Samuel L. Jackson) goes off the grid Zeke and us, the audience ponder whether he is the next victim or the killer himself.
Whilst Rock should be praised for playing against type and bringing fresh insight to a tired franchise, this role ultimately escapes him. His first half hour on screen starts well, his jokes come thick and fast which just put me in the mood for a Chris Rock stand up marathon however when the tone shifts he struggles to play those serious, dramatic moments.
Spiral does pack some punch, it's theme of police brutality and social injustice seem topical and of the moment, however this is purely by chance as the film was shot and finished before 2020.
Horror fans and casual film goers should avoid this film like the plague and for my first film back in cinemas I couldn't have picked a more tedious watch. Its narrative is so bereft of original thought that this is more The Glimmer Man than Seven. Darren Lynn Bousman, a veteran Saw director, was brought in to evoke success of previous years but instead demonstrates that that is exactly where this franchise needs to stay, the past.
★ ½
Guy Russell
Twitter @budguyer
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