There’s $20 down the drain.
Yes, we paid twenty bucks to RENT this predictable, anti-cop nonsense of a movie. There is nothing new or exciting about the latest addition to the Saw franchise. In fact, Spiral may be the worst of the bunch so far. Though, they’re all pretty bad after the second installment.
Chris Rock does an okay job as the lead, and I think he would do good to seek more dramatic roles. The problem here was that he had a shit script to work with, forcing him into screaming matches almost from scene one. The rest of the cast, including Samuel L. Jackson, were forgettable. None of them were built into characters the audience could actually identify with.
As with the rest of the franchise, the gore is done well, mostly done without the use of CGI. But it’s not enough to save the film. Petal and I figured out who the killer was well before the halfway mark. And the obvious attempt by the filmmakers to paint all police officers as bad guys (except Chris Rock, I guess) was beyond off-putting. I’ve faithfully watched every Saw film not longer after its release, but this one may have killed the series for me. I could have spent that $20 on a twelve pack and been much happier.
PC3’s Horror and Exploitation Movie Scale of Awesomeness
Gore – 8
Special Effects – 8
Nudity/Sexuality – 0
Wow Factor – 4
Acting – 4
Fear Factor – 2
Story/Plot/Originality – 1
Cinematography/Atmosphere – 5
Sound/Music – 5
Fun Factor – 3
Spiral gets a 40 PHEMSA score, and I feel like it should be lower. Without the decent gore and special effects, there is quite literally nothing worth watching. If you still want to check it out and don’t mind overpaying, here it is on Amazon.