Written by Alexander Reams
94/100
Spiral is the newest entry in the long-running, and presumably exhausted, Saw franchise. In preparation for this film I finally trekked through the franchise and fell into a weird appreciation and borderline love for this series. This newest entry shows the legacy that John Kramer has left while a new copycat continues his work and reigns terror on police.
Chris Rock as Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks is the latest protagonist of the Saw franchise. This is a significant change of pace and genre from what we are used to seeing Rock in. Not only is he the lead, he also developed this film from the ground up, is an executive producer, and did the story treatment. This is truly his baby and his passion shows in every scene. Sharing the screen with Rock is Samuel L. Jackson as “Marcus Banks”, Zeke’s father, and Max Minghella as Zeke’s partner “William Schenk”.
This film is a departure from previous entries in style and substance. The direction of the film, from previous director Darren Lynn Bousman, is far less frenetic. Which leads to making the story and traps easier to watch and less visually confusing. The quick edits and shaky cinematography that has been a staple of the Saw franchise is nowhere to be seen. The camera movements are slow and methodical, almost like a voyeur on the investigation taking place. The editing is intentional, only cutting when absolutely necessary, and never too often.
The gratuitous blood and gore is toned down to make it more effective when it does happen. Instead the film leans more towards scares and disturbing imagery which constantly pushes the film’s atmosphere to more and more grisly places. This film is a welcome breath of fresh air in this 17-year long franchise. Chris Rock gives what may be his greatest performance yet and seeing him, Max Minghella, and Samuel L. Jackson on screen together is a wonderful combination, the screenplay is a cherry on top.
Spiral Trailer
Spiral is now playing in theaters.
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