It's time to play another game. The "Saw" series is coming back from the dead with "Spiral:
From the Book of Saw," and this time, there are no rules. If you want to learn more about
what to expect from "Spiral," well, you've come to the right place.
"You wanna play games, motherf-----?"
The first "Saw" film shocked audiences back in October 2004, setting the tone for the
torturous form of horror that dominated the genre during that decade.
From 2004 up until 2010, horror fans got a new "Saw" film every year as a Halloween present,
with Jigsaw, the eighth installment in the franchise, hitting theaters in 2017.
Now we'll get to see what the next chapter in the book of "Saw," "Spiral," has in store.
"If that spiral is what I think it is…" "Jigsaw?" "Wait, I thought the Jigsaw Killer
was dead." "Yeah, but if it's another copycat…" "...It's going to be a s--tshow."
It's been a long journey for the ninth film in the "Saw" franchise.
Originally, the movie was set for release in October 2020, but it looks like another,
senior horror franchise elbowed its way back into that territory.
After the success of 2018's "Halloween," Michael Myers was supposed to return for everybody's
favorite spooky holiday with the follow-up "Halloween Kills," which was originally planned
for a 2020 release. Most likely not wanting to compete with the man in the William Shatner
mask, "Spiral" changed its release date to May 15, 2020.
Of course, as we all know, neither horror film made it to theaters as intended, as the
world was turned upside down and theaters closed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However,
you can't stop a good slasher franchise from coming back to life, and now, "Spiral: From
the Book of Saw" is set to hit theaters and IMAX on May 14, 2021.
The cast of "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" sounds pretty impressive -- especially for
something so outlandish as a "Saw" movie.
First up, we've got Chris Rock. Whether you know him from his stand-up, his more comedic
acting work, or his serious dramatic roles, we can all agree that Rock is a charismatic
and thoughtful performer. So it will be super fascinating to see him take the lead in a
horror franchise as messed-up as the "Saw" series.
In fact, in a refreshing twist, Rock happens to be one of the major creative forces behind
the film. His pitch for the movie is reportedly responsible for it existing in the first place
-- but more on that later.
In Spiral, Rock plays Detective Zeke Banks, a cop who's investigating a new string of
gruesome murders with some familiar iconography. Of course, he isn't handling the case alone.
Rock will be accompanied by Max Minghella, who'll be playing Zeke's rookie partner. If
you think Minghella looks familiar, that's probably because you've seen him as Nick in
"The Handmaid's Tale."
Both detectives are working for Captain Angie Garza, played by Marisol Nichols of "Riverdale"
and "24" fame.
Of course, the biggest name involved is Samuel L. Jackson. The man who brought Nick Fury,
Mace Windu, and Jules Winnfield to life will be playing police veteran Marcus Banks, the
accomplished but estranged father of Chris Rock's character.
His casting adds a serious hook to a film that some people might otherwise write off.
A ninth "Saw" movie? Well, maybe you feel like you've seen it before. A "Saw" movie
with Samuel L. Jackson, though…
"...that's all you had to say!"
Here's where things get really interesting with this new "Saw" film. The seed for the
story came from an unlikely person: Chris Rock.
Variety reports that Rock approached some of the producers behind the "Saw" franchise
with his idea for a new film, and "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" grew from that concept.
Joe Drake, chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said of Rock's treatment,
"When Chris Rock came to us and described in chilling detail his fantastic vision that
reimagines and spins off the world of the notorious Jigsaw Killer, we were all-in."
Honestly, we are too.
Rock wrote the original story for "Spiral," but he didn't write the film's final screenplay.
Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg, who also wrote 2017's "Jigsaw," adapted Rock's story
into "Spiral's" screenplay. The duo also wrote the surprisingly fun remake of "Piranha" in
2010.
The "Saw" films vary in quality, and a big part of that is due to how quickly they were
being put together — one film every year is a hectic pace. One aspect that many fans
still agree on, however, is that the "Saw" films were in good hands when director Darren
Lynn Bousman was at the helm. He directed "Saw II," "Saw III," and "Saw IV," helping
play off the momentum of the original and make "Saw" a household name. And now, Bousman
is back in the director's chair for "Spiral: From the Book of Saw."
