Movies For Breakfast SPIRAL Review

Chris Rock marshals this surprisingly fresh and original entry in the Saw horror franchise.

Synopsis

Working in the shadow of his father, Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks investigates a group of grisly murders and finds himself in the center of the copycat killer’s morbid game.

Review
Following his critically-acclaimed performance in season four of FX’s “Fargo”, it’s no surprise that comedian Chris Rock wanted to pursue other genres outside of comedy. It did however, surprise many that he had presented an idea for a new Saw film. “Spiral: From the Book of Saw” is the latest entry in the tried-but-not-always-true Saw franchise. The franchise follows a villain (formally known as Jigsaw) that tortures his victims, putting them in a live-or-die situations, giving them a choice to forgo body limbs (or their lives) for their sins.
In “Spiral”, we follow disgraced “snitch” detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks who looks into the case of his partner who has just become the victim of a torture crime scene reminiscent of Jigsaw’s killings. It should be noted that in the Saw canon, Jigsaw is proclaimed as dead (to be specific, he died back in Saw III but the series has miraculously continued for six more films. Go figure). Zeke employs his optimistic rookie partner William Schenk (a “just right” Max Minghella) to follow him along as he investigates who is behind the grisly murders as more cop bodies pile up around the city.

In the Saw universe, it’s hard for a new entry to be original past its inspired death traps (and there are some pretty impressive death traps in this film). “Spiral” finds its originality in its lead character’s backstory more than it does in its death traps. Rock gives a competent lead performance as Zeke who has been exiled in his precinct, years after taking the stand against a fellow officer who wrongfully killed a potential witness. “Spiral” gives itself a surprising timely nature as it examines the flawed mechanisms behind a “blue blood” brotherhood and what happens to an inhabitant of that brotherhood when he stands up for what’s morally and ethically right. This conflict of character puts Zeke as one of the most (if not, THE most) interesting characters of the Saw-verse. Samuel L. Jackson’s Marcus Banks (Zeke’s father who is a retired chief) serves as a great foil to Zeke as he believes in this brotherhood but tries to protect his son from inside adversaries at the same time. There’s some great scenes of banter between Rock and Jackson that lends some surprise comedy to the otherwise serious (somewhat disturbing) horror film.

As we follow Zeke into the deeper (and darker) depths of the mystery behind these deaths, the film gets increasingly better in its second half. The first half of this film carries itself as a generic horror thriller with solid thrills and nicely done nasty kills. The second half begins with a scene where an important character is revealed to be killed. Its reveal is probably one of the most disturbing sequences in the history of the Saw franchise – a feat hard to achieve in a series where excessive killings are par the course. From the midway point, the stakes are raised and the narrative propels itself to a satisfying twist ending reminiscent of the best Saw endings.

Closing Thoughts
Director Darren Lynn Bousman and Chris Rock make for a talented pair as “Spiral” ranks as one of the best Saw films in the canon. It carries an engaging plot, inventive death sequences (including a memorable sequence involving glass shards) and a plausible twist ending. “Spiral” (with its current success) may make the case that there may still be some life in a tired franchise that has become repetitive for many years. Even with the omission of the beloved Tobin Bell, “Spiral” finds itself right at home in the torture series canon.

Trailer