Spiral (2021) (Saw Sequel) Movie Analysis

Spiral: From the Book of Saw is a 2021 horror film written by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. The film is the ninth chapter in the Saw franchise. Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, and Samuel L. Jackson feature in the thriller, which depicts police attempts to arrest a Jigsaw-style murderer. Executive producers include the series' creators, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, as well as Rock and series veteran Kevin Greutert.

Chris Rock wanted to venture out into horror following Jigsaw's 2017 release. The Spierig Brothers, who directed Jigsaw, considered returning but didn't. Rock is refining a Stolberg and Goldfinger script. Filming continued in Toronto during July and August with the remainder of the cast.

Spiral, originally set for May 2020, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and released on May 14, 2021 by Lionsgate. The film garnered mixed reviews from reviewers, who applauded the franchise's new approach but weren't sure whether it properly reinvented it.

Spiral (2021)'s storyline



Off-duty Detective Marv Bozwick pursues a criminal into a sewage pipe during a July 4 celebration. Attacked from behind by a pig mask, Bozwick wakes to find himself dangling by his tongue in a subway tunnel. He is offered an option through recorded message: rip out his tongue and survive, or wait until the next train comes, murdering him. Unable to escape the trap, Bozwick is murdered by the train. The following day, Captain Angie Garza sends Detective Zeke Banks an optimistic rookie. Banks and Schenk analyze Bozwick's death, and Banks thinks it's identical to the Jigsaw Killer's.

Meanwhile, a murder investigator called Fitch is kidnapped and put in a trap where he must pull his fingers off to prevent electrocution in a filling water basin; he too fails to escape and dies after ignoring a backup call from Banks some years previously. Because of his relationship with Fitch, several police assume Banks is to blame. The station is then visited by a package carrying a pig puppet and a portion of Schenk's tattooed flesh. A little vial inside the box leads the cops to a butcher shop that was originally a hobby business frequented by Banks and his father, retired chief Marcus Banks. When the squad arrives, they find a recording recorder and a skinned body identified as Schenk. Marcus decides to seek out the murderer himself and heads to a warehouse, where he is kidnapped. Garza is abducted and put in a trap in the precinct's cold storage, where she must slice her spinal chord with a blade to stop hot wax from a conduit from spilling down her face. She fails to do so, and when Banks finds her corpse, she dies from her injuries caused by the boiling hot wax.

Banks is taken captive while following a lead, and when he comes to in the warehouse, he is tied to a pipe and there is a hacksaw nearby. He gives some thought to cutting off his arm, but he is able to get away by using a bobby pin that is loose. He then finds his old colleague, Peter Dunleavy, who was sacked and sentenced to jail after Banks uncovered a murder he committed, shackled in place. Banks was the one who exposed the crime. In front of him is a large piece of machinery designed to break glass, and it has been adapted to swiftly throw shrapnel in his direction. A voice on a tape recorder tells Banks that he has the option of either releasing him or abandoning him to his fate. In spite of Banks' best efforts, he is unable to retrieve the key in time to rescue Dunleavy. Banks then moves to another chamber where he discovers Schenk, who it turns out pretended to be dead by using the skinned body of the thief who lured Bozwick into the tunnels. Schenk was the copycat the whole time, and it was shown that he had faked his own death. He says that his real surname is Emmerson and that he is the son of Charlie Emmerson, who was the victim of a murder committed by Dunleavy because Charlie had promised to testify against a corrupt law enforcement official. In addition to this, he discloses that Marcus, during the period that he served as chief, purposefully sheltered corrupt cops in order to rid the streets of crime more effectively in accordance with Article 8.

