Spiral (2021) is a 2021 horror film written and directed by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger and produced by Darren Lynn Bousman. Saw 9 is the ninth film in the franchise. It stars Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, and Samuel L. Jackson and explores police attempts to catch a Jigsaw copycat murderer. Exec producers include James Wan and Leigh Whannell, as well as Rock and the show's longtime cast member Kevin Greutert.Chris Rock's desire to push out into the horror genre prompted rumors of a new Saw movie after the 2017 release of Jigsaw. The directors of Jigsaw, the Spierig Brothers, were interested in directing another film, but ultimately opted against it. Rock is polishing a screenplay by Stolberg and Goldfinger, which was revealed publicly in May of 2019. The remainder of the ensemble arrived in July, and production continued through August in Toronto.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lionsgate postponed the release of Spiral: From the Book of Saw until May 14, 2021. Critics applauded the film's fresh approach but were split on whether it reinvented the series.
What happens in the movie Spiral: From the Book of Saw?
An off-duty Detective Marv Bozwick pursues a criminal through the city sewers on July 4th. After being attacked from behind by a man in a pig mask, Bozwick wakes up in a subway tunnel, hanging by his tongue, and is given the option of tearing out his tongue to save his life or waiting for the next train to come, which would kill him. As a result, Bozwick was fatally struck by the train. Police Captain Angie Garza sends Zeke Banks a new partner, idealistic rookie William Schenk, to work with him the next day. After investigating Bozwick's murder with Schenk and Banks, Banks finds that Bozwick's killing follows a similar pattern to that of the Jigsaw Killer.
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.
During the chase, Banks is caught and wakes up in a warehouse chained to a pipe with a hacksaw nearby. He contemplates cutting off his arm, but manages to get away with a bobby pin. Peter Dunleavy, Dunleavy's ex-partner who was sacked and imprisoned when Banks uncovered a murder he committed, is tied to a chair. Glass shrapnel is being hurled at him from a massive glass-crushing machine that has been adapted to do so. It's recorded on a recording that Banks has the option of either freeing or killing the prisoner. Despite his best efforts, Banks is unable to free Dunleavy in time. There, Banks discovers Schenk, who has been a copycat all along, having faked his own death by using a skinned body of an accomplice who enticed Bozwick into a tunnel. It was Charlie Emmerson, who was shot and murdered by Dunleavy because he had promised to testify against a crooked officer, that his son's last name is indeed Emmerson, the son of Charlie Emmerson. He also indicates that Marcus, when serving as chief, sheltered corrupt cops on purpose in order to more effectively clean the streets under Article 8.
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.
Spiral (2021) starring who?
Chris Rock portrays Detective Zeke Banks in the film. The character of Detective William Schenk / Emmerson was played by Max Minghella. Leonidas Castrounis was William.
Jackson played Marcus Banks. Marisol Nichols was cast in the role of Captain Angie Garza. Detective Marv Bozwick, played by Daniel Petronijevic.
Detective Fitch was played by Richard Zeppieri.
McManus played Peter Dunleavy. Ali Johnson played Jeannie Lewis. Kara Bozwick (Zoie Palmer) Dylan Roberts was Morgey Silva.
Collins played the role of Detective Drury. Detective Deborah Kraus was played by Edie Inksetter.
Coroner Chada was played by Nazneen Contractor. Thomas Mitchell was Tim O'Brien.
Chad Camilleri gave the performance of Benny Wrights. Speez was played by Christopher Ramsay. The role of Charlie Emmerson was played by Frank Licari. Genelle Williams portrays Lisa Banks in the film. Trevor Gretzky played Pat Jones, an officer.
Because Tobin Bell, the actor who portrayed John Kramer / Jigsaw in the previous Saw films, did not return for this one, Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) is the first in the series to not include Bell or the Jigsaw persona in any way other than through images. Bousman indicated that the film's murderer is a Jigsaw copycat, not the real Jigsaw, and stated that he will not replace Bell in the famous role of the killer. When Billy the Puppet's origins were discussed, Bell indicated an interest in returning as Jigsaw.
Chris Rock's participation in the film Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Seeing an opportunity to revitalize both the Saw film series and his own career, Chris Rock contacted Lionsgate with the idea for Spiral: From the Book of Saw.After an accidental encounter with Michael Burns, the vice chairman of Lionsgate, at a friend's wedding in Brazil in 2011, Chris Rock decided to make his first horror film, Spiral, and decided to include some humorous aspects into it. His suggestions for expanding the series were met with enthusiastic response by Lionsgate. Joe Drake, the CEO of Lionsgate, remarked that Rock's approach was totally respectful of the tradition of the material while reinvigorating the brand with his humor, artistic vision, and enthusiasm for this legendary horror property. New Saw film conversations were claimed to have commenced in January 2018 by industry sources, although the Spierig Brothers would not be involved. In an interview with Screen Rant, the filmmakers revealed that their picture lays the foundation for potential sequels. With Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger, the authors of Jigsaw, Twisted Pictures was already working on a sequel by April of 2018.
