Review: Chris Rock no laughing matter in horrible Saw entry Spiral
One of the world s greatest living comedians, Rock stumbles through latest entry of horror franchise, and it s not pretty
Adam Graham
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It s torture watching Chris Rock in Spiral, the latest chapter in the gory, gross, non-sensical Saw series or horror films which is long past its expiration date.
Rock looks pained in the movie, but not because of any particular horror movie scenarios his character endures. It s because he s playing it straight, and even in scenes where he is asked to do something as simple as look like he s concentrating, he s so out of his element that his obvious discomfort on screen is enough to make audiences squirm. His acting is by far the scariest thing in the movie.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (R18, 93mins) Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman I wished this could have been this decade’s
Seven. I hoped it might emulate 2018’s resurrection of
Halloween. I prayed it would at least be more palatable than Ridley Scott’s
Hannibal.
Spiral is the disappointing
Saw-homage we should have seen coming a mile off. Strip away the high profile acting trio of Chris Rock (who also apparently gave the “turd-gid” script a polish), Samuel L. Jackson and Max Minghella, and it’s the same thin gruel of extreme vigilantism laced with grim torture-porn scenes where there’s only ever one outcome. At least here, we learn a little more about our troubled “hero” and the deadly devices are used sparingly, but, at its dark heart, this is still just another ploddingly predictable instalment (No. 9, if you’re still counting) of a series that’s devolved from a smart, inventive opener to a succession of geek shows.
The early aughts are back in a big way, from fashion, to celebrity couplings, and now, the âSawâ franchise. Made by Aussie filmmakers James Wan and Leigh Whannell (who since have gone on to great success in Hollywood), âSawâ splattered onto screens right before Halloween 2004, ushering in that oh-so-gory 2000s trend known politely as âtorture porn.â Six sequels followed every Halloween thereafter, before the games-obsessed serial killer Jigsaw took a break. He returned with his own movie in 2017, and now, âSpiral,â the first film âfrom the book of Saw,â has returned with that ever-bedeviling question: âwould you like to play a game?â
Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson star in a new installment of the 'Saw' franchise, 'Spiral,' but where the original films spoke to the cultural moment, this one tries and fails.