Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)

Spiral: From the Book of Saw (Jigsaw Spin-off)What happens in Spiral?

Off-duty detective Marv Bozwick pursues a burglar through a sewage drainage pipe during a Fourth of July parade. Bozwick wakes in an active subway tunnel, hanging by his tongue, after being attacked from behind by a person wearing a pig mask. He is offered an option through recorded message: cut out his tongue and survive, or wait until the next train comes, killing him. Bozwick gets murdered by a train after failing to escape the trap in time. The next day, Detective Zeke Banks is assigned a new partner, idealistic rookie William Schenk, by police Captain Angie Garza. Banks and Schenk examine Bozwick's death, and Banks notices a resemblance to the Jigsaw Killer's method of operation.

Banks is caught and wakes up in a warehouse chained to a pipe with a hacksaw nearby. He contemplates chopping off his arm but escapes with a bobby pin. Peter Dunleavy, his former partner who was sacked and jailed after Banks disclosed a murder he committed, is chained up. In front of him is a gigantic glass-crushing machine that hurls shrapnel. A recording recorder says Banks may liberate him or let him die. Banks can't rescue Dunleavy since he lacks the key. Schenk staged his own death using the skinned body of the thief who lured Bozwick into the tunnels. He was the copycat all along. He says that his last name is Emmerson, the son of Charlie Emmerson, who Dunleavy shot and executed for testifying against a crooked officer. He also states that Marcus, as chief, shielded dishonest cops to clean the streets faster under Article 8.

Emmerson gives Banks a last test, showing him Marcus suspended in the air and drained of blood. Emmerson phones 9-1-1 and says he's being chased by a gunman, so a SWAT squad is sent to his area. He provides Banks a handgun with one cartridge and gives him the option to rescue Marcus but let Emmerson escape or murder Emmerson and let Marcus bleed to death. Banks fires the target to free his father, lowering him to the ground, then fights Emmerson. The SWAT squad enters and accidentally trips a tripwire, pulling Marcus' shackles again. Marcus' arm displays a pistol, so SWAT kills him thinking he's the shooter. Banks sobs as Emmerson flees.

Who are the actors in Spiral?

Chris Rock played the role of Detective Zeke Banks in the film.

Detective William Schenk / Emmerson was played by Max Minghella.

In the role of Young William, Leonidas Castrounis represented the actor.

Marcus Banks was played by Samuel L. Jackson. Captain Angie Garza (Marisol Nichols) was played by Marisol.

Detective Marv Bozwick, played by Daniel Petronijevic.

Detective Fitch was played by Richard Zeppieri. Dunleavy was played by Patrick McManus.

Officer Jeannie Lewis was played by Ali Johnson.

Kara Bozwick was played by Zoie Palmer.

Sergeant Morgey Silva was played by Dylan Roberts.

K. C. Collins was the actor who played the role of Detective Drury. Edie Inksetter played Deborah Kraus, a detective.

Nazneen Contractor was Chada. Detective Tim O'Brien was played by Thomas Mitchell in the show. Benny Wrights was played by Chad Camilleri.

Speez was played by Christopher Ramsay. Charlie Emmerson was played by Frank Licari. Lisa Banks was played by Genelle Williams. Gretzky played Officer Jones.

Tobin Bell, who portrayed John Kramer / Jigsaw in all previous Saw films, did not return in Spiral, making it the first film in the series without him or the character beyond photos. Bousman said the film's murderer is a Jigsaw copycat and he won't replace Bell in the legendary role. Bell wanted to return as Jigsaw provided the narrative explored the origins of Billy the Puppet.

Chris Rock's Spiral (2021)

Chris Rock proposed an idea to Lionsgate called Spiral: From the Book of Saw, with the intention of revitalizing both the Saw series and his own career in the process.

Chris Rock met Lionsgate vice chairman Michael Burns at a friend's wedding in Brazil and believed shooting a horror film would be a fresh direction for his career. He wanted to integrate humorous aspects in the picture. Lionsgate was interested in Rock's plan to prolong the series. Lionsgate CEO Joe Drake said Rock's approach was respectful to the material while reinvigorating the brand with his humour, creativity, and enthusiasm for the iconic horror property. By January 2018, reports suggested Lionsgate was planning a ninth Saw picture without the Spierig Brothers. The filmmakers told Screen Rant that their picture sets up sequels. By April 2018, Twisted Pictures was developing a Jigsaw sequel with Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger.

What happened to Tobin Bell?

As the film's murderer is a Jigsaw copycat who differs from the original, Billy the Puppet was substituted with Mr. Snuggles so the new killer cannot be compared. 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, and 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 (2021) Killer had digitally rearranged the words. The producers struggled to replace Bell's voice as the murderer. Before deciding on the computer-simulated voice, Bousman tried women, children, and men's voices. The final voice was chosen two days before the sound mix.

