Spiral: From the Book of Saw

I've not reviewed many (read: any) of the Saw franchise on my blog because, quite honestly, it was hard to care. 

In my life, this series has been one that faded from relevance quickly. Originally coming out when I was in middle school and high school, the first three of them (which seem to be the ones most people interested have seen) were almost dares: could you watch the whole thing? Would you look away? 

If the series didn't start the torture-porn genre, then it certainly helped to make it mainstream, but after three films, the shock factor had somewhat worn off and - at least for me (but I imagine others too) - the films lost relevance...and my attention. 

So, I present to you the first Saw franchise review on Rath's Reviews for Spiral: From the Book of Saw. 

What intrigued me about this one so much? Why did I actually see this one in theaters (aside from giving them as much support as possible right now?). For starters, the name shift and the trailers suggested that the series was trying to reinvent itself, and potentially give us an entry focused more on story and quality versus being a gorefest. The second reason was that it starred Chris Rock in more ways than one. Apparently a huge fan of the franchise (we all have our guilty pleasures), he had the idea for this concept and is also the Executive Producer here. Almost feeling like an experiment of sorts, could Spiral elevate the series? Could it create a new one with a new focus? 

It turns out the answer is: not really. Spiral - for all intents and purposes - is just more Saw. It's more Saw with a much more famous lead and a focus on police instead of normal citizens (as far as "messaging" goes). 

This one has been blasted with mostly poor/bad reviews, which led to some disappointment before the film, but the one plug I will give the film is that it's not nearly as bad as some of the worst reviews are claiming. There's enough here to make an interesting film, but as I mentioned, it's not enough to elevate it further than your typical Saw film. The plot is largely focused around Rock's Zeke and the mystery that unfolds as a Jigsaw copycat knocks off cops 1-by-1. My hypothesis before the film was that it would have a lot to say about policing in America and potentially the substantial Black Lives Matter movement that's been happening over the past few years. Without ruining anything, sure there's some of that, but the opportunity to "say" anything more than the typical Saw installment is lost. Some may see this as a Pro - more power to you - but it does keep the film from doing anything special or unique past picking out people with skeletons in their closet and making them pay. 

"Is it an ear or a potato chip?"

Rock is the film's biggest strength - even though he's looking...weird...(I swear I just saw him on Fargo looking "normal"?). But for a franchise that hasn't had much star power in the past, it does them well and he's able to bring some comedy early on. Everyone else, including Samuel L. Jackson collecting a paycheck, does okay, but it's clear Rock is the best part of the film. Unfortunately, the filmmaking behind it all is a bit chaotic, ranging from competent to over-done. The typical fast, frantic editing when people are caught in traps is still here and there are a handful of camera shots where I literally had to ask myself "What the f**k was that showing?" The latter is just weird, but the former is disappointing because I feel like it's this style of editing that could have been scrapped and replaced with something a little more deft, elevating the material like we thought it would be. But alas...

As for the traps? I'm gleefully always excited to see what the traps are in these films; I think it's part of the appeal of these films over the years. They're the ultimate "Would you rather?" game with wickedly gruesome results. In Spiral, they're fine though I'd argue the one revealed in the first 10 minutes is the best and most memorable, but to be honest, there's nothing here that will stick like the explosive headgear, the pit of needles, or the bone turner (among many) from the films I saw many many years ago. The results are still horrifically (or delightfully, depending on who you are) gory and I totally regret ordering a pizza at my Alamo Drafthouse during this film...but damn was the pizza good though!

But for real? Why does Rock look so different?

Spiral: From the Book of Saw had the opportunity to be more. In terms of securing star power, it is, and Chris Rock is the film's strength, but the story, the traps, the quality, and the messages it tries to convey are the same as any other ones. Perhaps we'll end up with six more Spirals, but, at least from this first film, this is still a series that you don't really need to care about unless you're previously invested. 

CONS

• Despite being marketed as such, there's not much new here
• Missed opportunity to say more about it's subject matter 
• Traps are just...ok
• Moments of very bad filmmaking (WTF camera angles) and the hyper-kinetic style is still here during the traps; I've always felt it was a bit of a garbage editing style
• Most of the cast seems to be phoning it in or playing generic-crooked-cop #2

PROS

• Chris Rock at the lead is fun, especially when he gets some good comedy bits at the beginning
• While the traps aren't the best, there's still the morbid curiosity that comes with them that's strangely enticing
• If gore's your thing, there's plenty of it here!
• While the story isn't anything special, I do appreciate these film's conclusions. They're always overly epic, but complimented by the iconic Saw theme music, some big reveals, and final deaths. It's cheesy, but fun

Rath's Review Score | 5.5/10