Spiral: From The Book Of Saw is the latest attempt at bringing new life to the Saw franchise. With an all-new cast and characters, we get an intense riveting spinoff that barely gives a moment to breathe. But does its non-stop suspense make it better? How does it stack up in the franchise? I had the joy of watching this movie in theatres which was a welcomed treat. Having seen almost all of the other films after the fact, it was refreshing to get the full immersive experience. Especially in the post-covid world we live in.

The Good

Chris Rock really surprised me in this film. He is an incredible dramatic actor. Having really only seen some of his comedic works over the years I was definitely surprised by the choice to bring him in for this film. But my reservations were unfounded as he is absolutely the highlight of this film. All of the actors did a really good job in this film.

It was also nice to have this be a little more removed from the previous installments in the franchise. They had a great opportunity to kind of reset the rules moving forward and hopefully keep things in a little better sync. One of my biggest qualms of the earlier films is each one gets progressively more silly, and it expounded on its concepts in nonsensical ways. Now with a clean slate, they can hopefully be a little more consistent.

The Bad

Because of the fast-paced nature of this film, there are very few character-building moments. This causes many of the events that happen to feel unearned. It also makes it difficult to care for the characters. Take the movie Seven for example. A very grueling detective film, but with moments where the characters get to pause and be human and absorb things a bit. That is one of the biggest things that felt like its missing from this movie.

The new villain is a bit convoluted. While I think it’s cool that everything is reset and we can hopefully have some consistency again, I don’t think they thought it through very well. It’s definitely set up for a sequel, but in a way that feels very pointless. And While you do understand the motivations of this new villain, it’s hard not to scratch your head and still think, but why? It definitely felt to me like a wasted opportunity for the franchise to do something new and smarter with the gimmick, but instead, it rehashes the same tired tropes. This is especially disappointing given the very relevant subject matter they were attempting to tackle with today’s current political climate surrounding police.

Spiral: From The Book Of Saw Score

All in all, it’s really not a bad movie. By no means is it as good as the original. However, this is probably the 3rd best installment in the franchise. In my opinion, coming in just after Saw 2. It is very intense, and I very much enjoyed the thrill ride that it was. All that said especially with the raw talent behind this film, it feels like a big wasted opportunity. I’m giving this movie 6 out of 10. I think in the end it’s serviceable. But unfortunately forgettable. With plenty of problems that I could pick apart in a spoiler-filled deep dive. Let us know if you’d be interested in that!

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