Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Starring Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, Samuel L. Jackson
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman

In 2004, the then-unknown duo of James Wan and Leigh Whannell wrote and directed a film called "Saw," which ignited international excitement for a new type of horror movie - torture porn. The film centered around a man who abducts people and places them in intricate, deadly traps (many of which were taken from real-life historical records) and given a choice: disfigure yourself in order to escape, or die - the choice was theirs. The movie was hailed not just for its ghoulish, gory goodness, but also for its sharp writing and surprising twists and turns that really weren't seen in any film before it. It served as the grandfather of the torture porn genre, leading to numerous copies and copious amounts of sequels (the second being the best, and the rest leaving you scratching your head in bewilderment as to how such a once-successful film could..."spiral"...so low). The franchise saw its "end" in "Saw VII," but a few years later another film, "Jigsaw," was released. Again, it seemed that this would be the final swan song, but now "Saw" once again returns with a twist - more of a spinoff than direct sequel, and starring two big-name actors that many were shocked to learn chose to be a part of this long-gestating franchise.

Detective Zeke Banks (Chris Rock) has been in hot water with his fellow officers after putting away a crooked cop, leaving him isolated and on his own most of the time. His father, Marcus Banks (Samuel L. Jackson), was once the police chief but retired, and its his legacy that keeps Banks on the force, along with the support of the new chief Angie Garza (Marisol Nichols). She assigns him a partner in rookie upstart William Schenk (Max Minghella), and the two are instantly thrust into a gruesome murder scene. It turns out that the victim was a cop on the force, and someone is copying the Jigsaw killer to bring the crooked cops on the force to his own perverse sense of justice. As Banks and Schenk get closer to the truth and the bodies pile up, the killer sets his sights on Banks and he learns that this killer is more personal than he thought.

The "Saw" franchise is known for three things: 1) complex, intricate traps; 2) a morally righteous killer who technically never killed anyone; 3) twists and turns that's supposed to confuse the viewer and keep them on their toes. As the films continued, the first and third aspects of the franchise remained mostly intact, but the killer would often create traps that were almost impossible to escape from, as one Jigsaw killer after another took up the mantle but lost the true spirit of its original. The idea for "Spiral" came from Chris Rock, who served as a producer and co-writer of the script itself, as well as starring in it, which came as a surprise to many when it was announced eons ago (well, it feels like eons ago). Hoping to offer new blood into the project, many expected "Spiral" to be something totally different, but instead it was a re-tread of the original series, trying to be smarter than it was, making the viewers seem like idiots.

The concept for "Spiral" is different from the other films in that the targets are crooked cops, which seems more timely now than ever with the non-stop news about dirty cops, so that had a deeper effect than a killer who killed people for personal reasons. The idea itself could've worked well, and with Rock's natural charisma and comedic timing, could've produced something wholly original to the franchise, but although there were bright shining moments of Rock's performance (which oddly made this somewhat comedic), the film flatlined from the very beginning. There was no momentum rush after the opening trap to the end, but just plateaued and maintained that same sense of passion from start to finish, which was odd in its tonal changes, especially one moment when it seemed that someone's life was in peril, but no one appeared too concerned about it - and neither did the viewers.

The performances were decent, especially from Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, who add A-list credence to the franchise. As I said earlier, Rock has some great comedic timing and you can tell he ad-libbed many of his lines, especially the opening where he discusses the movie "Forrest Gump." Jackson plays his typical Jackson-style character as Rock's father (despite the fact that the actors are only 17 years apart) and isn't on screen as much as he should've, but he totally owns the screen when he is. The remaining cast performs admirably as well, even if they're surrounded by a script that tries to be smarter than it was, maintaining the tradition of the "Saw" series in trying to throw in surprising twists that can be seen a mile away by a blind man.

The traps this time around were uninspired and insipid, not wholly unique or exciting at all. As with some of the previous films, there didn't seem a way for the victim to successfully escape their trap, which defeats the essence of the original Jigsaw's purpose - for people to value life after taking it for granted. Now it's just a revenge film with some alright gory scenes and unmemorable traps, a shell of its former self, which serves as an appropriate metaphor for how far the franchise itself has fallen.

Offering uninspired traps, less gore, and a script that seemingly a child could've written, "Spiral" only assisted the "Saw" franchise in spiraling down its descent into mediocrity, rendering the original less and less potent as each subsequent sequel and spinoff arrives.

The Score: C-