Spiral: From the Book of Saw

SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW
2021 | Dir. Darren Lynn Bousman | 93 Minutes

"John Kramer was right, the spiral. A symbol of change, evolution, progress. But why limit that to an individual when you can apply it to a whole system?"


Police officers are picked off one by one by a killer taking inspiration from Jigsaw. Unable to trust his corrupt colleagues, hot-headed Detective Zeke Banks struggles to uncover the identity of the mysterious sadistic mastermind. 

Willed into existence by comedy legend Chris Rock, who successfully courted frequent Saw series director Darren Lynn Bousman to return to the franchise and collaborated with Jigsaw screenwriters Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger on the script, Spiral: From the Book of Saw is the acclaimed impish funnyman's curious reconfiguration of the key elements of the Saw series into a grim procedural detective story. As novel as it is to see a one of the most successful former SNL cast members play it straight as the only good cop on the corrupt police force hunting for a Jigsaw copycat, while inserting his brand of observational humor into his dialogue, Spiral is a bit of a mixed bag. The police investigation driving the plot is stock and, most disappointing for long-time fans, the trap set pieces leave a lot to be desired for the most part. The revelation that the righteous hero's rookie partner is the secret perpetrator harboring a personal vendetta against the police department isn't a bad twist at the very least, though his methods inspired by Jigsaw could use a lot more fine-tuning on a creative level.

For a picture taking place in the same world as the horror movie series known for its death traps, the lethal games at play in Spiral generally lack the "wow" factor inherent in the best Jigsaw tests of yore, they are fewer in number, and they are either simplistic and rather dull conceptually - such as the opening tongue-ripping subway trap - or ridiculously over-designed - such as the finger-tearing electrocuting water tank trap. The final set piece puppeteering the crooked retired police chief on cables into a pose that invites a hail of SWAT team bullets works better in concept for some in-your-face social commentary than in execution. Thankfully, the finale is greatly elevated by composer Charlie Clouser's stripped down version of the Saw theme carried over from the mainline series.

Chris Rock truly puts 110% into his performance as the protagonist Zeke, delivering naturally entertaining banter one minute and leaping into dramatic action hero mode the next without skipping a beat. Max Minghella makes for a convincing secret antagonist, his screen presence is deceptively charming enough that when the twist occurs it's genuinely surprising, and he delivers the mad villain monologue very well. The incomparable Samuel L. Jackson is believably intimidating as an unrepentant thug with a badge though it's difficult to care much about his one-dimensional abrasive character. The cast also features Marisol Nichols as the police captain Garza who meets a face-melting end, Richard Zeppieri as the shady-looking detective who loses fingers but still dies by electrocution, Edie Inksetter as his equally shady-looking partner on the force, K.C. Collins as a "crooked piece of shit" cop according to Chris Rock's Zeke, Patrick McManus as a murderous ex-cop who gets a back full of broken glass, and Daniel Petronijevic as the first casualty of the picture during the cold open.

Spiral is a glossy flawed Saw spin-off. Far from subtle in its criticism of the criminal justice system, particularly rampant police corruption, this crime thriller reworking of the retribution-by-death-trap premise wears its social commentary on its sleeve. Unfortunately, the deadly devices featured in this film are some of the least inventive for a Saw movie, severely lacking in what is undeniably the most appealing aspect of the franchise, and the cop-centric drama is generic at best. Despite the picture's famous funny leading man clearly demonstrating his genuine love for the material, this bloody passion project is admirably ambitious but ultimately comes out to be less than the sum of its intriguing parts.


BEST TRAP
The hot wax trap is the nastiest, most outlandish trap of the film, helping it stand out among a selection of less-than-memorable set pieces. Garza suffocating on burning wax is one of the brutal Saw deaths, and even if she had won this game, it's hard to imagine her having much of a life with a severed spinal cord.


FRAGMENTS
- Jigsaw scribes Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger had begun work on a John Kramer-centric prequel before a chance meeting between distributor Lionsgate vice chairman Michael Burns and unabashed Saw fan Chris Rock prompted them to change course and fast-track this spin-off

- While Spiral is objectively a rather generic title on its own, the From the Book of Saw subtitle is clunky and dumb as hell -- while it's understandable for there to be some brand recognition for marketing purposes, it's baffling they didn't come up with something better 

- Originally scheduled to be released on October 23, 2020, Lionsgate broke with the Saw series' October release tradition by moving the release to May 15, 2020, only to move it again to May 21, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before finally settling on its May 14, 2021 release date

- Much of Zeke's humorous dialogue is reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino's penchant for writing pop-culture-savvy characters with a tendency to ramble, his cynical assessment of Forrest Gump shared during his character's introduction is particularly Tarantinoesque

- Zeke stating so definitively that "John Kramer didn’t target cops" is a bit of an eyebrow-raiser considering the numerous cops he placed in his games throughout the Saw series

- The vault door in the police station basement is clear reference to Pulp Fiction as it prominently displays the name of its manufacturer: "Jules and Vincent"

- Listening to the 21 Savage track produced for the film playing over the closing credits, it's incredibly novel to hear Charlie Clouser's Saw theme sampled so heavily in a song


SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF




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