Film Review: ‘Spiral: From the Book of Saw’ is a Horror Ouroboros Devouring Itself

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CHICAGO – If you find yourself reading this review, you likely understand how much a film can influence society. Despite our best efforts, we don’t get to decide how or why something gets added to our zeitgeist. Its staying power can extend to anything from a character, an ideology, or even a quote. The effect is so strong that even a small sentence is enough to trigger certain feelings in your brain. So if I told you, “I want to play a game,” there is a high chance that your mind read that in a low and sinister voice. There is even a very good chance that once you saw that line, you read it out loud with the best Jigsaw impersonation you could muster. (Don’t lie, I know you did.)

Rating: 1.0/5.0

That one line is enough to elicit feelings of disgust, pleasure, or more commonly, the odd combination of both. The Saw franchise has delighted and emotionally scarred millions of people around the globe, with its elaborate death games and enough twists to make even M. Night Shyamalan blush. The running plot within that universe feels like an exercise in one-upmanship where each subsequent film tries to out-convolute its predecessor. Almost like an improv sketch where you have to “yes, and…” the previous story while the audience throws out some of their most ridiculous suggestions. This is the Saw we love to hate (or hate to love depending on your disposition), so watching its inevitable reboot through Spiral: From the Book of Saw has been more painful than any torture featured in the franchise to date.

Click here for Jon Espino’s full review of “Spiral: From the Book of Saw”

Photo credit: Lionsgate

Click here for Jon Espino’s full review of “Spiral: From the Book of Saw”