To me the only good Saw movies before seeing Spiral were Saw 1 and 2. This isn't to say that I don't enjoy the franchise, just that Saw 1 and 2 were the only ones that had any real artistic merits. 3 and 4 were unique in that they were happening at the same time, I will admit. But the majority of the series is just a senseless bloodbath with extremely weak plots and convoluted lore. Which means the series isn't good but it makes for a great time.
So when I saw that yet another Saw movie was going to be released, I was intrigued. I didn't have much faith in Chris Rock as a serious leading man but it looked like a good time. And as the first movie I would see in theaters since the pandemic started, Spiral seemed like the perfect choice for a movie going experience.
After walking out of the theater I decided to put Spiral as the third truly artistic Saw movie. Not only did Chris Rock hold up as a leading man but the movie was also solid. Instead of being a movie that centered on traps with a weak plot just to get from trap to trap, it was a movie that centered on a plot with traps. It helped the plot that it abandoned the convoluted lore of previous installments. Spiral could get away with this as it was a spinoff and not part of the main Saw series.
This isn't to say that Spiral is a flawless movie. One big flaw is the traps. While the traps did do a good job at relating to the overall plot of the movie, they also felt weak. I'm sure squeamish moviegoers will find them disturbing but Saw fans won't. Maybe this is a problem caused by how much the movie focuses on plot which doesn't leave a lot of time for the traps.
That isn't to say they aren't good. The first trap and the last are some of the best in the movie. Both affect Zeke deeply and if you come to like him over the course of the movie, you will be a little disturbed by them. Though, I admit, my own personal issues didn't make me as shocked by the final trap as some people. As this is spoiler free, I can't go into detail about it.
The main theme Spiral tackles is police brutality. Which makes the movie very topical and more scary because of it. You know that even though the movie isn't real, police brutality is a very real thing. There is a part of the movie showing footage from a police car in which the police just shoots the driver of another car for no other reason than to kill. That footage is fake, but there are too many real life instances of that happening to count. Even though Article 8 is fictional, police being able to get away with their crimes is a very real thing.
I would recommend Spiral for those Saw fans who like the franchise more for the plot than the traps. I would also recommend Spiral for horror fans.
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