Spiral: From the Book of Saw Review

I honestly don't know much about the "Saw" movies. Yes I've seen a few of them, and whenever I close my eyes and think deeply about what I actually remember about them, all I see are flashes of blood and dismembered bodies. I supposes that's what these movies are about. I'm sure fans will ardently oppose that claim, and after watching the latest entry, "Spiral," I can almost understand their point of view.

Chris Rock plays "Zeke," a disgraced detective who's living under his father's shadow (played by Samuel L. Jackson). He's a loose cannon who, years ago, turned in a corrupt cop, which the other officers didn't appreciate. The reason is something like "brotherhood," an underdeveloped element that really doesn't explain why exactly he's so hated. Is everyone else on the force bent? I guess this is the film giving us the audience something to think about once the credits roll.

Problem is I didn't think about that once I stood up from my chair, but something might, and there's something to be said for a film to even have a chance at affecting someone.

Anyway, all you need to know is that this latest flick in the franchise is explicitly violent, and shows (most) of its famous "traps" in full. Body parts are pulled out in all its gory glory, the person screaming as they suffer from whatever fate this "Jigsaw" copycat has dealt them. 

It's tough to actually go over the plot in a movie like this, where even the slightest mention of a character could spoil something; in true "Saw" tradition, as the real killer is revealed, we see flashbacks where the movie-makers dropped us clues as to their identity. Since the actual antagonist can really only be one of several potential suspects, I wouldn't say I was surprised, but hey, the confession is only half the fun.

The other half is the journey, which is twisty, grisly, and cruel. To it's credit, zero time is wasted on superfluous details like exposition; this is a tight, fast-paced picture about timely topics like police brutality and corruption but never the politics about why or how. The first time we're shown a man in blue shoot and innocent civilian, the unsettling imagery hits with impact. Then it's shown again. And again, and it loses its purpose. This, my friends, won't help the series' reputation for being carnage porn for the sake of bloodshed lusting.

I couldn't help but wonder why this is even about law enforcement; trade them for business executives or doctors or whatever and you'd have approximately the same movie. I suppose it's just a bad time to be a cop, even when at the movies.