It pays to be the boss. Chris Rock is the executive producer and it’s why the lead character Detective Zeke Banks, who he plays, spends a lot of time walking around, looking cool, acting tough, and doing what appears to be semi stand-up routine. It’s why because I am writing this review I can mention that I also run Straightface, the best place for kiwis to look good and feel good by getting awesome 5-blade razors delivered to your door on your schedule. I can do that, but it feels kinda weird.
Spiral (dir. Darren Lynn Bousman) is the latest addition to the Saw franchise. Saw was an astonishing effort of low budget film making. Leigh Whannell who wrote and starred in Saw along with James Wan, who directed it, were film school friends wanting to make a film. Saw was partially responsible for starting the torture porn genre, but Saw’s brilliance was the lack of gore. Using the theatre of the mind to produce the scares and the discomfort. Like the shark not working in Jaws. Creatively finding the solution rather than throwing money at it made both movies classics.
The marketing team did a smart thing by showing the film at IMAX. The film opens up in the classic Saw universe way by using a dilemma. A man who has repeatedly told lies is hung to the ceiling of a train tunnel by clamping his tongue. The choice is to jump and rip your tongue off and live or don’t and get hit by a train. When his tongue is bigger than a bus on this massive screen, it is equally impressive and horrific.
In this film, the mysterious copy-cat killer sends cryptic clues to in this case, Banks, as he is trying to figure out who is killing cops. With more money, there is more elaborate torture devices and some actually very graphic scenes. The purpose of art is to make you feel something, I guess uncomfortable is a feeling. I had to look away from the screen a lot, and I noticed that many others were doing the same thing. Luckily not all the audience were sociopaths.
You could say this is a classic detective story. Banks is an outsider within the police force. Years ago he reported on a crooked cop and no one in the force has forgiven him. So this down on his luck cop is sent off on a journey to find the killer and save the day. However the blood and gore sort of changes the genre a little bit. It does feel very much like Se7en with its tone, colour palette and themes but without the sophistication.
I haven’t even mentioned Samuel L Jackson yet. He is Bank’s father, Former police chief Marcus Banks. It is one of cinemas great pleasures to hear this man scream MotherF$#%er at someone. It’s almost spiritual, but unfortunately, his character didn’t have much to do and was off-screen for the majority of the film.
The film did deliver moments that were truly unsettling and I don’t think anyone left without having some reaction to the film. Part of the cinematic experience to have your emotions moved in some way so you could say the film was successful in that sense. I can see why Chris Rock played the main character. If you are in charge when why wouldn’t you give yourself the role? Maybe the film would have been more engrossing with another actor playing the part of Banks but we will never find out, however, I do know where you can get some sweet razors.
12 May 2021
By Luke McMeeken-Ruscoe