Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) TriviaSpiral: From the Book of Saw was originally supposed to be released in May 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Lionsgate released it in theaters on May 14, 2021. The film got mixed reviews from reviewers, who appreciated the series's new direction but were split as to whether or not it had successfully reinvented the brand.
What happens in the movie Spiral?
Emmerson, believing that Banks may be an ally, administers a last test, displaying Marcus restrained in the air and slowly being drained of blood. Emmerson dials 9-1-1 and pretends to be a civilian being chased by a gunman, prompting the operator to deploy a SWAT squad to his position. He provides Banks a handgun with one cartridge and gives him the option of shooting a target that would rescue Marcus but enable Emmerson to escape, or killing Emmerson and letting Marcus bleed to death. To rescue his father, Banks fires the target, forcing his shackles to loosen and dropping him to the ground, and then starts fighting Emmerson. Shortly later, the SWAT squad comes and accidentally trips a tripwire, forcing Marcus' handcuffs to tug him upward once again. Marcus' arm displays a pistol, prompting the SWAT squad to mistake him for the gunman and murder him. Banks shouts in sorrow as Emmerson flees.
Who are the actors in Spiral: From the Book of Saw?
Tobin Bell, who portrayed John Kramer / Jigsaw in all previous Saw films, did not return for Spiral, making it the first film in the series to not physically include Bell or the Jigsaw persona onscreen other than via images. Bousman said that the film's murderer is a Jigsaw clone, not the real Jigsaw, and that he does not want to replace Bell in the famous role. Bell has shown interest in reprising his role as Jigsaw if the plot delves into Billy the Puppet's origins.
According to Chris Rock, the genesis of Spiral (2021) arose from a fortuitous encounter with Lionsgate vice chairman Michael Burns at a friend's wedding in Brazil. He believed shooting anything in the horror genre would be a fresh road to follow in his career, however he wanted to add humorous aspects. Rock pitched Lionsgate on continuing the franchise, which was intrigued. Lionsgate's CEO Joe Drake said Rock's approach was deferential to the material while reinvigorating the brand with his humor, artistic vision, and enthusiasm for this great horror property. In January 2018, reports indicated Lionsgate was planning a ninth Saw film without the Spierig Brothers. In an interview with Screen Rant, the filmmakers said their picture set up possible sequels. By April 2018, Twisted Pictures was developing a sequel alongside Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger.
After Jigsaw came out, Stolberg and Goldfinger were talking to series veterans Mark Burg and Oren Koules about making a new Saw movie about only John Kramer/Jigsaw and none of his other apprentices. Burg and Koules called Stolberg and Goldfinger to tell them about Rock's ideas for a new movie, and Rock called them soon after to talk about his idea. Before that, other writers had tried to get Lionsgate interested in their ideas for the next Saw movie, but none of them were successful. Stolberg and Goldfinger, on the other hand, had come up with eight different versions of the movie before Rock came along and combined his idea with theirs. Burg and Koules told the pair to make a pitch for Rock. Stolberg and Goldfinger did this, and both Lionsgate and Rock liked their pitch. This led them to write their first draft, which was approved a week after it was turned in. Rock helped Stolberg and Goldfinger write the story and rewrote parts of it when they needed to.
Why didn't Tobin Bell participate in Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)?
As the film's murderer is a Jigsaw copycat, Billy the Puppet was substituted with Mr. Snuggles so the new killer couldn't be compared to the original. Reusing Bell's voice for Mr. Snuggles could have created questions about the relationship between both killers; an early draft featured Jigsaw's voice only to be revealed a digitally altered version of his voice; the story originally had all the speeches as past recordings of Jigsaw's voice using words in a different order to show that the Spiral: From the Book of Saw Killer had digitally rearranged the words. Filmmakers tried to replicate Bell's lethal voice. Bousman tried several women's, children's, and men's voices before choosing the computer-generated voice. Two days before the sound mix, the final voice was chosen.
A look at Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)'s backstage
Rock mentioned in his statement that he has been a fan of Saw since the first film in 2004. He was ecstatic at the prospect of taking things to a dark and twisted new level.
Rock urged that Bousman make the movie, thus Bousman declined the opportunity to direct a Broadway production in New York City. Bousman had previously said that he would not direct another Saw installment after Saw IV.
Burg and Koules compared Rock's handling of Saw to Eddie Murphy's depiction of buddy cop flicks in 48 Hrs., which gave the Saw series an entirely new viewpoint. Similarly, Bousman stated that Spiral: From the Book of Saw contained less violence and gore than previous entries, expressing his conviction that the gore and violence were the gimmick for him 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.
