You know the game by now. Gory kills, convoluted lore and ridiculous third act twists are par for the course in the now 9 film-spanning Saw franchise, but new entry and alleged spin-off Spiral aims to change things up a bit. With a starring turn from Chris Rock – who helped spearhead the franchise revival – and a socially aware storyline that seeks to take aim at police brutality in America, Spiral was shaping up to follow in the footsteps of the recent Halloween reboot: a return to what made the franchise great, updated for modern times with a slightly comedic edge. Unfortunately, Spiral is largely more of the same from the series that coined the term “torture porn”, a lacklustre sequel that admittedly places more emphasis on story this time around, but at the expense of the kills the franchise has become synonymous with.
Rock is Zeke Banks, a hot-headed, tough-as-nails detective whose stock at the station is at an all-time-low after informing on a corrupt colleague, isolating him from his fellow detectives. When his closest friend on the force is discovered brutally dismembered by a train, Zeke and rookie detective William (Max Minghella) are thrust into a brutal battle of wits against a mysterious, pig-masked killer channelling the behaviours and gory, over-the-top traps of the deceased Jigsaw killer. As the game becomes increasingly deadly and more and more police turn up in body-bags, Zeke is forced to turn to his father and former police chief Marcus (Samuel L. Jackson) for help in tracking down their copycat killer. As with all Jigsaw games however, there is another motive bubbling under the surface, and soon Zeke finds himself confronted with some deeply disturbing personal choices to be made in order to finally bring about justice.
Spiral doesn’t need to be a Saw film. Plain and simple. The “Book of Saw” suffix and throwaway references to Jigsaw could be completely removed without any resulting effect on the story being told. None of the characters or events are tied to the lore in any significant way leaving the traps – which admittedly bear the same gruesome, handmade aesthetic of the original films – as the sole identifier of the connection to the Saw franchise. If Rock and director Darren Lynn Bousman’s intentions were to create a police procedural with a statement on brutality and its place in the current world (which it very much seems like they are), then dialling the traps down could have actually improved the impact of that message. As it stands, the traps serve as a reminder that this is, in the loosest sense possible, indeed a part of the series and the attachment to Saw seems more like a marketing ploy than anything else, luring fans into the cinema who may otherwise not turn up for Chris Rock’s gritty detective movie.
As far as those traps go, none of them are especially memorable or more gruesome than anything that has come before. The old-school editing and style choices of the 2000’s films make an unwelcome return as well, with lightning quick edits across the gore and the sharp, screeching screams punctuating each cut annoying instead of frightening. Horror has evolved in the time since these practices were at their peak and countless horror films since have shown that you can have your characters express genuine emotion and hysteria through solid acting and camera placement rather than cheap effects. Spiral is also the most ear-splittingly loud horror film since 2017’s IT, another victim of the worst modern horror trope that requires each and every jump scare to be punctuated by a sound-barrier breaking screech. On top of that Spiral is also an especially ugly film, with a grimy brown and yellow colour palette that worked in the older films within their dingy warehouse settings but robs the city of Los Angeles of any vibrance or colour that might serve as a reprieve from the dour goings-on of the police precinct.
Now we get to the interesting part: Chris Rock. He is the first big-name talent attached to the franchise since Danny Glover all the way back in the original and, along with Samuel L. Jackson, instantly adds a pedigree to a series that has long since been regarded as trashy B-movies. His performance is an intriguing one, a mix of grizzled veteran detective stereotypes rolled into one hugely unlikeable bastard. At first it seems unclear if this is meant as parody or not but soon the self-awareness of the performance comes through in the shots of humour expected from Rock. Unfortunately the character is never fully fleshed out enough to be sympathetic, even with the multiple flashbacks that give insight into his relationships with his father and fellow officers. Jackson is always great and his top-notch delivery of foul-mouthed tirades goes a long way to injecting some energy into the film, but it is far too little too late in the piece to save audiences from the all encompassing blandness of Spiral, with Jackson’s big set-piece an especially predictable affair devoid of any tension.
Spiral is yet another forgettable entry into the once revolutionary Saw franchise, albeit one that pushes itself into the middle of the pack thanks to Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson’s natural charisma (and the godawful terribleness of some of the other sequels). But the ugly presentation, lacklustre traps and middling, predictable story stop this reboot from truly reinventing, with its social commentary coming across as a hollow re-skinning of the same old Saw rather than a thoughtful examination of police brutality and accountability. If you’re a fan of the franchise you’ll likely be disappointed by the lack of any connection to what has come before but if all you’re after is a few extremely gory torture scenes, well then this has you covered I guess. For everyone else, decline to play this particular game.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw stars Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols & Samuel L. Jackson – In cinemas now.