Spiral

“Chris Rock deserves credit for taking part in Spiral’s conception as he reinvigorates the Saw franchise.”

Title: Spiral (2021)
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman 👨🏼🇺🇸
Writers: Josh Stolberg 👨🏼🇺🇸 and Pete Goldfinger 👨🏼🇺🇸

Reviewed by Andrew 👨🏻🇺🇸🌈

Note: This review was commissioned by Lionsgate. The content and methodology remain 100% independent and in line with Mediaversity's non-commissioned reviews.

—SPOILERS AHEAD—

Technical: 2/5

The Saw movies need no introduction as one of the most well-known—and lucrative—horror franchises in history. Like its eight predecessors, Spiral is a gory, tense thriller that features extremely bloody “games” tailored for each victim based on their past misdeeds. They must escape the game, often through self-harm, in order to save their own lives. However, while past Saw movies have tended to gather victims from various walks of life, in Spiral they all share the same crime: They’re crooked cops.

Unlike his less honorable peers, Spiral’s protagonist Detective “Zeke” Banks (Chris Rock) is a troubled but honest cop looking to stop the bloodshed. The son of the former chief of police, he’s mistrusted by the others for turning in a fellow officer who killed a would-be witness set to testify against the police. Refreshingly, because the victims all work in law enforcement and their crimes all involve corruption, Spiral boasts far more plot than one usually gets in a Saw movie. This adds a welcome element to what could have easily been 95 minutes of nightmarish scene after scene with no justifiable plot to warrant the violence.

However, Spiral’s shortcomings crater what could have been the best of the Saw movies, if one were to go on premise alone. Across the board, the acting lacks nuance which surprises given the number of established actors including Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, among others. And aside from the killer’s videotapes, the film uses angry yelling to get its information across. All this yelling means that any emotional nuance is bulldozed over, making for a thin experience overall.

Gender: 3/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? NOPE

The main female lead, Captain Angie Garza (Marisol Nichols), is a badass head of a homicide squad who doesn’t take anyone’s bullshit. It feels good to see her hold her own in a male-dominated profession. While we find out she is also guilty of misconduct, writers portray her with the most empathy out of all of the police officers, aside from Zeke himself.

It’s a shame, though, that no other female characters receive more than a few lines each. Of the women who work in the homicide division, only one sees more than fleeting screen time. Outside the police station, women exist only as officers’ wives. The closest the film comes to passing the Bechdel Test takes place when Zeke has to deliver bad news to the new widow of his former partner. As he rings the doorbell, he finds his own ex-wife already there to comfort her. The two women exchange two words—and that is all the time the movie spends on developing any relationships between women.

Race: 4.25/5

In a positive development of the Saw franchise, nearly all the main characters in Spiral are people of color. Moreover, they’re empowered. Zeke’s father is the legendary (if morally suspect) Police Chief Marcus Banks (Samuel L. Jackson). Angie, played by Nichols whose mother is Mexican American, leads the homicide squad as captain. Even Zeke’s rookie partner William Schenk is played by multiracial actor Max Minghella, whose heritage includes Chinese and Parsi ancestry. These demographics already far outdo those of the police department in Philadelphia, where Spiral is hinted to be based in, and where a disproportionately non-Hispanic white (and male) police force serves communities that largely do not look like them.

In addition, Rock deserves credit for taking part in the film’s conception as he reimagines and reinvigorates what has arguably become a tired franchise. It’s clear that Rock made significant contributions to the script, adding a sense of genuineness to the dialogue (in addition to some classic Chris Rock observational comedy). But race as a topic is never really touched upon, as the script gives wide berth to any of the issues that must undoubtedly confront officers of color who work within largely white police forces. This omission ends up feeling like a missed opportunity.

Mediaversity Grade: C 3.08/5

Despite promising foundations, including a compelling premise and an impressive and diverse cast, Spiral ultimately misses the mark in more traditional aspects of direction and scripting. The traps and games deliver gory entertainment in the moment but fail to make a lasting impression after the lights come back on.

Like Spiral? Try these other titles starring Black detectives.

Grade: CLiJuly 13, 2021