It is hoped that Chris Rock’s new vision (he’s getting a “story by” credit) will re-sharpen a series (often credited with getting the whole “torture-porn” ball rolling) that had grown dull over the years, with screenwriters Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger returning from the 2017 soft-reboot (yet still canon) Jigsaw.
Rock plays jaded police detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks, Max Minghella is his young, new-recruit partner (never a good thing in ANY police movie, much less a Saw picture) and Sam Jackson... Sam Jackson-ing the sh*t out of it as Marcus Banks, Zeke’s father.
Darren Lynn Bousman, who helmed Saw series entries ll through lV (with Saw ll being the most financially successful of the entire franchise) returns to direct Spiral.
Bousman was also one of the names being considered to replace Scott Derrickson, after that director parted ways with Marvel’s Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in the middle of preproduction (with Sam Raimi now said to be the front-runner).
Will Spiral: From the Book of Saw beat franchise-fatigue? Are comedians like Chris Rock (or Jordan Peele and Danny McBride) delving into Horror the sign of verdant new growth, or will it be brutally chopped at the box office?
Until May 15, we here at The Movie Sleuth are... stumped.