After Jigsaw, Stolberg and Goldfinger pitched a new Saw film based only on John Kramer / Jigsaw to series veterans Mark Burg and Oren Koules, but Burg and Koules phoned the pair to advise them of Rock's plans for a new film, with Rock calling them soon after to explore his notion. Before Rock, several writers presented their ideas for the next Saw film to Lionsgate, but none of them succeeded. Stolberg and Goldfinger came up with eight versions of the picture before Rock fused his concept with theirs. Burg and Koules told them to throw Rock. Stolberg and Goldfinger's idea was accepted by Lionsgate and Rock, and their first draft was greenlit a week later. Rock rewrote Stolberg and Goldfinger's tale as needed.
Rock's persona was originally based on Danny Glover's David Tapp from the previous film. Since this path did not pass the smell test, Stolberg and Goldfinger chose not to travel down it. By the end of May 2021, it was reported by Bousman that Costas Mandylor had been approached about reprising his role as Mark Hoffman in a future film. They debated bringing back Tobin Bell as Jigsaw until the very last day of production because they thought it would make the movie seem more like a sequel than a stand-alone movie. As Jigsaw was killed off in the third picture, Bousman believed that previous films had done a disservice by utilizing flashbacks to reintroduce Jigsaw into the tale and he did not want to make the same error in Spiral (2021) or disrespect Bell's legendary portrayal. Bell was considered for inclusion in Spiral, but Bousman discarded the concept because he felt it was too gimmicky..
What happened to Tobin Bell?
Tobin Bell did not reprise his normal role as Jigsaw in Spiral, making it the first Saw film to do so.
Despite discussions taking place after the first test screening and throughout post-production, Stolberg stated in an interview with Bloody Disgusting that Jigsaw was never included in any draft for the screenplay of Spiral because they felt that including Jigsaw would change the foundation of the story they were attempting to achieve, not to diminish the character but to take the franchise in a new direction. Stolberg also believed that, given the franchise's timeline, any possible connection John Kramer could have had with William Schenk / The Spiral (2021) Killer should have occurred when the latter was still a child; Stolberg and Goldfinger proposed at one point to have an after-credits sequence in which Kramer met a young Schenk after the murder of the latter's father and bonded with him, possibly giving him the puppet he later uses as the Spiral Killer.
Because the killer in the film is a Jigsaw copycat who differs from the original, it was decided to replace Billy the Puppet with a new puppet in the form of Mr. Snuggles, as Bousman believed that if the original Jigsaw was replaced, the original puppet should be replaced as well, so the new killer could not be compared. The production feared that using Bell's voice for Mr. Snuggles would raise questions about the relationship between the two killers; an early draft actually featured Jigsaw's voice only to be revealed as 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 (2021) Killer had digitally rearranged the words to show that the Spiral (2021) Killer had digitally rearranged the The filmmakers had a difficult time replacing Bell's voice as the murderer. Bousman auditioned a variety of women, children, and men's voices before deciding on the computer produced voice. Only two days before the sound mix was finished, the final voice for the movie was chosen.
Spiral (2021)'s backstage
The film started pre-production on May 16, 2019. Former series director Darren Lynn Bousman will return to direct the feature, with Burg and Koules serving as producers. In addition to developing the narrative concept, Rock served as an executive producer.James Wan and Leigh Whannell, along with Daniel Heffner, served as executive producers on Rock's film. It has been revealed that Stolberg and Goldfinger will write the story.
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 Saw IV, Bousman said he wouldn't direct another one. When Rock asked him to direct a Broadway show in New York City, he turned down the offer.
When it came to buddy police movies like 48 Hrs., Burg and Koules compared Rock's approach of Saw to what Eddie Murphy had done for buddy cop pictures. According to the director, Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) has less violence and gore than previous Saw films, stating his belief that gore and violence were a gimmick for him when he first began working on the films, but that both components now serve the plot, which focuses more on character, suspense and terror.
Stolberg indicated that the ninth film will exist in the same canon as the previous eight and would not be a reboot or direct sequel to Jigsaw.Spiral (2021) casting
Rock played the role of Detective Zeke Banks. The character was conceived by Rock, Stolberg, and Goldfinger from conversations they had prior to writing the screenplay, with Rock imagining what he would do if he were the original Saw protagonist, Dr. Lawrence Gordon, and was forced to cut off his own foot, until they decided it would be more interesting if Rock played a police officer shunned by his peers.
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.
Max Minghella is a fan of both horror movies and buddy-cop movies. He took on the role of William Schenk / The Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) Killer because he yearned of starring in a movie with simple story-telling like the buddy cops of his youth like 48 Hours, and when he read the script, he felt that it was that along with a Saw film. Max Minghella is a fan of both horror movies and buddy-cop movies.
What was it like to work on Spiral?
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.
The last day of filming was August 28, 2019. Dev Singh did the editing in the post-production phase.
How did Spiral: From the Book of Saw get its name out there?
The working title of The Organ Donor was used until the name Spiral was leaked to the press on January 22, 2020, along with Mongrel Media as the Canadian distributor. Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) was confirmed as the title of the film in the first teaser poster and trailer, which were published on February 5, 2020.
