"Spiral: From the Book of Saw" may have new characters, new lore, and a new killer, but
it's still a "Saw" movie, right through its big twist ending. Here's everything you need
explained about the twisted ending of the ninth "Saw" movie, "Spiral: From the Book
of Saw."
The biggest reveal at the end of "Spiral" is also the most obvious: the identity of
the serial killer who's been hunting down the members of the South Metro police precinct.
As savvy viewers probably guessed, the killer is none other than Zeke's new partner, William
Schenk, played by Max Minghella. As he lays out in a "Scooby Doo"-esque monologue at the
end of the film, Schenk is the son of the witness who Zeke's former partner, Pete Dunleavy,
killed in order to protect a dirty cop.
Ever since that fateful night, Schenk — which isn't his real name, by the way — has been
planning his revenge, and he wants Zeke's help.
As Zeke proved by turning in Pete and ruining both of their careers, he's one of the few
honest cops in a precinct that's rife with corruption. By targeting dirty cops and forcing
them to make amends for their misdeeds, usually by sacrificing one of their body parts, Schenk
hopes to scare the other officers into going straight. If not, well, he'll be there to
punish them.
While Schenk thinks Zeke is the ideal partner for his depraved scheme, the veteran detective
disagrees. So of course, Schenk has created a trap that forces Zeke to make a near-impossible
choice. Zeke can use the single bullet left in his gun to shoot a target that stops his
captured father from bleeding out, or he can shoot Schenk. Zeke chooses to save his dad.
But as Schenk gets away, a SWAT team bursts into the room. Thanks to Schenk's trap, they
mistakenly see the elder Banks as a gun-wielding threat, and kill him anyway.
During his big reveal, Schenk lays out exactly how he manipulated Zeke and managed to escape
detection for so long. He lured Zeke's father, Marcus, to an abandoned location by borrowing
Zeke's phone. He faked his own death by copying his tattoo onto a corpse. He pretended to
have a wife and an infant son in order to divert Zeke's suspicion. He even dropped little
hints during the investigation: Schenk notes near the beginning, "Your dad is the reason
for all of this. He's why I want to do this in the first place" -- a comment which can
be interpreted in different ways whether you think Schenk is a rookie cop, or the ruthless
killer. At the time, Zeke is left none the wiser.
There are other clues, though, which "Spiral" doesn't explicitly lay out. Schenk's tattoo
says "Charlie," which he passes off as the name of his (fictional) son, but which is
also the first name of the man Dunleavy murdered.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, it's just family. This is my wife, Emma, this is my son Charlie."
"Cute."
In a movie like this, that's not a coincidence. The killer also wears a pig mask. Given that
"pig" is a derogatory term for a cop, Zeke maybe should have started looking for suspects
inside the precinct a little earlier.
Finally, the killer targets police officers with skeletons in their closets, and reveals
their sins via videotape.
When Zeke visits the scene of Schenk's supposed murder, however, the audio track fades out
before we can hear what the tape has to say about the young detective's past, hinting
that it's not important — or, as it turns out, is completely fictional.
Even if Schenk's interpretation of John Kramer's philosophy is muddled, the final scene in
"Spiral" is "Saw" through and through. For most of its runtime, "Spiral" has its own
tone. The traps are shot and edited like the death scenes in "Saw" and its sequels, but
the rest of the film is closer to a police procedural or dark crime drama than the torture
porn vibe that defines "Saw" and its imitators.
In the end, though, "Spiral" finally becomes a "Saw" movie. Typically, "Saw" finales share
a number of the same elements. There's always some big twist or reveal, like the dead body
in "Saw" not being dead at all, or the unmasking of one of John Kramer's many accomplices.
The most emotionally resonant death is usually saved for the end. The hero finds a new low
— sometimes while facing down his or her imminent demise — while the bad guy gets
away.
The big climax of "Spiral" has all of those: William Schenk raising a finger to his lips
as the elevator door closes and he escapes to safety; the revelation that Zeke's father
Marcus isn't actually safe at all, as the machine that he's strapped to lifts him into
the air and begins raising his arm, pointing a rifle at the door; Marcus' death as the
SWAT team bursts into the room; and a close-up on Chris Rock's tortured face. You can even
hear "Hello Zepp," the "Saw" franchise's ominous theme song, playing just before the credits
roll.
