The 2000s were a strange decade for Horror, and while there was no shortage of quality outings, standouts included increasingly preposterous sagas like Saw and Paranormal Activity. The little home-grown movies that could each grew into those Horror parodies you see in children's cartoons. The most unlikely of superstars, Chris Rock, has now collaborated with Lionsgate and director Darren Lynn Bousman to jumpstart Saw with a revival that has some back to basics thrown in. 'Spiral' is trying to be for this franchise like 'New Nightmare' was for A Nightmare on Elm Street in the 90s- and it halfway succeeds. It may just be on par with the original installment in terms of creativity and thematic links to David Fincher's 'Seven', and there's certainly no contest between this and the Red Bull fueled froth that came in between- but it's also ham-fisted to a fault.
It should be no surprise nowadays when a comedic actor or creator reinvents themselves with Horror or Drama (Jordan Peele, Craig Mazin with 'Chernobyl'), so Rock delivers as Det. Zeke Banks with sincerity. With his manifesto from years back comes a slew of humor that appeals to a more diverse audience. Samuel L. Jackson as Zeke's father/retired police chief is entertaining and scene-chewing as always. He's however not in this film as much as you might be led to believe, giving more room for Rock to steal the show.
Its injections of comedic relief are cringey at times, but certainly a cut above the worst moments in 'It: Chapter Two' and some of the Marvel installments. The direction and production values are also at times noteworthy; with the sepia-toned, heat wave induced big city and its urban atmosphere help breathe new life.
However the direction also comes a good amount of the typical Saw schtick- high-pitched jump scares and gimmicky editing. Many trailers aren't as bad as a number of cinephiles make them out to be, but here's an exception. The first trailer show a level of nuance in maneuvering suspense much better than the final product: because much of the dialogue is clunky, shouty and almost incapable of understatement- save for the final twist that pays off many of the themes and imagery set up throughout. They also mirror our more socially conscious country, and the roles of good and bad cops (guess what the dead pigs that Jigsaw used to use is brought back as symbolism for). It's a very 2020 Horror film and probably not as clever as it could be, but the final twist and elements in between may just as well be the next best thing for this dinosaur franchise.
Grade- 2.5 out of 4 stars.
It should be no surprise nowadays when a comedic actor or creator reinvents themselves with Horror or Drama (Jordan Peele, Craig Mazin with 'Chernobyl'), so Rock delivers as Det. Zeke Banks with sincerity. With his manifesto from years back comes a slew of humor that appeals to a more diverse audience. Samuel L. Jackson as Zeke's father/retired police chief is entertaining and scene-chewing as always. He's however not in this film as much as you might be led to believe, giving more room for Rock to steal the show.
Its injections of comedic relief are cringey at times, but certainly a cut above the worst moments in 'It: Chapter Two' and some of the Marvel installments. The direction and production values are also at times noteworthy; with the sepia-toned, heat wave induced big city and its urban atmosphere help breathe new life.
However the direction also comes a good amount of the typical Saw schtick- high-pitched jump scares and gimmicky editing. Many trailers aren't as bad as a number of cinephiles make them out to be, but here's an exception. The first trailer show a level of nuance in maneuvering suspense much better than the final product: because much of the dialogue is clunky, shouty and almost incapable of understatement- save for the final twist that pays off many of the themes and imagery set up throughout. They also mirror our more socially conscious country, and the roles of good and bad cops (guess what the dead pigs that Jigsaw used to use is brought back as symbolism for). It's a very 2020 Horror film and probably not as clever as it could be, but the final twist and elements in between may just as well be the next best thing for this dinosaur franchise.
Grade- 2.5 out of 4 stars.