The theatrical and streaming release of Spiral
Spiral was set for release on October 23, 2020, by Lionsgate Films. July 2019 rescheduled it until May 15, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the film's release was postponed until May 21, 2021, stealing John Wick: Chapter 4's position. It was moved forward to May 14, 2021, when cinemas reopened.
The US premiere of Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) will take place on October 8th, 2021, according to an announcement made by Lionsgate on May 25, 2021. On June 1, 2021, in Canada, Spiral was launched on PVOD.
What was the verdict on Spiral (2021)?
The Motion Picture Association gave the picture an NC-17 classification 11 times before ultimately deleting enough parts to achieve a R rating, according to Darren Lynn Bousman.
What was Spiral (2021)'s box office take?
As of March 3, 2022, Spiral had made $23.2 million in the U.S. and Canada and $17.3 million in other countries, for a total of $40.6 million around the world.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw opened with Those Who Wish Me Dead, Profile, and Finding You in 2,811 theaters in the United States and Canada, and was expected to make $10–15 million in its first weekend. The picture generated $3.7 million on its opening day (including $750,000 from Thursday night screenings), bringing its total to $9 million, which was lower than expected. It went on to earn $8.8 million in its first weekend, making it the franchise's lowest opening weekend. The respondents were 56 percent male and 75 percent under the age of 35, with a favorable answer being more common in the US East Coast. The next weekend, it stayed in top position with a 48 percent dip to $4.6 million.
What did the film's reviewers have to say about it?
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)'s efforts to shake up the series formula were hailed by reviewers, but it fell short of giving Saw the huge push it needed to reclaim its relevancy.
On Rotten Tomatoes, 37% of 221 reviewer reviews are favorable, with a 5.1/10 average. The site's critical consensus was that Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) reveals a new path for the Saw series, even if the gruesome whole is less than its pieces.
Metacritic scored the film 40 out of 100 based on 33 reviewers, indicating mixed or mediocre reviews.
The film received an average grade of B- on a scale ranging from A+ to F from the audiences that were polled by CinemaScore. PostTrak reported that 63 percent of audience members gave it a positive score, with 43 percent saying they would absolutely recommend it to others.
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 noted the script maintained the grizzled-cop-movie tone and creates several interesting characters, but the narrative was repetitive, the mystery was annoyingly obvious, and the inventive deaths were less imaginative than before. Spiral (2021) compromised entertainment value for respectability and in the process didn't quite accomplish either.
Many film reviews praised Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) as a really terrifying, albeit unevenly paced, detective thriller, while also criticizing its writing for failing to communicate the possible tensions between its major characters' father-and-son relationship.
Some movie critics liked the acting and the simple but interesting plot of Spiral: From the Book of Saw. However, they said that the voice of the mysterious killer sounded like Kermit the Frog, and they said that this movie's real audience wouldn't be able to handle the screams and blood. They are the main attraction.
In a film critic's opinion, the film's finale was hurried, half-assed, and clumsily written, and worst of all, boring. Finally, he said that the game was finished.
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 separate film reviewer complimented the opening sequence but called it the film's sole redeeming feature, noting that the idea is dishonest at best and fear mongering at worst. This film, like Jigsaw's easy puzzles, is not as brilliant 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.
Internet Personality Decker Shado saw Spiral in a different way. From the Saw book and Chris Rock's mind comes Spiral: From the Book of Saw, the latest Saw movie, which came out late in 2021. After a whole SUMMER OF SAW, you should know how the story goes by now: a killer is on the loose who doesn't kill his victims directly, but instead tests them with clever and disturbing machines. At least, that's the idea behind it. Many of these traps leave a lot to be desired, and their methods and goals are also a bit off. His video explains it much better.
Another film reviewer felt the notion isn't wasted. The franchise doesn't require revamping. After a promising start, Spiral: From the Book of Saw becomes a decent Saw movie with larger names—one whose jaundiced lighting and procedural narrative remind David Fincher's Se7en. Whether the objective was to determine if a new perspective on a long-running series could withstand sequels, it's over.
A film reviewer said Spiral: From the Book of Saw bungles its primary riddle without elegance, flair, or philosophy. Even death traps are lame. He recognized the film's promise, noting that a better, wiser movie lies behind all the absurdity. Too many cuts and speed ups. The loud conversation is irritating. Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) is a film about corrupt and deadly police having a reckoning, which might be provocative and current for a Hollywood picture. However, Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) appears to care nothing about any of this. It wants to spill blood, so it does.
It's been almost a year since Spiral: From the Book of Saw's release.
In April 2021, Twisted Pictures announced production on Saw X. Bousman said the news startled him and the film's producers. He claimed that making Spiral doesn't imply Saw is over. Spiral: From the Book of Saw doesn't mean Saw IX won't happen. Not the ninth Saw film. A Saw IX might follow Jigsaw. I suppose they're waiting to see how Spiral does and how viewers react. Josh Stolberg said the script was done in December.
Will Spiral (2021) be adapted into a television series?
During an interview with Deadline Hollywood in April of 2021, Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs revealed that the company has begun discussions with Mark Burg and Oren Koules' Twisted Television productions to develop a television series based on Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021).