The Saw franchise is one of the most fascinating and convoluted franchises of all time. What first started off as a deep and intricate psychological crime thriller has now become, and what most people refer to it as, the “torture porn.” The first Saw is kind of at fault for that because not only did that pave the way for future of the franchise, but it also started to be a tendency in a lot of other horror movies like Hostel, The Collection or even Rob Zombies two Halloween movies. The torture porn aspect of horror would probably be best fit for the slasher genre in horror, however it’s also an aspect of horror that has its merits to a certain extent. The problem with the Saw sequels is that instead of it a psychological crime thriller, they saw the gore and all the violence and thought that’s what made the franchise a hit. In actuality, this franchise is so much more than the blood and guts but the issue with that is that you really only have the first Saw movie as a reference. The sequels and even the most recent Saw installment, Jigsaw, were solely depending on the gore, in order for that to serve as the spectacle for the movie, when sometimes it can work effectively but sometimes that can come off as a dud and uninspiring. However, with all that being said, the Saw series is a great set of movies to binge because most of the fans, who like these movies, are fans of its sequels and the sequels deliver on what die-hard Saw fans come to see. Now, there’s been some time since the release of Jigsaw in hopes to give the Saw franchise a face lift when it was announced that Chris Rock was going to star and serve as an executive producer for a new Saw movie, titled Spiral: From the Book of Saw. Spiral has its fair level of fun with the gore and twisted traps, while borrowing the formula from the first Saw movie but still hinging and utilizing the aspects from what made people obsessed with this franchise. It doesn’t reinvent the game but it’s somewhat passable.
The story in Spiral follows two detectives, Det. Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks (Chris Rock) and Det. William Schenk (Max Minghella) are investigating the murders that have been happening in the city that share some grisly similarities to events that have happened in the past. Zeke and William start to realize that they’ve got Jigsaw copy cat killer on their hands and the more they dive into this case the more they become the center of this new Jigsaw’s game.
The Saw franchise, as stated earlier, has its level of entertainment and Spiral is going to be another Saw movie that fans will adore but the other fans that might expect a bit more are going to walk out extremely disappointed. Being the 9th in whole series and being directed by Saw veteran director Darren Lynn Bousman, Spiral is pretty much exactly what one might expect from a Saw movie. The one thing that this movie attempts to do, more so than the sequels, is that it somewhat embraces the techniques and rules from the very first Saw movie. It tries to focus more on the detective angle and and the cerebral struggles that they have to come to terms with. It’s really one of the very few things that makes this movie even remotely redeemable. But this particular installment does nothing new to reinvent the franchise nor does it contribute any fresh material to keep those movies afloat. At this point, the Saw movies don’t care about changing things up and Spiral exemplifies that.
The violence, while not super game changing, are still sick, sadistic and entertaining, nonetheless. The attention to detail on the blood, gore and the rotten corpses is pretty damn impressive, especially when you consider the type of movie this is. No matter what one has to say about the quality of the movie, the barbarity of this movie is the one thing that delivers on a practical level.
We love it when comedic actors shift over into a new genre, especially when it’s a genre that they’re not primarily known for. Chris Rock is one of the funniest comedians that’s ever walked the face of the planet. His work on SNL and even some of the movies he’s been in showcase his terrific and fast comedic timing. With all that said, Chris Rock is a very interesting choice for leading a slasher flick. On the one hand, he seems to be having a total ball playing a cop in a horror movie and having some fun one liners, but on the other hand something about his character just felt almost out place. Some of his lines and his mannerisms didn’t feel like it was in sync with the tone and consistencies of this movie. His character, as a whole, while integral to the story, felt oddly placed and a very perplexing tool in this movie. Samuel L. Jackson’s character, who serves as Chris Rock’s father, felt more like the character has a more proper and appropriate place in the movie, however his character isn’t utilized as much nor does he have as much screen time as some of the other characters do.
Overall, Spiral: From the Book of Saw is going to please to hardcore Saw fans more so than the ones that might want more out of it. If you’re expecting something grand and revolutionary with this slasher blood fest, you’ll be disappointed. And it seemed as if Lionsgate was trying to do something drastically different when Chris Rock was brought on board and sadly that isn’t the case at all. But if you’ve been a fan of the what the franchise has now become then you’ll be satisfied.
My grade for Spiral: From the Book of Saw: C-
Zane's take at the Cinema's 