Spiral: From the Book of Saw Review

 

Certificate: 18

Running time: 93 minutes 

Starring: Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Samuel L Jackson, Marisol Nichols

Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman

The story: When a series of grisly murders take place, a detective and his rookie partner find themselves caught up in an investigation that is eerily reminiscent of the past.

The verdict: I think it is only fair to preface this review with somewhat of a disclaimer - I am not a fan of the Saw films. In preparation for the release of Spiral: From the Book of Saw, I watched the previous eight instalments of the franchise within a week and only got more and more frustrated as each film passed. However, though that meant I approached Spiral with some trepidation, I was also more than happy to be prepared to retract my previous grumbles if the latest film merited it so. So after watching Spiral, am I now a Saw fan? Unfortunately the answer is still a definitive no.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw fails on almost every level and as a reboot is even more of a disappointment as it brings nothing new or interesting to the franchise. The plot is a reasonably dull police procedural with every cop trope in the book ticked - detective who doesn’t play by all the rules (tick), divorced due to his work (tick), partnered with a less experienced detective when he’d rather work alone (tick). Chris Rock doesn’t exactly feel miscast in this but he also doesn’t really feel like a good fit - there is a mix of him wisecracking and going for the laughs but simultaneously he is trying to play this dramatic character with a tortured past and daddy issues. The result is a character whom I felt little affinity towards.

Many audiences would admit that they’re less bothered about an intriguing plot and more interested in what torturous traps Jigsaw has dreamt up now. Again, Spiral disappoints because out of all the films, this one arguably has the least inventive traps and the least memorable. Still, there were plenty of moments which had me cringing so rest assured there gore fans.

The one aspect of this franchise that I have always admired is that each film always has some sort of twist. So it was the biggest disappointment of all that Spiral was virtually twist free with the most incredibly predictable villain that I guessed long before the reveal. This meant that when the reveal finally came, it felt pitiful and pointless. Not that there’s a lot of time to ponder any of this as the film ended so abruptly that the audience stayed confusedly in their seats expecting some kind of post credits explanation - I’ll save you the time, there wasn’t one.

The rating: ⭐️ and a half