Spiral (2021) is a horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger that was released in 2021. It is the ninth film in the Saw film series. The film, which stars Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, and Samuel L. Jackson, recounts police attempts to apprehend a Jigsaw impersonator. Executive producers include the series' original creators, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, as well as Rock and series veteran Kevin Greutert.After the success of Jigsaw in 2017, Chris Rock expressed interest in continuing the Saw franchise. Jigsaw's directors, the Spierig Brothers, were interested in returning for a sequel but ultimately decided against it. In May 2019, the project was formally unveiled, with Rock polishing a screenplay written by Stolberg and Goldfinger. The remainder of the actors began shooting in Toronto in July and August.
Spiral was originally slated to be released in May 2020, but owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed and was released theatrically in the United States on May 14, 2021, by Lionsgate. Critics gave the picture mixed reviews, praising the franchise's new direction but disagreeing on whether it had truly succeeded in modernizing it.
What happens in Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)?
A murder investigator called Fitch, who rejected a backup call from Banks and almost died, is taken and put in a trap where he must pull off his fingers to prevent electrocution; he also dies. Banks' experience with Fitch leads several cops to mistrust him. A package comes with a pig puppet and Schenk's tattooed flesh inside. A little vial inside the box leads detectives to a butcher shop that Banks and his father, former chief Marcus Banks, frequented. On arrival, the squad finds a recording recorder and Schenk's skinned body. Marcus tracks down the murderer himself and gets snatched from a factory. Soon later, Garza is abducted and put in a trap in the precinct's cold storage where she must cut her spinal chord to stop hot wax from pouring down her face. Banks finds her corpse after she dies from injuries caused by the hot wax.
The main actors in Spiral were...
Tobin Bell, who portrayed John Kramer/Jigsaw in all prior Saw films, did not return in Spiral: From the Book of Saw, making it the first film in the series without Bell or Jigsaw appearing beyond pictures. Bousman said the film's murderer is a Jigsaw copycat, not the original, and he won't replace Bell. Bell would return as Jigsaw if the plot explored Billy the Puppet's origins.
Spiral has Chris Rock as a special guest star.
Why did Tobin Bell not appear in Spiral: From the Book of Saw?
It was decided to replace Billy the Puppet with a new puppet known as Mr. Snuggles because the killer in the film is a Jigsaw imitator who is different from the original. This decision was made because director Darren Lynn Bousman felt that if the original Jigsaw was replaced, the original puppet should also be gone and replaced with a new one so that the new killer cannot be compared to the old one. An early draft actually featured Jigsaw's voice, only to then be revealed a digitally altered version of his voice, and the story originally had all the speeches as actually being past recordings of Jigsaw's voice using words in a different order to show that the Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) Killer had digitally rearranged the words. The production feared that reusing Bell's voice for Mr. Snuggles could have created questions about the relationship between both killers because Bell's voice was considered to be too iconic The producers had a difficult time finding a new voice for the murderer to replace Bell's original performance. Before deciding on the voice that was replicated by the computer, Bousman tried out a variety of voices, including those of men, women, and children. Only two days before to the completion of the sound mix, the final voice that would be utilized in the film was chosen.
A look at Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)'s backstage
Rock's handling of Saw, according to Burg and Koules, was analogous to what Eddie Murphy did for buddy cop flicks in 48 Hrs., giving the Saw franchise an entirely new viewpoint. Similarly, Bousman stated that Spiral contained less violence and gore than previous installments, expressing this one his belief that gore and violence were his gimmick when he first started working on the Saw films, but that both elements now serve the story, which focuses more on character, tension, and fear.
Choices for Spiral's cast
Samuel L. Jackson accepted the role of Chief Marcus Banks due to his desire to perform a situation he had never done before, such as the climactic scene in which his character is strung up like a marionette. Marisol Nichols was chosen as Captain Angie Garza; the character was initially intended for a male actress, but the producers finally handed it woman Nichols, who, while being a fan of the Saw franchise, preferred to prepare for the role by seeing David Fincher's Seven. Patrick McManus first auditioned for the part of Detective Marv Bozwick, but was called back to portray Peter Dunleavy, while Dan Petronijevic was cast as Bozwick. McManus was attempting to pursue an acting career on film and television after years of performing on stage.
Under the working title of The Organ Donor, principal shooting started on July 8, 2019, in Toronto, Ontario, with Jordan Oram acting as cinematographer. The picture will feature Rock, Jackson, Minghella, and Nichols, among others. According to Lionsgate CEO Joe Drake, Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock, as well as Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols, will make this picture wholly unique in the Saw canon, and they can't wait to share this surprising and scary new narrative with fans of the series. On full blast, this was the next level of Saw. On set, Rock contributed rewrites and entirely reworked his character's introductory sequence. According to Bousman, a sequence with a trap was deleted from the film because it was too gruesome.
On August 28, 2019, filming was completed. Dev Singh finished the editing in the post-production phase.
How did Spiral (2021) get its name out there?
The release of Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) in theaters and on Netflix
Lionsgate made the announcement on May 25, 2021, that beginning on October 8, 2021, the United States version of Spiral would be available to watch exclusively on Starz. On June 1, 2021, the PVOD version of Spiral: From the Book of Saw was made available in Canada.
What grade did Spiral: From the Book of Saw receive?
Spiral has raked in $40.6 million in global box office receipts as of March 3, 2022, including North American revenues of $23.2 million and Canadian revenues of $17.3 million.
What did reviewers say about Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)?
A film critic said that the movie takes a couple of unexpected turns, but since it's a thriller about police corruption, it deals with that theme in a weird, almost garishly generic way.
A separate film reviewer said the script captures the grizzled-cop-movie tone and sketches interesting characters, but the narrative is repetitive, the mystery is hopelessly foreseeable, and the inventive deaths are fewer than before. Spiral (2021) traded fun for respectability and didn't accomplish either.
Some film reviewers praised the performances and Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)'s simple yet captivating idea, but they also remarked on the unknown killer's voice, which he claimed sounded like Kermit the Frog, and noted that the screams and gore aren't for the movie's intended demographic. They are, in fact, the attraction.
A film reviewer awarded the film one star out of five and criticized its finale, noting that he believed it was hurried and half-assed and clumsily written and worst of all, becoming progressively uninteresting.. He concluded his evaluation by declaring that the game was over.
Another reviewer awarded the picture a one-and-a-half star rating because of its tone and Darren Lynn Bousman's directing, which he stated disappointed him because of his love for the performers, and called it unreadable for its lack of tension, plotline, and plot advancement.
Will Spiral: From the Book of Saw be adapted into a television series?
Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs announced in an April 2021 interview with Deadline Hollywood that Lionsgate TV is in early talks to develop a television series based on Spiral alongside Mark Burg and Oren Koules' Twisted Television productions.