Emmerson, who is under the impression that Banks may be an ally, gives him one more test in which he shows Marcus being held captive in the air as his blood is being slowly sucked away. Emmerson makes a call to 9-1-1 and tells the dispatcher that he is a citizen who is being chased by a gunman. As a consequence, the dispatcher sends a SWAT squad to the spot where he is. He then tosses a handgun with a single cartridge over to Banks and gives him the option of either shooting a target that would save Marcus but enable Emmerson to escape, or shooting Emmerson and allowing Marcus to die of internal bleeding. Banks saves his father by shooting the target, which releases his father from his bindings and allows him to fall on the ground. Banks then proceeds to battle Emmerson after his father has been freed. Marcus' bindings pull him further higher when the SWAT squad arrives shortly after, accidentally setting off a tripwire in the process and forcing him to be pulled even higher. The movement shows a pistol that has been attached to Marcus' arm, forcing the SWAT squad to mistake him for the gunman and end his life as a result of their error. Banks lets out a cry of desperation as Emmerson runs away.

The main actors in Spiral: From the Book of Saw were...



Police detective Zeke Banks was played by Chris Rock

Max Minghella was the actor who played the role of Detective William Schenk / Emmerson.

The role of Young William was played by Leonidas Castrounis.

Marcus Banks was played by Samuel L. Jackson.

Captain Angie Garza was played by Marisol Nichols. Detective Marv Bozwick was played by Daniel Petronijevic.

Richard Zeppieri was the actor who played Detective Fitch.

McManus played Peter Dunleavy. Officer Jeannie Lewis was acted by Ali Johnson.

Zoie Palmer played Kara Bozwick. Sergeant Morgey Silva was played by Dylan Roberts. Detective Drury was played by K. C. Collins.

Detective Deborah Kraus was played by Edie Inksetter.

Chada was played by Nazneen Contractor.

Detective Tim O'Brien was acted by Thomas Mitchell. Benny Wrights was played by Chad Camilleri.

Christopher Ramsay was the actor who played Speez.

Charlie Emmerson was acted by Frank Licari. Genelle Williams played Lisa Banks. Officer Pat Jones was played by Trevor Gretzky.

There was no return for Tobin Bell's character of John Kramer / Jigsaw from the previous Saw films. This means that the Jigsaw character in Spiral: From the Book of Saw has never been seen onscreen save via images, a first for the Saw series. As Bousman noted, the film's murderer is a Jigsaw copycat, not the real Jigsaw, he stated his decision to not replace Bell in the famous role. To return as Jigsaw, Bell has indicated interest in exploring Billy the Puppet's backstory.

Chris Rock in Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)



Chris Rock pitched Lionsgate Spiral: From the Book of Saw to revamp the Saw franchise and his own career.

Chris Rock met Lionsgate vice chairman Michael Burns at a friend's wedding in Brazil and believed shooting a horror film would be a fresh direction for his career. He wanted to integrate humorous aspects in the picture. Lionsgate was interested in Rock's plan to prolong the series. Lionsgate CEO Joe Drake said Rock's approach was respectful to the material while reinvigorating the brand with his humour, creativity, and enthusiasm for the iconic horror property. By January 2018, reports suggested Lionsgate was planning a ninth Saw picture without the Spierig Brothers. The filmmakers told Screen Rant that their picture sets up sequels. By April 2018, Twisted Pictures was developing a Jigsaw sequel with Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger.

Mark Burg and Oren Koules called Stolberg and Goldfinger after the release of Jigsaw to inform them of Rock's plans for a new Saw film, with Rock contacting the duo soon after to discuss his concept. 'Jigsaw' was the first Saw film to focus solely on John Kramer / Jigsaw rather than any of his established apprentices. Other writers had tried to sell their ideas for the next Saw film to Lionsgate, but none had succeeded; Stolberg and Goldfinger had already come up with eight distinct versions of the picture before Rock came and fused his concept with the duo's. The pair was ordered by Burg and Koules to come up with a proposal for Rock, which they did. With the approval of both Lionsgate and Rock after submitting the concept, Stolberg and Goldfinger wrote their first draft, which was greenlit a week after being submitted. Rock helped Stolberg and Goldfinger with the writing process, reworking the tale as required..

