Canada: Friday, May 14, 2021
Nationwide: Friday, May 14, 2021
Lionsgate
for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, pervasive language, some sexual references and brief drug use
A sadistic mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in SPIRAL, the terrifying new chapter from the book of SAW. Working in the shadow of an esteemed police veteran (Samuel L. Jackson), brash Detective Ezekiel "Zeke" Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner (Max Minghella) take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city's gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer's morbid game.
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Gregory M. - Rated it 3 out of 5
"Spiral: From The Book Of Saw" A criminal mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in "Spiral", the terrifying new chapter in 'The Book Of Saw', Working in the shadow of his father, Marcus Banks (Samuel L. Jackson), an esteemed police veteran, brash Detective Ezekiel 'Zeke' Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner William Schenk (Max Ming****a) take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game. During a nighttime 'Fourth Of July' parade, off-duty Detective Marv Bozwick (Dan Petronijevic) chases a thief dressed as 'Uncle Sam' down a filthy sewer drainage pipe. Attacked from behind by a figure wearing a grotesque pig mask, Bozwick wakes to find himself suspended by his tongue in an active subway tunnel. As he struggles in midair, a recorded message offers him a twisted deal; rip the lying tongue from his mouth and live, or dangle there and die. Unable to escape the trap, Bozwick is killed by a speeding subway train. The following day, brash Detective Ezekiel 'Zeke' Banks meets his new partner, 'Detective-In-Training' William Schenk. While investigating the horrific subway death, Banks and Schenk discover the victim was a fellow cop murdered in a manner reminiscent of the long-dead serial killer 'Jigsaw' (Tobin Bell). Assigned by Captain Angie Garza (Marisol Nichols) to lead a citywide task force, Banks and Schenk comb through digital forensics, surveillance footage, and old 'Jigsaw' case files looking for answers. Meanwhile, Banks legendary father, retired Police Chief Marcus Banks warns that things could get very ugly if this is indeed a demented 'Jigsaw' copycat. When another detective is found dead in a nightmarish trap with his fingers torn off, Zeke realizes that someone with a personal vendetta against 'The South Metro Police' is targeting dirty cops. Ironically, Zeke himself once testified against a corrupt partner, a decision that enraged his father and alienated him from the rest of the force. As macabre videos arrive at the station offering gruesome clues and cryptic riddles, Zeke and Schenk are drawn deeper into the maniac’s deadly game. The body count quickly escalates as police officers are found flayed of their skin, scalded with boiling wax, and slaughtered with broken glass. With time running out and his manhunt growing increasingly desperate, Zeke soon discovers that the killer’s true motive is more horrifying, and far more personal, than anyone could have imagined. Caught in a web of madness and murder, Zeke must piece together the final puzzle if he hopes to escape alive and bring the sadistic mastermind to justice. Ezekiel 'Zeke' Banks is a detective in 'The South Metro Police Division' whose honesty and integrity have alienated him from the rest of the force. The other detectives have turned against him because he reported a dirty cop to 'The Internal Affairs Division' years earlier. He's a cop who's fully aware of the serial killer from his city’s past but considers it history; who becomes embroiled in a bizarre murder investigation where the killings seem eerily reminiscent of 'Jigsaw’s' notorious handiwork. He wakes up in a trap, and has one hand chained to a pipe and a saw in the other. At the start of "Spiral", he gets assigned to a very personal crime. A close friend on the force iss found brutally murdered and he's a limited amount of time to figure out who did it and why they’re targeting police officers. So it’s basically about a guy trying to help a police department that’s already turned against him. The character is someone with an especially large chip on his shoulder. 