Spiral

Spiral
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Kategori : 2021 Chris Rock Horror Max Minghella review Samuel L. Jackson Saw sequel Spiral Stream thousands of movies and TV shows free INCINEMAX

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion (or other commenters), that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching!  Will Jigsaw every have fun games?

Spiral – 3 out of 5

I’m starting this one off with a spicy take:  The Saw sequels are great popcorn gore porn features but aren’t very good movies in general.  I love the first film in the franchise, but each sequel has been…meh.  They rarely were unwatchable and did have their redeeming elements that made them fun in their own ways but, overall, they are more forgettable than anything else.  When I heard that Chris Rock was instrumental in rebooting the franchise, I was instantly intrigued.  How could one not be fascinated by the idea of a comedian making the jump to horror and have that leap focused on a torture franchise like Saw?  Then the trailer came out and I saw my favorite actor in the whole wide world was also in it.  Chris Rock helping create a Sawmovie is interesting enough but having Sam Jackson in it as well?  Stop drilling, movie, you sold me!  Well, I checked out Spiral and will admit that it isn’t a perfect horror film and not on the same level as the first feature, but it is the best of the sequels so far.

Seriously, did anyone predict we'd see Chris Rock in a Saw sequel?

After a detective is found dead in the sewers, Detective Zeke Banks (Rock) suddenly finds himself in an investigation into a possible copycat of the Jigsaw Killer.  Along with his new partner Detective William Schenk (Max Minghella), Banks starts to see his fellow officers targeted by this new killer, leaving them in torture machines that give them a small percentage of survival.  It becomes painfully obvious that someone is targeting the police force and his father (Samuel L. Jackson); the force’s retired chief, and now Banks must try to uncover the truth of not only who the killer is but what is the corrupt secret the police have been hiding.

The killer is a marionette.  Just cut its strings and it is powerless.

Spiral isn’t exactly injecting anything new or incredibly exciting into this franchise but that doesn’t mean the film is bad.  One of the things that made it interesting is how the story focuses on corrupt cops and how their corruption made them targets.  Police abusing their power and not being held accountable isn't the most daring idea in the world of entertainment, but it is dominate in the culture’s attention right now.  The themes that the film explores and the ideas it is presenting about something like ACAB might feel familiar, but it did make the story feel modern and current.  This franchise isn’t a stranger to using the formula to provide commentary on how broken our system is (our broken healthcare system has often been a target in these films) but seeing a Jigsaw-like killer target the “bad apples” is as striking as the reality that the Punisher wouldn’t be a cop’s ally and wouldn’t care if they wore his skull on their cars and uniforms.  Honestly, don’t get me started on how cops do NOT understand the character of the Punisher at all.

I mean, I guess torturing the police is one way to defund them.

The one big drawback to the film is the story is pretty sloppy.  The narrative and pacing felt quite uneven to me and there were a lot of awkward moments that would come before many scenes.  And what I mean by “awkward” is the moment felt like it was missing a small transition scene.  Too often, portions of the story felt like I was just dropped in, potentially right after something happened.  The story also has a habit of introducing something and forgetting about it until the end of the film.  I understand that these elements are intended to be a part of the shocking reveal but the importance of these reveals are undercut by the fact that they never feel that important due to the reality they were established and just set aside with no mention of them until the conclusion.  This factor is undeniably wonky and did have a small impact on my overall enjoyment and did keep this film from getting a 4 out of 5.

What is the next genre for Rock to tackle?

The single defining trait of Saw is the gory traps that are involved.  This one, honestly, felt a little light on these traps but, don’t get me wrong, the feature isn’t a barren desert of these traps.  Since the film centers on a cop investigating who this killer is, it makes the time between deadly traps feel longer than they were in some of the sequels.  That being said, this movie didn’t disappoint with this shock and gore factor.  The traps did a great job of making me uncomfortable and making my skin crawl.  And that is kind of the magic to films like this.  They are absolutely disgusting to watch but there is this strange fun factor to it at the same time.

What's the matter?  Jigsaw trap got your tongue!
Wait, that wasn't funny.

Another element that is synonymous with the Saw franchise is the big reveal ending.  Each film has had is own unique twists and surprises when the film is coming to its conclusion and each of them have had varying degrees of quality.  For my money, the reveal in the first film not only set the stage but also set the bar fairly high.  For Spiral, the ending moments are a mixed bag of being really cool and laughably bad.  The early moments of the big reveal do a great job of playing off the themes of police corruption and help cement the motives behind this new killer.  What plays out isn’t exactly surprisingly, but it fits incredibly well with what the story is exploring.  Everything is cool and wrapping up nicely until the final seconds before the credits roll.  I won’t spoil anything, but the closing moments gets silly as shit.  Thematically, it is still playing off the police corruption and ideas behind the slogan of ACAB but there is a cheesy factor that made it hard to take seriously.  This moment required a suspension of disbelief with how even the worst cops would operate that the film’s reality just didn’t support.

If you like sweaty cops trying to solve a serial killer case, this movie
is for you!

Finally, the cast in the film is really good.  Chris Rock carries the film tremendously and proves that he can fit in the horror genre incredibly well.  Sam Jackson’s role, sadly, is small (but important, to be honest), so we don’t get to see a lot of him but, in typical Jackson fashion, he is very memorable.  Max Minghella is terrific in his performance as Marcus Banks and the rest of the supporting players do a great job of bringing their characters to life.  Granted, some of the corrupt cops are often laying it on pretty thick and are almost cartoonishly evil with their bad cop routine but, overall, I felt the performances were great and complimented the product extremely well.

Just tell me Sam Jackson is in your film and I'm seeing it.
Nothing more need to be said with me.

Spiral, without a doubt, has some issues with it.  They mostly come in the form of some awkward progressions in the story and the final seconds are cheesy as fuck, but it still proved to be the best sequel this franchise has put out.  I like the themes it explores, the cast is great, and the traps continue that tradition of making this film that strange form of fun cringe.  Did it breathe new life into the series?  Yes.  Was it revolutionary to the franchise?  Not at all…but it still was fairly entertaining.