Review of Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) by Stream2Bigscree — 16 May 2021

Streamers! We have a jam packed weekend full of entertainment. From new streaming tv shows like The Underground Railroad on Prime Video (check out our free trial link on the side below), Halston on Netflix, Those Who Wish Me Dead on HBO Max, and, of course, the theaters are opening back up across the country. And what better to come out this weekend but Spiral. This movie, lead by world class entertainer Chris Rock as Zeke, follows him as a maligned detective that is caught up trying to figure out a case that is eerily similar to the mass murderer Jigsaw. This updated Jigsaw copycat is focused on the police force and some possibly dirty cops. Let's see if Zeke has what it takes to get us off the couch, into the theaters and risking our lives and wallets.

Ok, let's be honest about this flick. Chris Rock is an all time great comedian, so it should be expected that the comedic pieces of the film work. The problem is the comedic pieces throughout work better than everything else, and that's just not good enough for a horror thriller. Surprisingly, Rock was a remotely believable detective in this movie but it still so hard to separate him from himself. Same goes for Samuel L. Jackson. Sam actually played his part well but at one point I was thinking that I'd rather have Sam from Black Snake Moan in this flick. Bring that guy back because he fits the Saw extended-nightmare universe. After all, we really just came here for the brutality. Am I right? We came here to be disgusted and to have to check our backs for creepy little tricycle pigs. None of that happened to me, and I literally watched this movie in a theater by myself and wasn't worried a bit. Compared to the first Saw film, which had me not wanting to walk down my freshmen dorm hallway by myself at night, this film was like watching Peppa Pig at night (in perpetual fear she's going to hang up on me because I can whistle). Now, what I will say is Spiral was creative in the little games it had but they aren't as gross or bloody as Saws 4-7, which began only to do shock value and gore. I appreciate the filmmakers scaling back in that way while still attempting to push the envelope. But truly the plot was not enough. The move is straight forward compared to the the complicated web of stories in Saw. This is basically just the first level of Candy Crush where they basically just give you the win. It was quite disappointing but was executed well, I guess.

Let's be honest, the Saw franchise is horror-iconic. It struck fear in people so much they started to be better people, but I didn't get any of that from this flick. Spiral tries to pick up the Saw mantle but the execution landed better with the comedy than it did with the horror and thrills. Moviegoers, I beg you to support the theaters especially as more movies debut, but Spiral isn't one to risk your life for. Check this handful of popcorn out when it hits the streaming services and even Redbox.