Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Starring: Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, Samuel L. Jackson, Dan Petronijevic, Richard Zeppieri, Patrick McManus, K.C. Collins, Zoie Palmer
Running Time: 93 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

When news broke a couple of years ago that Chris Rock had an idea to revitalize the struggling Saw franchise so promising that Lionsgate immediately signed off, interest was piqued. Much of that anticipation stemmed not only from the actor/comedian's direct involvement, but the bewilderment of what could possibly resuscitate a franchise that already blew its shot at rebirth with 2017's underwhelming Jigaw. Far from the "reboot" fans were promised, it only delivered more of the same, doing little for a series that remained on life support, straying so far from the series' initial intent that it became unrecognizable. 

Trampling over the simplicity of James Wan's thrilling 2004 original were a string of neverending sequels that each tried to top the body counts, gruesome traps, and superfulous law enforcement characters of its predecessors. And by prematurely killing off its main villain, everything then became about the gore, revolving around scenarios that were unnecessarily disgusting rather than clever, existing solely for shock value. It didn't even start as a horror franchise, but rather devolved into the worst kind of one, becoming at least partially responsible for introducing the term "torture porn" into the cultural lexicon. 

Now, after a year-long delay, Saw II, III and IV director Darren Lynn Bousman is back at the helm for Spiral, a spin-off that ends up being the best entry since he left. So while I'm still unsure about any new idea for the franchise including more law enforcement and copycat Jigsaws, it does fit the story this time and jumps off the page as a big improvement over most of the sequels. For once, the traps feel in service of the screenplay rather than the other way around and it doesn't look like it was shot in a septic tank, even featuring scenes that take place in actual daylight. With a pacing and style that deviates considerably from what's come before, it gets a fresh enough coat of paint while retaining just enough original elements to satisfy hardcore fans. 

Det. Ekekiel "Zeke" Banks (Rock) is an unpopular, insubordinate police officer assigned by Capt. Angie Garza (Marisol Nichols) to investigate the brutal death of his friend and colleague, Det. Marv Bozwick (Dan Petronijevic), who was hit by an oncoming train while chasing a perpetrator off-duty. Vocal in his complaints about the inner workings of the department, Zeke's begrudgingly assigned a new rookie partner for the case named William Schenk (Max Minghella), as both officers quickly realize the odd circumstances surrounding Bozwick's death point to a potential Jigsaw Killer copycat. 

With tapes and clues leading the way and a climbing body count, it becomes obvious the murderer is exclusively targeting corrupt cops, something Zeke knows about all to well, having snitched on his dirty co-workers years ago while serving under his father, the now-retired chief Marcus Banks (Samuel L. Jackson). Presently a pariah on the force and attempting to fix the fractured relationship with his dad, Zeke's struggling to stay a step ahead of the mysterious killer, whose motivations may cut deeper than anyone expected.

What's most noticeably different from the previous Saw films is how this looks. It still has that grungy, basement-dwelling aethetic but at least we're not watching something that seems to have been filmed in complete darkness. At points, the daylight scenes (itself an anomaly for this franchise) even look fairly slick, heightening the visual impact when the darker trap scenes eventually do arrive. And despite how they're shot and edited not differing all that much from the series norm, it doesn't feel as if we're being bombarded by too many of these gory sequences for no reason, which had long ago emerged as the series' biggest problem. 

Co-writers Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger gradually build the story to each trap with Bousman judiciously spacing them out enough so that audience fatigue doesn't set in. Of course, there's the usual problematic irony that these victims don't really have much of a "choice" at all in these torture devices, unless you count perishing in two different, equally grisly ways as a selection. But it helps that there's at least a solid narrative foundation in place this time, as the plot follows a tight, linear path in which each clue leads to the next in a logical manner unseen since the franchise's infancy. 

Criticisms this all plays like a police procedural are valid, but also hardly worth complaining about since it's done well and the one thing this series desperately needed was that kind of straightforward structure to stay on course. Compared to its predecessors, this is practically a downright restrained character study in terms of the buddy-cop relationship that develops between frequently aggravated Zeke and his idealistic young partner. It feels very Training Day or Se7en, which helps in further solidifying that the characters actually have some agency here.

A dark departure from the roles he's known for tackling, Rock's casting is exactly what the entry needed, with the actor bringing a cutting, humorous edge that becomes invaluable to the dour proceedings. Combine that with Samuel L. Jackson's fiery intensity as a character with constantly questionable motives and you have a a pretty gripping dynamic throughout. It was always fun speculating how unexpected bigger name stars could acquit themselves a Saw movie and this is definitely the closest we've come, with better than anticipated results.

That Tobin Bell's John "Jigsaw" Kramer only appears in some newspaper clippings and gets a passing mention is the right call in terms of the story being told. As much as Bell's creepy performance provided the only worthwhile element in so many uneven sequels, we desperately needed a break if his only function is to be misused in flashbacks. Due to the machinations of this particular plot, the iconic pig head takes center stage in both the clues and recorded video form, with Billy The Puppet nowhere around, perhaps being saved for a future sequel. That's fine, but what's missed most is Bell's unmistakable voice, as his generic replacement sounds more like a nagging granny than a sinister serial killer. Of all the changes made, this is probably the only big miss, albeit one producers would try to explain away as starting anew with a fresh slate. With the series stuck in such a rut, it's an admirable approach, but they could have at least thought to electronically alter the voice to sound scarier and more threatening.  

Even for those who will claim to have seen the big twist at the end coming, the payoff's still no less effective. In fact, it's easily the most rewarding Saw finale in years in how it manages to cover all its bases, invoking genuine tension and excitement while returning the series to the moral complications it's initial premise was built on in 2004. The final minutes unfold as a bigger deal than we're used to,  with actual stakes. Supposedly, there are plans to spin this off into a TV series and given how everything shakes out, that actually doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility considering the format and style might lend itself well to that medium.

If the film's best moments recall Se7en and its worst recall previous Saw installments, there's relief in knowing what exists of the latter Bousman molds into something more digestable for the mainstream. For most horror franchises, that's a criticism, but this one went so far off the rails in abandoning the key tenets of its success that any change is welcome. A shot in the arm that puts story first, what Spiral means for the series moving forward is vaguer, but they could really be onto something by presenting these new films as standalones that aren't creatively beholden to all the inferior entries preceding it.