Rock's role was formerly linked to Danny Glover's David Tapp from the previous film in an early draft of the screenplay. Because it failed the smell test, Stolberg and Goldfinger decided not to pursue this path. Bousman said in May 2021 that talks are on regarding bringing Costas Mandylor back as Mark Hoffman in a future film. Bousman and the crew debated whether or not Tobin Bell should reprise his role as Jigsaw until the last day of production, but they decided that having Bell back would make the film seem like a continuation of the Saw series rather than a standalone picture, as it was intended. Because Jigsaw was killed off in the third picture, Bousman believed that previous films had done Jigsaw a disservice by utilizing flashbacks to bring him into the tale, and he didn't want to make the same error in Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021), nor disrespect Bell's legendary portrayal. Bousman contemplated having Bell perform a Johnny Cash song during the concluding scene of Spiral, but decided against it because he thought it was too gimmicky.

How come Tobin Bell wasn't in Spiral?



This is the first Saw movie in which Tobin Bell does not reprise his role as Jigsaw.

In spite of the fact that discussions continued even after the first screening and into the post-production phase, Stolberg stated in an interview with Bloody Disgusting that Jigsaw was never included in any draft of the screenplay for Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) because they felt that including Jigsaw would undermine their goal of moving the franchise in a new direction rather than diminishing it. The Spiral (2021) Killer's portrayer, William Schenk, was portrayed by John Kramer in the original film, and Stolberg and Goldfinger wanted to include an after-credits sequence where Kramer met Schenk as a child and bonded with him, maybe giving him the puppet he uses as the Spiral (2021) Ki.

Because the film's killer is a Jigsaw copycat who differs from the original, it was decided to replace Billy the Puppet with a new puppet in the form of Mr. Snuggles, as Bousman felt that if the original Jigsaw was replaced, the original puppet should also be replaced so that the new killer could not be compared. Deeming Bell's voice to be too iconic, the production feared that reusing it for Mr. Snuggles would raise questions about the relationship between the two killers; an early draft actually featured Jigsaw's voice only to be revealed a digitally altered version of his voice, and the story originally had all the speeches as being past recordings of Jigsaw's voice using words in a different order to show that the Spiral Killer had digitally rearranged The producers had struggled to substitute Bell's voice with a new one for the murderer. Bousman auditioned a variety of female, kid, and male voices before deciding on the computer-simulated voice. The final voice used in the film was chosen barely two days before the sound mix was completed.

Spiral Behind the Scenes



On May 16, 2019, preproduction began. Former series director Darren Lynn Bousman directed, and Burg and Koules produced. Rock produced and wrote the narrative treatment.

James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the original Saw creators, have joined Rock as executive producers, along with Daniel Heffner. The scriptwriters have been identified as Stolberg and Goldfinger.

Rock said that he has liked Saw since the first movie came out in 2004. He was happy to be able to take this to a really dark and strange new place.

After Rock demanded that he direct the film, Bousman rejected down the opportunity to helm a Broadway production in New York City.

When it came to buddy police movies like 48 Hrs., Burg and Koules compared Rock's approach of Saw to what Eddie Murphy had done for buddy cop pictures. According to the director, Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) has less violence and gore than previous Saw films, stating his belief that gore and violence were a gimmick for him when he first began working on the films, but that both components now serve the plot, which focuses more on character, suspense and terror.

Stolberg also clarified that the ninth film will be part of the same canon as the previous eight, and that it would neither be a reboot or a straight sequel to Jigsaw.

Choices for Spiral's cast



Rock played Detective Zeke Banks in the film. From the chats they had before creating the script, Rock, Stolberg, and Goldfinger came up with the idea of an officer who is outcast by his coworkers.

Samuel L. Jackson decided to portray Chief Marcus Banks because he wanted to do something new, such as the climax sequence in which his character is hung up like a marionette. Marisol Nichols was cast as Captain Angie Garza, a character that was initially scripted for a male actress but was finally given to Nichols, who, while being a Saw fan, preferred to watch David Fincher's Seven instead of the prior films in preparation for the role. Patrick McManus auditioned for the part of Detective Marv Bozwick, but was called back to portray Peter Dunleavy, while Dan Petronijevic was cast as Bozwick, in an effort to pursue an acting career on film and television following years playing on stage.

