The Saw series has definitely seen as many twists as the films themselves. With this latest installment, Spiral, I have to admire the filmmakers for trying to put a different spin on the franchise, but unfortunately, the execution (no pun intended) is uneven.
This latest chapter stars Chris Rock of all people as Detective Zeke Banks, who begins to investigate a series of grisly murders similar to the Jigsaw Killer. The crime scenes are left with the calling card of, you guessed it, a spiral. We’re not sure how well his detective skills serve him, but he does have a unique interpretation of Forrest Gump.
He gets reluctantly paired with a new cop (Max Minghella), and they begin their investigation with time out for occasional wiseguy dialogue that’s oftentimes hit-or-miss.
Samuel L. Jackson gets costar billing here as Rock’s father, a retired cop, and now his son’s landlord. The banter between Rock and Jackson is clearly more fun and makes it even remotely passable due to their innate charisma.
The murder sequences are just as bloody as ever, but they’re not anywhere as creative as before. We get scenes of victims being tortured in subway tunnels, hot wax, and broken glass, and all it does is wear us down.
The original Saw was a groundbreaking horror film for its time with a unique concept that challenged its victims, but the sequels seem to be stuck on autopilot.
Even with the addition of Rock, the tone is highly inconsistent with scenes that do land a punchline or two and then go back to being a gorefest until the movie can’t make up its mind about what it’s trying to be.
There’s nothing scary or creepy; it’s all relentless gore with a minimal plot and an inconsistent tone, making these blood-soaked sequences that much worse.
Grade: C
(Rated R for grisly bloody violence, brief drug use, pervasive language, some sexual references, and torture.)