Bousman himself announced that he'd be directing the film on his Instagram, posting an on-set
photo from the first day of production in July 2019.
Meanwhile, longtime franchise heads Mark Burg and Oren Koules are also involved as producers.
Even better still, James Wan and Leigh Whannell – the original duo who brought Jigsaw to
life and have since given us modern horror classics like "The Conjuring" and "The Invisible
Man" — are serving as executive producers. So if anything is going to help bring the
"Saw" franchise back from the dead, it's this team.
So, how exactly does "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" fit into the timeline of the franchise?
It is a sequel? Is it a total reboot? Well, for answers, we can look to the Twitter account
of Josh Stolberg, one of the writers for the film.
In 2019, he responded to a curious fan, saying of the new movie,
"It's NOT a sequel to Jigsaw. It's DEFINITELY in the timeline of ALL the films though."
With that out of the way, what's the plot of this new film?
As it turns out, "Spiral" is set years after Jigsaw's death, but his memory still looms
large over the world. In fact, it seems that he's inspired a copycat killer ... one who's
targeting cops.
Into this bloody game comes Chris Rock's Zeke Banks. He's a detective who's been saddled
with a rookie partner and — according to the official plot synopsis — is "working
in the shadow of his father."
"You'll pull a gun on your old man? You outta your f--kin' mind? I could've killed you."
"What are you talking about? I've got the gun." "I could've killed you."
But as the bodies start piling up, Zeke is forced to reunite with his estranged dad to
solve this case and figure out the copycat's motive, which might involve "a twisted form
of justice."
Horror and humor have a lot in common, both relying on good timing, atmosphere, and the
right buildup of tension and release. Horror has always been tied closely with humor, whether
a film is providing respite from blood and gore, lulling the audience into a false sense
of security, or just playing with the stereotypes of the genre. A good joke can go a long way
when it comes to lightening the mood of an otherwise dark movie.
Chris Rock isn't always trying to be funny, but you still might think that his involvement
in "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" could make for a movie that's a little bit lighter in
tone than the rest of this relentlessly bleak series. But it seems like that isn't entirely
the case.
Speaking with IGN, Rock said that "Spiral" will have some humorous elements, mainly because
the franchise was completely lacking them. He said,
"I love 'Saw,' but I was like, 'Wow, it has almost no humor at all.' So, it seemed like
a good place ... good fertile ground."
Saying that he'd already seen a rough cut of the movie, he reported,
"It's still 'Saw' ... it's bloody, it's gory, but there's like a sprinkling of humor here
and there. We're not revamping it, it's not 'Scary Movie,' it's 'Saw.'"
"He wants us to cut through our feet!" "You go first."
Every horror franchise has its big bad. The "Friday the 13th" movies have Jason. The "Nightmare
on Elm Street" movies have Freddy Kreuger. And the "Saw" series has John Kramer — aka
the Jigsaw Killer.
Granted, he died back in the third film, but his legacy still haunts the franchise, as
his apprentices keep popping up to play nasty games with unwilling participants.
But will John Kramer appear in "Spiral: From the Book of Saw?" Well ... maybe? In one of
the trailers, we see a stack of photos, and if you're paying close attention, you'll notice
that one of them is Jigsaw himself. So, at the very least, we'll see a very literal snapshot
of the man.
But will actor Tobin Bell actually reappear somehow? Well, in a Collider interview back
in October 2020, Bell was asked if he was psyched for the film and if he would reprise
his iconic role. His answer?
"Oh yeah. I'm excited for it, but it's not something I can really talk about at this
particular moment."
Well, that's an interesting answer indeed. Based on that response alone, it seems Bell
very might well be involved with "Spiral."
Granted, the movie isn't listed on Bell's IMDb page, and he hasn't shown up in any of
the promotional materials aside from that one old photograph.
Most importantly, his character is dead ... but when has that stopped a slasher villain from
coming back? After all, Kramer showed up in 2017's "Jigsaw" via flashbacks, so maybe Bell
will return for one last game.
At the very least, John Kramer's influence will be all over this film as his copycat
starts a new reign of terror.
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