GAME ON.
Another big franchise makes its return and it’s one that I happen to be a big fan of. Mock me if you like but I am a fanatic of the Saw movies. The first seven chapters features some imaginative traps along with an intriguing and complex storyline that continued to get more and more insane which I was invested in for many years. As for the eighth chapter from 2017, known as Jigsaw, I enjoyed it well enough but I agreed that it was basically more of the same stuff. It was definitely one of the weaker ones that I would have enjoyed a follow-up to, hence why I was nervous about the newest film.
Spiral: From The Book Of Saw is a sequel/spin-off to the Saw movies that was produced by and starring Chris Rock. I personally only knew Chris Rock for his comedy, which I do love. However, I was worried that this meant that Saw was going the route of The Predator and going full parody of itself. Then the trailers released and I became intrigued by what Rock and party had in store. Much to my surprise…Spiral ended up being one of my favorite entries of the series.
Chris ROCKS As The Hero
I will likely be punished for that pun but it’s true. Even walking into the film, I wasn’t sure if Chris Rock could lead such a dark and serious franchise. I came out so surprised by how great of a performance Chris Rock gave and might even go as far as to say his character Detective Banks might be my favorite protagonist of the series.
Since nearly all of the movie is from Banks’ perspective, it helps that Chris Rock carries the film. Rock delivers on being a hardened clean cop in a precinct filled with rotten cops very well. Honestly, this could have been a thriller about cops having a conflict and I would have loved it. Whenever Rock goes off on some of the cops, he is astonishingly good and shows a lot of emotion.
Detective Banks is also surprisingly funny. Of course, since it is Chris Rock, there is going to be humor but unlike The Predator where it destroyed the film, Spiral uses humor every now and then to show the human side of these characters. Banks delivers some lines that actually got me to crack up but it never becomes a horror/comedy. It still manages to keep that same Saw tone and vibe but inject some needed humor to keep things from become dull.
I also enjoyed his screen time with Samuel L. Jackson as Banks’ father. I kind of wish there were more scenes of Jackson and Rock together but what they do bring to the table together is great. Again, these two are some of the most human the series has ever had.
Traps Are Still Awesome
The trailers purposefully hid all the “Jigsaw” traps and kept focusing on the investigation. Either these traps were going to suck or there was some great ones in store for the audience. Fortunately, it ended up being the latter because I really appreciated the traps in this one. As much as I enjoy the franchise, some of the later traps got a little too extravagant and relied too much of suspension of disbelief. The traps in Spiral return to the franchise’s roots of the first three Saw movies with more grounded and brutal traps that even got me to cringe in places.
While I did appreciated this, I can see someone finding them a little disappointing if someone if going to this expecting gallons upon gallons of blood, guts, and other forms of carnage candy. The gore is there but definitely much more dialed back to rely on the visceral shock value of the traps rather than gore for the sake of gore.
Also, these traps serve more of a purpose and have themes that fit within the nature of the story they decided to tell. And unlike other copycats like Hoffman and Amanda, the new killer finally follows how the original Jigsaw did things by providing traps that are actually winnable instead of just glorified execution rooms.
Speaking of, I really appreciate the way they showcased the traps. At first, it goes more of the route of the first Saw movie where the traps are seen as their own separates chapters of the overall story while the investigation is happening. As the movie progresses, it slowly becomes more like the later films with a character going from room to room, each providing a new trap-related puzzle to solve.
This Jigsaw disciple features the scariest version of the pig-face mask of the series and goes all out with that theme, even with the new puppet.
Can Non-Saw Fans Watch It?
Yes…and no. While it’s not Avengers: Endgame where it requires you to have seen the entire franchise to understand it, I definitely recommend at least the first three Saw movies if you’ve never seen them or haven’t seen them in a long time. There are scenes and references that definitely reward fans of the whole series since it’s definitely a spin-off in the same universe. Then I must ask: why are you watching a Saw spin-off if you don’t like Saw?
New Ideas And Direction!