For most of its runtime, "Spiral" shies away from the "Saw" formula, only to embrace it
at the very end. For longtime fans, it should work very, very well.
The "Saw" franchise likes to play fast and loose with its timeline, which also leads
to some of the series' biggest reveals.
The twist at the end of "Saw IV," for example, is that the prologue, in which Detective Hoffman
examines John Kramer's body, actually takes place after the rest of the movie — it's
a flash-forward, which completely changes its significance in the story. "Jigsaw" makes
viewers think John Kramer has miraculously survived death, only to reveal that his scenes
took place years earlier.
"Spiral" plays similar tricks. Fairly early in "Spiral," Marcus Banks goes missing. He
won't return phone calls, and he's not at his apartment when Zeke stops by. That's why
it's a little surprising when he suddenly shows up two-thirds of the way through, investigating
an old soap factory, right after Zeke is captured.
As the end of the movie reveals, this is a fake-out. The scene depicting Marcus' capture
actually comes sometime between the time that Schenk borrows Zeke's phone and Zeke's first
visit to Marcus' apartment, right around the time that Fitch dies. In terms of setting
up a fair mystery, yeah, it's kind of cheating — but misdirects like that are also time-honored
"Saw' traditions. You're just going to have to roll with it.
The "Saw" franchise has gotten political before. "Saw VI" kicks off with a trap punishing two
subprime mortgage lenders — remember, this was 2009 — before jumping into a story about
the inequalities of the for-profit medical insurance industry. As far as political satire
goes, it's pretty clunky, but it's there.
"The devices on your heads are symbolic of the shackles that you place upon others."
Similarly, "Spiral" flirts with social commentary, too. The entire story hinges on police corruption,
particularly police brutality. Zeke is ostracized because he tattles on an officer who killed
a witness in order to cover up a different event, in which an officer threw someone off
of a rooftop. Fitch is killed because he shot a suspect who talked back to him.
Marcus and his successor, Angie, are marked for death as the masterminds behind Article
8, a police policy that lowered crime rates at the cost of civilians' lives.
The real-world parallels in "Spiral" are impossible to ignore, but "Spiral" never fully commits
to its anti-police brutality message. Schenk condemns the entire policing system, but then
clarifies that he's only targeting "bad" cops, implying that plenty of them are okay, which
makes for a muddled message, and motive, for a psychopathic villain.
The main lesson in "Spiral" seems to be that there's no way to be a "good" police officer.
Either you're corrupt and violent, or you end up like Zeke, who's despised by his peers
and loses everything he has. There's something interesting there — it's too bad that the
movie doesn't go all the way with its moral stance.
We already know we're getting another "Saw" movie. "Saw X" was greenlit well before "Spiral"
debuted, and while Chris Rock notes that a direct "Spiral" sequel depends on how this
one does at the box office, he's ready to return if asked.
With that in mind, it's pretty easy to see what a sequel might explore. As the credits
roll, William Schenk is free to cause more mayhem. While Zeke knows his identity, it's
clear that his mission to violently reform the police still has a long way to go. Jigsaw's
legacy still looms over the city too. After all, Schenk is the second Jigsaw copycat to
cause havoc. Chances are, there's going to be a third.
That's not even counting all of Jigsaw's accomplices, including Lawrence Gordon, who as of the end
of "Saw 3D: The Final Chapter" is still at large. If the studio wants to pay Cary Elwes
to return and face off against Chris Rock, we wouldn't turn that down. It's possible
that there are other Jigsaw proteges lurking out there, too. He does have a bunch of 'em.
As far as Zeke's personal arc is concerned, there's plenty to mine there, too. His soon-to-be
ex-wife only had one scene in "Spiral," but could play a bigger part in future installments
-- after all, "Saw" movies love to toy with the heroes' loved ones. He didn't hit rock
bottom until the very end of "Spiral," so seeing how someone comes back from a loss
like that could be very compelling.
As a franchise, "Saw" is famous for playing the long game. When it comes to the world
of "Spiral," we're probably just getting started.
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