Stolberg also clarified that the ninth film would be part of the same canon as the previous eight, and that it will neither be a reboot or a straight sequel to Jigsaw.
Options for Spiral (2021)'s cast
Detective Zeke Banks was played by Rock. The character was created by Rock, Stolberg, and Goldfinger during discussions prior to writing the screenplay, with Rock pondering what he would do if he were the original Saw protagonist Dr. Lawrence Gordon and had to cut off his own foot, until they decided that it would be interesting if Rock played a cop who was shunned by his coworkers.
How was it like to shoot Spiral: From the Book of Saw?
Jordan Oram is the cinematographer for The Organ Donor, which started principal filming on July 8, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario. The film will include performances by Rock, Jackson, Minghella, and Nichols. According to Lionsgate CEO Joe Drake, Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock, as well as Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols, will make this picture utterly unique in the Saw series, and they can't wait to unleash this surprising and scary new plot on fans of the genre. On full throttle, this was the next level of Saw. On set, Rock rewrote his character's debut sequence and entirely reworked it. According to Bousman, a sequence involving a trap was deleted from the movie because it was too gruesome.
On August 28, 2019, production officially concluded. During post-production, Dev Singh edited the footage.
The working title for the film was The Organ Donor until the name Spiral: From the Book of Saw and the Canadian distributor Mongrel Media were leaked to the press on January 22, 2020. On February 5, 2020, the first teaser poster and trailer revealed Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) as the film's title.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) was initially set for release on October 23, 2020. July 2019 pushed it to May 15, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the film's release was postponed until May 21, 2021, replacing John Wick: Chapter 4. It was postponed to May 14, 2021 when cinemas reopened.
Spiral received what rating?
As of March 3, 2022, Spiral had made $23.2 million in the U.S. and copyright and $17.3 million in other countries, for a total of $40.6 million around the world.
What did people who review movies say about Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)?
CinemaScore audiences rated the picture a B- on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak said 63% gave it a good review and 43% would certainly recommend it.
According to one reviewer, "the picture takes an unexpected twist or two," yet given that it's a thriller about police immorality, "the film handles that subject in a strangely untopical, even garishly generic fashion."
The screenplay of Spiral was criticized by a number of film critics for failing to adequately convey the potential conflicts that could arise between the father-and-son relationship that is at the center of the story. However, many film critics agreed that Spiral: From the Book of Saw was a legitimately terrifying detective thriller, despite having an uneven pace.
A reviewer awarded the film one out of five stars and panned the climax, noting that it was hurried, half-assed, badly written, and, (check here) worst of all, becoming progressively boring. Game over, he said at the conclusion of his evaluation.
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.
A different film critic liked the opening scene, but thought it was the only good part of the movie. To sum it up, he or she wrote that the movie's premise is at best dishonest and at worst designed to make people afraid. Like one of Jigsaw's easy puzzles, this movie is not as smart as it thinks it is.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw, according to one reviewer, is a sequel that aims to appease both Saw enthusiasts and general moviegoers, but it's more likely to offend the latter. An emulation of the series that fails to achieve its most basic standards in terms of aesthetic and narrative presentation. If you're looking for a socially meaningful narrative to see, this isn't the film for you. His criticism of Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) also focused on the film's lack of ties to the Saw franchise, noting that Spiral: From the Book of Saw is just a Saw film for a short moment, and not at all like the previous Saw films. Artless and tactless, it also plays like the most formulaic police procedural pilot episode rejected by the network.
Spiral blunders through its central mystery without grace, style, or even much thought, according to a film critic. Even the death traps are unimaginative. He acknowledged the film's potential, stating that the most frustrating aspect of Spiral (2021) is that there is a better, smarter film underneath all of the nonsense. There are far too many quick cuts and scene transitions. The grating dialogue, which is shouted at full volume, is irritating. Spiral is ultimately a film about corrupt, even murderous cops who face a reckoning, and that kind of material has the potential to be both subversive and timely for a Hollywood film, but it's been said that Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) is almost maddening in how little it seems to care about any of this. It only wants to bleed a lot, which it does.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw's sequel?
Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs said in an April 2021 interview with Deadline Hollywood that Lionsgate TV is in early negotiations to produce a television series based on Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) with Mark Burg and Oren Koules' Twisted Television productions.