Thank you, Twisted Pictures! Yes, this is not just the same movie with a fresh coat of paint. It tries new ideas by going in more of a mystery thriller a la Se7en or most recently The Little Things. This is more akin to the first Saw movie but done to an extreme to create a police thriller that I loved. Then there’s the new Jigsaw who is very different from John Kramer and the other disciples in the past and brings about some relevant social commentary that I found myself enjoying…and understanding why Spiral was delayed by a year.
However, this does lead me to one of my only complaints with the film and that’s the big twist that it tries to do like every Saw movie does. DON’T WORRY, NO SPOILERS ARE IN THIS REVIEW. While I certainly didn’t see it coming, it was not even close to some of the twists from the last eight films that actually got my jaw to drop. This one was surprising but the most I got out of the twist was, “Oh…okay then.” It wasn’t mind-blowing but it was definitely intriguing.
That is made up by the last ten to fifteen minutes of the movie which I absolutely loved. I couldn’t believe how it ended, I was expecting at least a few more minutes but instead, it just stops right there and it instantly got me hyped for a sequel. Before Saw fans ask, yes, THAT music does play and I had a big grin on my face when it did.
The Best Looking Saw Movie
Darren Lynn Bousman returned to direct Spiral: another reason why I was intrigued by this movie. Bousman directed Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV which are easily some of the best in the series (Saw III being my personal favorite) so it was nice to see one of the original revolutionaries of the franchise return.
This was easily Bousman’s best looking film: despite everything being so gritty, grimy, and bleak, he manages to delivers some downright beautiful shots. He has a lot of scenes that are all done in one long take and they impressed me big time, even though it was usually just people walking and talking.
The investigative segments, the traps, and everything in between? It was all nice, the music was pleasant to listen to, especially with the return of some famous music, and I appreciated the more effective gore this time around. In Saw 3D, it was all pink-ish blood and gore done to appeal the (thankfully) dead gimmick of 3D. Jigsaw was an improvement but it relied too much on CGI blood which is never a good things.
Here, the gore for all the traps was 95% practical and as a horror buff, I really appreciated that. Especially with the designs for the traps themselves.
Not A Perfect Game Win (Negatives)
Spiral is really short and that is normal for the franchise but since this is not only introducing a new killer but a new set of characters, some end up feeling wasted. There were some cops introduced during the investigation that were clearly only there to trick the audience into thinking the killer is one of them. I hope with Spiral sequels, these characters return to develop more of their story and why they are the way they are. One character introduced in the first act never once reappears or gets a mention which I felt was an odd choice.
With an extra ten to fifteen minutes, it would have been about the same length as the first Saw and it would have fleshed things out a bit more. Especially with Samuel L. Jackson’s character who does not have a lot of time on screen.
While I definitely enjoyed what they did with the new killer in this one, like I previously mentioned, the twist was not astonishing; this killer simply lacked a presence that Kramer, Hoffman, and even Nelson had in Jigsaw. When the killer is revealed, they personality just doesn’t have that same impact that they had but there is definitely room for improvement in future films.
Game Over… (Overall Thoughts)
I went in with mild expectations for Spiral: From The Book Of Saw, definitely intrigued by what a spin-off of one of my beloved series had in store. I ended up loving Spiral and would easily rank it in the top three films of the series. If you are a Saw fan like I am, I think you will be happy in this new direction for the series and if you are looking for a dark, bloody, mystery thriller and are not that big into the later Saw movies? I will also say you should check it out.
It’s an intense ride that never has a dull moment and will have everyone hyped to see where the sequels go. Chris Rock as Banks is a great lead and is easily one of the biggest reasons to check it out: just to see one of, if not THE best performance of his career. While it’s not perfect, it was a great return for this franchise and shows how to make a proper spin-off of a horror franchise; I’m giving Spiral: From The Book Of Saw a 9/10 and I highly recommend you see it in theaters. It was my first time in a theater since February of 2020 and it was refreshing to be back.
You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this review! I write about anything geek related, especially comic book related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady ! Love you all!
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