'Zeke’s' father was a legendary police chief, so naturally he feels like he always has something to prove. His fellow police officers don’t trust him, and he doesn’t trust them either because he got shot years ago in the line of duty when no one would back him up. So now he has to hunt down a killer without the help of the department. Retired police chief Marcus Banks is a complex guy, mostly because of unresolved issues with Zeke. He’s definitely got a complicated relationship with his son. He loves Zeke, of course. But as a former police chief, he finds it hard to reconcile or understand what Zeke did in taking down fellow officers. Detective William Schenk is a buddy character. He's much more naïve and innocent. But what’s interesting about them is that they quickly end up working very well together. There’s a real arc to their relationship over the course of the movie. Traditionally, buddy cops spend most of their time going at each other, but "Spiral" takes a different path. Although Zeke and William are at opposite places in their lives, they manage to find a way to work together early on. Every cinematic police department needs a tough-as-nails captain to lay down the law, and in "Spiral" that role is embodied by Captain Angie Garza (Marisol Nichols). Normally in most scary movies, law enforcement is there to track down the serial killer and stop them from murdering people. Well, "Spiral" turns that upside down. This time, the cops are the ones being targeted, so that makes things really fun and different. It’s the kind of film that keeps you pinned to the edge of your seat, and you’ll be covering your eyes for sure. It takes a certain type of personality to do that job day in and day out, because you end up seeing the most heartbreaking stuff every day. The toll a job like that takes on someone can change their entire viewpoint about life and about people, so the goal is to embody all of that in the character of Angie and how she runs her precinct. Garza and Banks don’t always get along, but there’s definitely a mutual respect between them, Angie understands him better than most people do, and she knows he’s a good cop. So for that reason, she’s willing to cut him some extra slack and allow him to do what he does best, as long as he gets results and doesn’t **** everybody off too much. 'Jigsaw' is not really a character in "Spiral". The killer is brand new, so the film takes a different approach to the way the traps function. 'Jigsaw' is an experienced engineer with an ability to create intricate mechanisms, so the idea in "Spiral" is to think about how a less-experienced killer might approach building traps. For many longtime 'Saw' fans, the diabolically gruesome traps are the true stars of the series. Each movie features an assortment of elaborately designed murder-machines that would make 'The Marquis De Sade' wince in horror, and "Spiral" includes some of the grisliest devices in the entire franchise. Traps are the signature element of 'The Saw' films, and they’ve really evolved over the years. The 'Jigsaw' franchise blended a variety of popular genres to create something entirely new. "Spiral" pays homage to what’s come before and take it in a new direction. The film keeps everything that defines a 'Saw' movie, but we also delve deeper into the psychological and suspense thriller elements that have always been there, beneath the surface, we’ve got the traps, we’ve got the gore, but we’ve also got a story and characters that will keep people guessing. A heart-stopping new chapter in the iconic Saw series, "Spiral" is a diabolically twisted thriller with a shocking climax unlike anything seen before. It’s a genuine roller coaster that works on all of your senses. It has drama, cop action, a touch of comedy, and a ton of extreme horror. Basically, it’s got everything you could want, including some amazing traps. Everyone knows, when you see a saw trap, there’s going to be a little tube light hiding in the corner. Those traps are what separate 'Saw' from all other series. In addition to the ghastly traps and macabre storylines, 'The Saw' films are famous for their shocking twist, and "Spiral" continues in that vein. "Spiral" is dark, disturbing, and extremely brutal. Dreaming up elaborately gory murder methods like the ones depicted in "Spiral" is a skill that comes naturally to the script. The film comes up with creative ways to kill one another. "Spiral" creates an ominous feeling incredibly well, even in sunlight, and the film captures a palpable sense of heat and humidity that makes the city itself seem creepy. The film knows what the fans want, and the script knows what they think the storyline going to give them, so "Spiral" constantly tries to fake them out and stay one step ahead. There's a number of inherent similarities between horror and humor. They’re both quite hard to pull off because they each involve constantly surprising the audience. For instance, in horror, just when the audience begins to relax and think things are normal, you've to scare the **** out of them. And that’s similar to comedy, except you've to get them laughing instead of screaming. So you’re constantly tricking the audience into relaxing, and then hitting them again with a scare or a funny line. Successfully blending laughter and fear is a bit like cooking the perfect meal. written by Gregory Mann
