Spiral: Saw

Let Saw rest already! Spiral: From the Book of Saw is nothing but a trite revenge thriller about dirty cops that might not even have any connection to the original series. The Saw brand is just a justification to cram in a few bloody traps, which, by the way, are so technically sophisticated that it makes you wonder how the bad guy managed produce them in the first place – and whether it was actually worth it. Nothing against them, though, those few brief bloody scenes are ultimately the best thing about the film, the rest is heavy police boredom with characters that are incredibly annoying (Zeke) or incredibly ridiculous (the chief), and also with a grossly unreadable conclusion. (01.06.2021)

The Saw reboot didn't quite live up to the expectations, but at the same time it doesn't disappoint in what the Saw franchise excels at: well thought out traps and perfect gore. I like the Saw franchise a lot, it's a bit of a fashion show where instead of models there are traps, and each episode they compete to see which is the best. I enjoy that immensely, but unfortunately I found Spiral a bit off in aspects that the previous episodes didn't have. Chris Rock is a casting misfire and even though this is his dream project, he unfortunately didn't handle his part and his acting is quite cheesy at times. I could still get over that but the voice of the copycat jigsaw is completely off. It lacks the creepy touch of Tobin Bell, and the pronouncements for the various traps are both unimaginative and not interesting at all. Visually, the film feels a bit like a TV detective show, where if it weren't for the awesome gore, it might have aired in prime-time. That it's not a dark crime drama like Se7en doesn't hurt that much, but I was quite disappointed by the unsatisfying ending. For one thing, it's not at all shocking as is usual in the franchise, where final five minutes are usually the best. Here things pretty much fizzle out into nothing and I can't really imagine this bad guy featuring in any further potential episodes. Thankfully the five traps are cool, the gore is top notch and, since along with Army of the Dead there hasn't been anything that brutal this year, I'm glad we have at least this one, but the slight bitter aftertaste remains. The ambition was definitely higher, but a gore fan will be happy for this one too. 6/10. (01.06.2021)

Even though the reveal may have been predictable, shocking, devastating, or desperately overdone and unfairly borrowed characters from other installments, this one always managed to surprise in some way. Saw was never boring, regardless of the fact that this addition's rating has become tangled up in arbitrary values. However, Spiral is a piece that, while making sense in its core resolution, has no surprises and almost puts you to sleep during the investigative passages. Besides, the revelation of the murderer is sadly predictable because the script (even several times) serves the perpetrator's identity up to almost on a silver platter long beforehand. A weak second star for Samuel L. Jackson only if I truly turn a blind eye, thanks to the fact that it is intentionally a spin-off and not a full-fledged Saw. (25.01.2022)

This predictable and gaudy movie may only be any good to audiences if Chris Rock uses it in the future as the punchline for one of the jokes in his stand-up act. (19.06.2021)