Max Minghella took on the part of William Schenk / The Spiral: From the Book of Saw Killer because he desired to feature in a picture with straightforward story-telling like the buddy cops of his childhood like 48 Hrs., and when he read the screenplay, he believed it was that, coupled with a Saw film.

What was it like to make Spiral (2021)?



On July 8, 2019, in Toronto, Ontario, under the working title of The Organ Donor, Jordan Oram served as cinematographer for the film. Rock, Jackson, Minghella, and Nichols were named as the stars of the picture. When asked whether Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock would make this picture stand out in the Saw canon, Lionsgate CEO Joe Drake said that he believed they would. He also mentioned that Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols would round out an impressive cast. In other words, this was Saw in hyperdrive. During filming, Rock revised and reworked the opening sequence for his role several times. Trap-related scenes were deleted from the film because they were too graphic, according to Bousman.

Filming officially ended on August 28, 2019. Dev Singh finished the editing during post-production.

How did Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) market itself?



The working title of The Organ Donor was used until the name Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) was leaked to the press on January 22, 2020, along with Mongrel Media as the Canadian distributor. Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) was confirmed as the title of the film in the first teaser poster and trailer, which were published on February 5, 2020.

The theatrical and streaming release of Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)



Spiral was set for release on October 23, 2020, by Lionsgate Films. July 2019 rescheduled it until May 15, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the film's release was postponed until May 21, 2021, stealing John Wick: Chapter 4's position. It was moved forward to May 14, 2021, when cinemas reopened.

Lionsgate announced on May 25, 2021 that Spiral: From the Book of Saw would stream on Starz beginning October 8, 2021. Canada launched Spiral: From the Book of Saw on PVOD 1 June 2021.

Was Spiral (2021) praised or scolded?



According to the director of the movie, Darren Lynn Bousman, the Motion Picture Association gave the movie an NC-17 classification eleven times before the director eventually trimmed enough sequences to achieve a R certificate.

How much did Spiral (2021) earn at the box office?



After earning $23.2 million in North America and $17.3 million elsewhere, Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) has now earned a total of $40.6 million throughout the globe as of March 3rd, 2022

In the US and Canada, Spiral came out at the same time as Those Who Wish Me Dead, Profile, and Finding You. It was expected to make $10–15 million in its first weekend from 2,811 theaters. The movie made $3.7 million on its first day, which includes $750,000 from previews on Thursday night. This is less than the $9 million that was expected. It went on to make $8.8 million in its first weekend, which was more than any other movie (and the sixth time in the series) but was the lowest opening weekend for the series. Most of the people in the audiences that were reported on were under the age of 35 and 56% were men. Positive responses were more common on the East Coast of the United States. It stayed in first place the next weekend, even though its sales dropped by 48 percent to $4.6 million.

Spiral's critics:



Critical reaction to Spiral (2021)'s effort to reimagine the Saw formula was generally positive, but it fell short of providing the series the huge push it needed to restore relevancy.

On Rotten Tomatoes, 37 percent of 221 reviewers' reviews are favorable, with an average rating of 5.1/10. Spiral (2021)'s critical consensus was that it represents a new path for the Saw series, even if the gruesome aggregate is less than the pieces.

Metacritic scored the film 40 out of 100 based on 33 reviewers, indicating mixed or mediocre reviews.

CinemaScore audiences gave the movie an average grade of B- on a scale from A+ to F, and PostTrak said that 63 percent of people who saw it liked it and 43 percent would definitely recommend it.

A film reviewer said the film had a few surprise twists, but it deals with the idea of police immorality in a bizarrely offtopic, almost garishly generic fashion.

A separate film reviewer noted the script maintained the grizzled-cop-movie tone and creates several interesting characters, but the narrative was repetitive, the mystery was annoyingly obvious, and the inventive deaths were less imaginative than before. Spiral (2021) compromised entertainment value for respectability and in the process didn't quite accomplish either.

Many film reviews deemed Spiral (2021) to be a truly terrifying, albeit unevenly paced, detective thriller, while also criticizing its writing for failing to communicate the possible tensions between the father-and-son relationship of its primary protagonists.

