Spiral down to another depressing horror outing
Review
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (R18, 93 mins)
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman Reviewed by James Croot ★★
Iwished this could have been this decade’s Seven. I hoped it might emulate 2018’s resurrection of Halloween .I prayed it would at least be more palatable than Ridley Scott’s Hannibal.
Sadly, while managing to avoid hitting a new low, Spiral is the disappointing Saw homage we should have seen coming a mile off.
Strip away the high-profile acting trio of Chris Rock (who also apparently gave the ‘‘turd-gid’’ script a polish), Samuel L Jackson and Max Minghella, and it’s the same thin gruel of extreme vigilantism laced with grim torture-porn scenes where there’s only ever one outcome.
At least here, we learn a little more about our troubled ‘‘hero’’ and the deadly devices are used sparingly, but, at its dark heart, this is still just another ploddingly predictable instalment (No 9, if you’re still counting) of a series that’s devolved from a smart, inventive opener to a succession of geek shows.
Rock – so good on the most recent season of Fargo , so unconvincing here, thanks to equating squinting with seriousness – plays Detective Ezekiel ‘‘Zeke’’ Banks. Estranged from his wife and child, he’s also loathed by most of his fellow officers, deemed untrustworthy since he dobbed in his dirty partner 12 years earlier.
The feeling is mutual. Ever since a lack of backup resulted in a bullet wound, he’s been unwilling to be a team player or even have a partner.
However, now, his captain Angie Garza (Marisol Nichols) is insisting he take on rookie William Schenk (Minghella). It’s with a fair degree of reluctance that he agrees.
‘‘How do you like your coffee in the morning?’’ Schenk inquires. ‘‘Alone,’’ comes the swift reply.
Their first job ensures the pair bond quickly. A body has been found on the subway tracks in lessthan-pristine condition.
A quick examination has Banks convinced it’s not a homeless man, as first thought, as a fitness tracker and wedding ring suggest a home life.
A wait for forensics isn’t required though, as first a flash drive and then a package reveal the victim and the motive. It’s a cop alleged to have repeatedly lied in court to ensure prosecutions and he’s been permanently silenced (including having his tongue separated from the rest of his body) by a pig mask-wearing perpetrator who’s clearly been taking tips from the infamous Jigsaw killer, who previously dispensed his own form of ‘‘social justice’’ around the city.
Even more concerning, he promises this is just the start of his war against the corrupt South Metro Police Department, unless they start cleaning their own house.
Putting aside the efficacy of releasing this ‘‘all-cops-are-corruptand-should-be-punished’’ storyline after the events in America over the past year, Spiral is a ham-fisted horror put through the franchise’s sausage-machine – and clearly made on the hoof – with a result that is disappointing swill with too much gristle and that, despite its best intentions, still wallows in some distasteful muck.
Which is disappointing, as it occasionally shows great potential. Jackson and Rock spark brilliantly as father and son in the couple of scenes they share, there’s a nice Training Day vibe about Banks and Schenk’s initial car ride and an opening rant about Forrest Gump that feels like something Tarantino might have written.
Unfortunately, it isn’t long before fun, sense and narrative cohesion go out the window. A heatwave and citywide rolling blackouts are mentioned as a huge issue and instantly forgotten, firstperson flashbacks are hampered by scenes the character couldn’t have been present for, and ‘‘new Jigsaw’’ sounds like he’s been taking elocution lessons from Kylo Ren.
An initially over-pimped hiphop soundtrack suddenly disappears without a trace and, in the end, the lack of characters makes solving the puzzle ridiculously easy.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare is the touchstone for me when it comes to restoring the fortunes of a scary-turned-laughably-bad horror series.
In my heart, I thought this had that same potential, but don’t be fooled by the extra Hollywood veneer here. It’s still the same director who gave us Saws 2 through 4 (not the beloved original) and the writers of the most recent outing – 2017’s lamentable Jigsaw.
And, to be honest, we were even given a warning by dialogue in the trailer. ‘‘It’s a Jigsaw copycat – this is gonna go sideways real fast.’’