Reviving the franchise after a four year break, Spiral: From The Book of Saw acts as a sequel-cum-spinoff to the massively successful, notorious gory horror franchise that changed the genre with its first instalment back in 2004. In a clear attempt to give the IP a somewhat more mature tone, is the game still worth playing?
When what is suspected to be a copycat of the Jigsaw Killer surfaces, Detective Zeke Banks is paired with idealist rookie William Schenk to investigate the grisly murders that appear to be targeting the city's cops. Helmed by returning director Darren Lyn Bousman and starring Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols and Samuel L. Jackson, does this series have enough life in its tenth instalment?
In what plays more like an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Spiral - for better or for worse - rejects what it really takes to be a Saw film in its efforts to progress, and escape the damning critical reception of latter entries in the original run of films. Operating in namesake (and, some may argue, in the name of increased box office receipts) only, Spiral lacks the pop punk edge that made the films such cult favourites; for casual viewers, there's still enough here to be entertained by - but diehard fans of the property will find very little redeeming in Spiral.
Co-writers Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger land on something cathartic with their thematic ambitions for Spiral, setting police corruption in their sights. While morality has never been far from the mind of the franchise, it's never felt so timely, injecting a sense of urgency into the picture. While these foundations are far from the sturdiest, they provide a film that loses its Saw tropes with new strengths.
Bousman continues the frantic edge found in previous films which translates into a chaotic energy that works both for and against the picture. While it keeps the 95 minute flick ticking over nicely, from a storytelling viewpoint it confuses: the incessant flashbacks to conversations we heard only minutes before that fails to offer a new perspective perplexes, arguably emphasising information that makes the twist all the more foreseeable. Minghella is the standout amongst the cast and although Rock occasionally misjudges the tone, his dramatic abilities are tuned well enough to sell the tension undone by bizarre editing decisions.
No matter your stance on the earlier Saw films in particular, they sure were creative: from the complexity of the traps to the moral complexity that coursed its bloody veins, there was a careful consideration that contrasted the low-brow, grimy packaging well. Without that creativity, Spiral is just not as fun to watch - although notably better than the outright dreadful later sequels. But even still, as a suspenseful police procedural with a topical undercurrent, it works well enough to compel, even if it fails to stick the landing. While Spiral isn't the shot of adrenaline the series was after, it's enough to keep the Saw franchise alive and kicking - for the time being.
Summary: Mostly forgettable traps and one of the weakest (read: predictable) twists in the series' extensive history are the biggest disadvantages of the otherwise watchable and infrequently gripping Spiral.