With comedy and horror, the key is getting the audience to relax, to think it’s all okay then... bang!
Comedian Chris Rock appears in the latest instalment of the scary Saw film franchise. talks to its starry cast and director to discover what else we can expect from the gruesome new movie shows up in the ninth movie and doesn’t know what he’s getting into,” says Max, 35, of joining the project. “I really wanted to educate myself and have as much context as possible.
“It’s a real tribute to the strength of the franchise that it’s been able to go on for nine movies now. Very, very few stories can continue for that long.
“It says a lot about the mythology of it.”
Horror aside, it was the script’s central police theme that proved the hook for Max.
I love horror movies, but I was really drawn
to the detective/ buddy cop element
THEY CAME, THEY SAW...
“I love horror movies, but I was really drawn to the detective/buddy cop element. I feel like they don’t make a lot of these anymore.”
Saying that films like Eddie Murphy’s classic cop-comedy 48 Hours are “ingrained” in his DNA, Max says he “grew up watching these films obsessively, and missed them. I feel very nostalgic for them.”
The Saw universe is one held in equally high regard by Max’s co-star Marisol Nichols, 47.
The Riverdale actress says she was “familiar with the franchise” prior to filming and describes the films’ signature human traps as “a whole different character in themselves”. She says she relished tackling the project, even though she admits that the franchise’s success proved “a little bit of pressure”.
“I love a challenge. Bring it on; let’s go. There’s nothing like diving in at the deep end and flying by the seat of your pants,” she declares.
She plays police captain Garza, a woman charged with running a male-dominated police unit. “I didn’t want it to be a novel thing, like, ‘Ooh, isn’t that a fun idea, they made a woman a police captain,”’ says Marisol.
“I wanted it to be real. And I wanted to honour that.
“Who would she have to be to be able to command this testosteronefilled department, have them respect her, have them
obey her? And do it without losing compassion that a female does add to that.”
Despite the pandemic, Spiral: From The Book Of Saw is still expected to be box office gold and it hits screens in the UK just as cinemas are set to reopen.
“What I think is cool about this movie is it works numerous different ways,” says Darren.
“It works if you’ve never seen a Saw movie, and it works if you’ve seen all of them.” Describing the new slasher as a member of the “metaverse”, Darren points out the similarities with Marvel or the Conjuring film universes.
“It’s a standalone film,” he adds. “It’s not a sequel. It’s not a reboot. It’s not a reimagining,”
Max Minghella, inset, and Marisol Nichols
Chris Rock stars
in Spiral: From The Book Of Saw