Some film reviewers praised the performance and Spiral: From the Book of Saw's simple yet captivating idea, but they also commented on the voice of the unidentified murderer, who he claimed sounded like Kermit the Frog, and remarked that the screams and gore aren't for the movie's intended demographic. They are the attraction.

A movie critic gave the movie one out of five stars and wrote that the ending was rushed, half-assed, stupidly written, and, worst of all, getting more and more boring. He said "game over" at the end of his review.

Another film reviewer in his one star and a half review, offered the picture critical notes for its tone and Darren Lynn Bousman's directing, which he stated disappointed him owing to his love for the performers, calling it outright unreadable for its lack of tension, plotline, and movement in the storyline.

A different film critic praised the opening scene, but they thought that it was the only good part of the film. They summed up their thoughts on the film by writing that the premise is dishonest at best and fear mongering at worst. This film is not quite as astute as it imagines itself to be, similar to how Jigsaw could pose one of his easy puzzles.

Spiral (2021) is a sequel that wants to woo Saw enthusiasts and mainstream viewers equally, but Spiral: From the Book of Saw is likely to offend them both, according to one film reviewer. It's a cheap rip-off of the show, failing to match even the most basic aesthetic and narrative standards. It's also a terrible movie in general, attempting to portray a socially important subject but failing miserably. Spiral (2021) is hardly a Saw picture, delivering only momentarily on the primal pleasure of mutilation, and on none of the series' other precepts, according to him. It's also the most artless, tactless form of what it really is: a rejected pilot episode for a routine cop show.

Reviewer Decker Shado discussed his feelings towards Spiral (2021). Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021), the next film in the Saw series, is based on the Book of Saw and the mind of Chris Rock. It will be released in late 2021. After a whole Summer of Saw, you should know the routine by now: a murderer is on the run who does not directly do in his victims, but rather tests them with mechanical contraptions that are as inventive as they are scary. At least, that's the idea. A number of these traps left a lot to be desired... and the technique, as well as the purpose, is a little wrong. His YouTube video explains it much better.



It's not a waste of a notion, according to another film reviewer. But it's hardly the kind of makeover the franchise needs. This is a good Saw movie with some big stars, but after a promising start, the movie merely becomes an alright Saw movie with some larger names than usual—one whose jaundiced lighting and procedural narrative evoke David Fincher's Se7en more than anything else. Take this game's test to see whether or not the sequel machine can slice and dice an original take on an established title as a loss.

Spiral blunders through its central mystery without grace, style, or even much thought, according to a film critic. Even the death traps are unimaginative. He acknowledged the film's potential, stating that the most frustrating aspect of Spiral (2021) is that there is a better, smarter film underneath all of the nonsense. There are far too many quick cuts and scene transitions. The grating dialogue, which is shouted at full volume, is irritating. Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) is ultimately a film about corrupt, even murderous cops who face a reckoning, and that kind of material has the potential to be both subversive and timely for a Hollywood film, but it's been said that Spiral: From the Book of Saw is almost maddening in how little it seems to care about any of this. It only wants to bleed a lot, which it does.

Is Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) going to have a sequel?



In April 2021, a sequel film, dubbed Saw X, was announced to be in production with Twisted Pictures. However, Bousman noted that it was a premature statement that astonished him and the film's producers. He added that simply because they produced Spiral: From the Book of Saw, it doesn't mean that the Saw series ceases to exist. Just because Spiral is here, it doesn't mean there won't be a Saw IX. This is not the ninth film in the Saw series. There easily may be a Saw IX that succeeds Jigsaw. I suppose they're waiting to see how Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) goes and how viewers react to decide what happens next. Josh Stolberg said the script was done in December of that same year.

Will Spiral (2021) be adapted into a television series?



In an April 2021 interview with Deadline Hollywood, Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs said that Lionsgate TV is talking with Mark Burg and Oren Koules' Twisted Television productions about making a TV show based on Spiral: From the Book of Saw.

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