In 2004 the trajectory of horror changed forever with the release of Saw directed by James Wan and written by Wan and Leigh Whannell. The film arguably ended the run of more teen-centered, Scream-inspired horror movies with the opening shot of a nasty bathroom and the utterance of “I want to play a game.” The success of the film led to the spawning of six sequels during the rest of the decade, a seventh film in 2017, and a laundry list of copycats. Billy the Puppet, Jigsaw, and the reverse bear trap have become horror icons. But with such a long-standing franchise comes the curse of declining return. As Saw grew the focus of the series began to drift with the sequels: the plot was sidelined to allow for steadily more intense traps and increasing amounts of flashback sequences. Even the soft reboot Jigsaw couldn’t clarify the bonkers timeline nor inject life back into the series, so where was the franchise to go from there?
Spiral: From the Book of Saw is the latest entry to the franchise; in contrast to Jigsaw, director Darren Lynn Bousman’s return to the franchise is completely ancillary to the larger story of the Saw universe. It also serves as Chris Rock’s first venture into the horror genre, a major point of intrigue for franchise fans. The film follows Detective Zeke Banks (Rock who also serves as an executive producer) as he becomes increasingly entrenched in bringing down a Jigsaw copycat that’s begun terrorizing his precinct. Due to the whole COVID situation, the film was delayed a year, thus building suspense for the introduction of Rock and Samuel L. Jackson into the Saw-niverse and intrigue about what Bousman would do with the franchise.
Bousman’s return also brings with it the inherent 2000s vibes linked to the franchise: the iconic green tint and Charlie Clouser’s soundtrack do confirm that this is indeed a franchise entry. However, the perk of Spiral being a spin-off from the original Saw storyline is that a proportion of the runtime isn’t dedicated to tracing over old lore. Naturally, Jigsaw is mentioned but Bousman makes it clear that this is a copycat, not another surprise apprentice. Of course, as Saw movies do, there are still flashbacks but they’re smoothly implemented to slowly reveal Zeke’s downfall in the Metropolitan Police Department. This is probably the most plot-driven Saw entry since the third film with disproportionately few minutes dedicated to actual traps — though naturally some limb separations, mouth gore, and “eye for an eye” taken too literally make their appearances. As a whole, it feels more like a particularly brutal Law & Order entry rather than the soap opera that was Saw V, VI, and The Final Chapter and that’s not a bad thing. It’s a nice change of pace for franchise followers and it makes the times the traps are on screen even more repulsive and entertaining.
Saw has been a political franchise from its start. The United States’ healthcare system’s failings have been central to the series from the get-go, and Saw VI is an outright critique of healthcare reforms after the 2008 stock market crash. The ninth entry to the series finally focuses on corrupt cops, a staple of the franchise, with its full attention. Most prominently, Jigsaw’s iconic pig mask, originally a tribute to the Chinese zodiac year that his son was supposed to be born in, takes on a new meaning. Now the pig mask and Billy the Puppet’s cousin Mr. Snuggles serve as objective condemnations to the police; there will be no respect for the pigs here. Because that’s what Spiral hammers home: there are no good cops because even the “best” cops will try to save or defend their brethren before actually protecting others. It highlights the unspoken, heavily enforced loyalty between police as a team that continues even beyond death and the consequences of violating the camaraderie. As the pièce de résistance, much of the underlying conflict centers around the real-life Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement established in 1979. These were a new set of guidelines that gave cops more free reign on attacking marginalized communities and bailing out each other. The actual discussions of the inherently corrupt nature of the police force are surface level and lack any sort of subtlety but seeing a film in a genre known for its less than positive portrayals of law enforcement (i.e., cops are always stupid and ignorant) blatantly say the system is corrupt is incredibly refreshing.
Spiral effortlessly brings back the charm of the early era of the Saw franchise. There’s an effortless balance between a coherent plot — yes, even with flashbacks! — supplemented by stellar acting and the always gruesome traps. Bousman does not reinvent the wheel and the film’s not trying to be another soft reboot, Jigsaw proved that the original mythos was too much of a cluster to retcon, but it has enough little easter eggs to make any hardcore franchise fan squeal in their seats. Sure, Spiral’s ACAB stance is a little hamfisted (pun intended) and still plays into the “one good cop” myth but being unsubtly political isn’t anything new for the franchise. It’s a fresh breath of air for a franchise, a new way to introduce people to the magic of Saw — no reverse bear traps necessary.