Take a look behind the scenes of Spiral: From the Book of Saw.

James Wan and Leigh Whannell, as well as Daniel Heffner, who created Saw, have joined Rock as executive producers. As scriptwriters, Stolberg and Goldfinger have been confirmed.

Rock revealed at the announcement that he has been a fan of the Saw franchise since since the first picture was released in 2004. He was ecstatic at the possibility of moving this into a brand-new setting that was really dark and depraved.

After refusing to make another Saw film when Saw IV, Bousman turned down the opportunity to helm a Broadway production in New York City after Rock insisted on directing the picture.

Burg and Koules said that Rock's approach to Saw was similar to what Eddie Murphy did in 48 Hrs. with buddy cop movies. This gave the Saw series a completely new look. Also, Bousman said that Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) had less violence and gore than the other films in the series. He said that gore and violence were his "gimmick" when he first started working on the Saw movies, but that now they serve the story, which is more about the characters, tension, and fear.

Stolberg also clarified that the ninth episode will be a part of the same canon as the previous eight films, and that it would neither be a reboot of the series or a straight sequel to Jigsaw.

After reading the screenplay, Max Minghella decided to play William Schenk/The Spiral Killer because it had the basic story-telling of the buddy cops of his childhood like 48 Hrs. and a Saw-like feel, and he was eager to play a character in a movie like that.

The Organ Donor started filming on July 8, 2019, in Toronto, Ontario, with Jordan Oram as cinematographer. Rock, Jackson, Minghella, and Nichols will star. Lionsgate's CEO Joe Drake said Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Rock, Max Minghella, and Marisol Nichols will make this picture distinctive in the Saw canon and they couldn't wait to share this scary new narrative with viewers. This was full-on Saw. On set, Rock rewrote his character's debut sequence. According to Bousman, a trap scene had to be deleted because it was too violent.

On August 28, 2019, production officially concluded. During post-production, Dev Singh edited the footage.

Marketing Spiral

Spiral: From the Book of Saw's theatrical and streaming debut

Lionsgate announced on May 25, 2021, that Spiral (2021) would stream exclusively on Starz beginning October 8, 2021 in the United States. In Canada, Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) was available on VOD on 1 June 2021.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) 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 the critics say about Spiral (2021)?

On Rotten Tomatoes, 37% of 221 reviewers are favorable, averaging 5.1/10. Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) promises a fresh approach for the Saw series, but the grisly whole is less than its pieces.

Surveys by CinemaScore and PostTrak show that audiences generally awarded the picture a B- on a scale of A+ to F, with 43% of those asked indicating they would strongly recommend it.

Many film reviews thought Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) to be a truly scary, albeit unevenly paced, detective thriller, but criticized its writing for failing to communicate the father-and-son bond of its key protagonists.

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, meant to make people afraid. Like one of Jigsaw's easy puzzles, this movie isn't as smart as it thinks it is.

One critic gave the movie a 3 out of 10 and said that Spiral: From the Book of Saw is likely to turn off both Saw fans and people who don't know much about the series. It looks and sounds nothing like the series and can't even meet the most basic visual and story expectations. It's also a bad movie in general that tries to tell a story that is important to society but can't do it. He also said that the movie didn't have much to do with the Saw series. He said that Spiral (2021) is barely a Saw movie because it only shows the visceral thrill of mutilation briefly and doesn't follow any of the other rules of the series. It's also the most boring and insensitive version of what it's supposed to be: a rejected pilot episode for a boring police procedural.

Another film reviewer said that it is not precisely a waste of a premise. The franchise, however, does not require reinvention. Spiral (2021) gets some new blood thanks to Rock's involvement, but after a promising start, it just becomes a pretty good Saw movie with some bigger names than usual—one whose jaundiced lighting and procedural storytelling more closely resemble David Fincher's Se7en than anything else. Consider the game a loss if the goal was to see if a fresh take on a long-running franchise could survive being sliced and diced by the sequel machine.

A film reviewer panned the picture, claiming that Spiral (2021) stumbles over its fundamental enigma without elegance, flair, or even much thinking. Even the death traps seem uninspired. He recognized the picture's promise, adding that the most frustrating aspect of Spiral is that a better, wiser film lies behind all the foolishness. There are much too many short Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) Review cuts and fast-paced situations. The awful speech that is blasted at full volume is annoying. Spiral (2021) is ultimately a picture about corrupt, even deadly officers suddenly facing a reckoning, and that kind of material has the potential to be both subversive and current for a Hollywood film, but Spiral is almost irritating in how little it appears to care about any of this. It merely wants to bleed a large amount of blood, which it does.

Will there be a continuation of the story told in Spiral?

In an April 2021 interview with Deadline Hollywood, Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs said that Lionsgate TV is talking with Mark Burg and Oren Koules of Twisted Television about making a TV show based on Spiral: From the Book of Saw.