Spiral: From the Book of Saw - The games begin again.
The Saw series somewhat returns, in this spinoff that explores a Jigsaw copycat years after the death of Jigsaw. Chris Rock headlines this new movie, leading an uneven film that retreads on ground that has been covered in previous Saw films.
Heading into the movie, I was concerned that it would be hard to take Rock seriously in the role of Zeke, a detective that is hated by other cops for turning in a crooked cop years ago. However, Rock does a good job at handling the role seriously, putting in a solid dramatic performance, while still managing to add some humor at appropriate times. Samuel L. Jackson appears briefly in the film as Zeke’s father, stealing the movie anytime he is on the screen, essentially giving exactly the Jackson performance you would expect and want from a movie like this. These performances are somewhat hampered by dialogue that at best is predictable and at worst eye roll inducing. It is your typical horror movie writing, seemingly following a how-to guide on scriptwriting a cop- based thriller. It is very much in line with many of the later Saw sequels.
The plot itself is predictable as well. The biggest sin is the twist of the movie on who the killer is may be the most obvious in the entire series. Without going into spoilers, there is a moment that might as well have been a giant neon sign stating the killer’s name. A confusing moment is when Zeke states that this copycat is different from Jigsaw because Jigsaw never focused on cops. That does not add up considering Saw 2 through 4 focused on the police force and the justice system at length. It feels like this movie thinks it is offering fresh discussions on societal issues such as corrupt police when it is just retreading over the same ground that the series has covered in the past. Furthermore, there are numerous plot holes and threads that just seem to be forgotten completely, leaving multiple questions at the end. For instance, there is a part where Zeke tells a character to go check on a cold case file due to a hunch he has. Unless I missed something, that hunch is never brought up again whatsoever and doesn’t factor into the conclusion at all. It comes off as an excuse to send a character to a needed location for the plot to progress by using a random reason that is not discussed afterwards. There are multiple moments of the film that leave you scratching your head wondering why something happened at all.
Regarding the centerpiece of all of these films, the traps, the movie certainly has some interesting ones. Except for maybe one, none of them come off as impossibly convoluted as some of the later Jigsaw traps. The gore is good but not as brutal as some other Saw traps. If you thought some of the series got too ridiculously violent, then this one is for you. It does feel like a return to a style more in line with the original Saw, providing more intimate traps and a plot that doesn’t get overtly outlandish like something like Saw 6’s kidnapping of a health insurance firm.
Despite saying this is from the “book of Saw”, setting up a side stories off the main storyline, this movie just feels like another Saw movie, for better and for worse. If you are a fan of the series go ahead and watch this one. If you are someone who got tired of the series, then go ahead and skip it. Certainly not the worst Saw movie, but nowhere near the best, this is just a middling entry into the franchise, helped by entertaining performances by Jackson and Rock. See this one if you are looking for some mindless fun in the Saw universe, just don’t expect anything particularly groundbreaking.
5.5 / 10
