PLOT SUMMARY: Detective Zeke finds himself handling a case where the murders resemble those committed by Jigsaw.
In a test to survive, how many of us would readily give up a piece of ourselves just so we can live?
The Saw franchise is gory, focuses on torture a lot and basically puts this question into your mind: How far would you go to save your life?
Now you know most of the sequences in Saw is about people ready to cut off their arms and legs, rip out their tongues or fingers just so they can survive. But the thing is, what kind of living would it be? First of all, there would be the trauma to live with. Picking life over a body part is sure to haunt someone's mind forever.
Then there's the missing body part that will cause some obstacles for the future.
For example, in Spiral, a police detective is made to choose between his fingers or his life. He is ready to get his fingers ripped off in order to save himself. Supposing he had survived, would he really have been able to keep his job without his fingers?
But all this is beside the point. Another factor to consider is time and of course, all the victims are barely given a few minutes before they are thrown into peril.
Instinctively, they all choose life, not thinking about anything but to get out of their torture devices.
That's the true horror part; to make a decision in a short span of time and then fight for your life.
Another thing about Spiral...Chris Rock makes a transfer into horror. Now the thing about actors who do comedies and then come into horror is that half the time you expect them to crack jokes, the other time, you keep wondering why the actor is squinting and pouting just so he can seem like a serious detective. In fact, there is a constant furrow on his brow which can be a tad distracting.
SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW Movie Plot
The movie begins with a detective chasing an intruder, then being hit on the head by a man wearing a pig mask.
The next instant, he wakes up to find a trap over his head, and his tongue caught in between. He's in a subway and there's a small TV in front of him. It comes on to show the man in the pig mask talking in a concealed voice. Seriously, the voice is almost comical and would suit a cartoon character.
The instructions are promptly given. The detective, Boz, is given a choice to either rip out his tongue and run away before the train arrives, or stay put and be crushed by it.
The detective takes too much time trying to rip his tongue out before the train arrives and kills him. The poor guy had to go through so much pain right before he was flattened by a train anyway.
On the other side, we meet Detective Zeke, who is always in a bad mood and uses the F word several times. In fact, he will only speak to someone if, while they are addressing him, use the F word.
He goes ballistic even more when the chief, Angie, assigns him a partner, William.
And then immediately he's assigned a case where a bum was hit by a train. Of course, it isn't a bum. It's the detective from the first scene.
The only thing he can be identified is by his teeth but that would take time. Zeke is later given a present in a turquoise coloured box with a string. Inside is the detective's tongue and badge number. Zeke immediately identifies the victim and is shocked because he was friends with him.
More curse words are thrown about as Zeke has his case almost taken away from him. Angie assures him that they will all work on the case together because the detective was part of this precinct.
Zeke almost gets into a fight with detective Fitch whom he has a grudge against because Fitch ignored a call for backup from Zeke which resulted in Zeke being shot.
Now why did that happen and why is everyone against Zeke? In patches, we are told that Zeke was the only one in the precinct who had the guts to stand against a corrupt cop who wrongfully shot an innocent man.
And Zeke is also the son of the former police chief Marcus, so perhaps the others didn't like Zeke because they suspected nepotism?
Anyway, while working on the case, Zeke makes sarcastic remarks about marriage to William who keeps bringing up his family and hiding pictures in the car. Zeke us certain William's marriage won't last because cops usually don't do well in life because of their busy schedules.
William shakes it off, certain his marriage will defeat all odds.
While everyone is distracted, another detective is kidnapped. This time it is Fitch who must choose between being electrocuted in a water tank or ripping off his fingers and escaping.
He does earnestly try to bear the pain of having his fingers removed while the water level rises. He succeeds in becoming fingerless only to be rewarded with electrocution.
Clearly, there is no way to win with the killer who is copying his methods from Jigsaw.
At the precinct, Zeke receives a gift again, this time a thumb drive with a video of a pig puppet on a string.
Angie recognizes the place and goes there to find another present awaiting, Fitch's badge number and fingers.
Later, Zeke receives another present with a pig's head mask and skin with the words Charlie tattooed on it. Zeke remembers William had that tattoo and goes on and on about his son Charlie, so he assumes it is William who has become the next victim.
But of course...we never clearly see William being tortured and given a choice. So...yeah...major hint and spoiler here.
Zeke is brought to the hobby shop via another present. This is the shop where Marcus used to bring Zeke to take pictures of themselves posing with the signage.
There they find a skinned person and everyone automatically assumes it is William. We don't of course because we didn't see William being kidnapped and tortured.
Zeke suspects Marcus simply because his father hasn't been seen in two days since the detectives have been getting murdered.
Next in line is Angie who is kidnapped and has hot wax poured over her face. The only way she can escape is if she severs her spine.
She does use the blade but the killer clearly isn't interested in playing fair and wants everyone to die a torturous death.
Zeke in the meantime is called to a corner in the city where a cop was attacked. Zeke quickly gleans that the incident was a diversion and puts together the riddle and realizes Angie is in trouble.
He is too late of course. Dejectedly, Zeke walks out and then is later kidnapped too.
He wakes up and finds himself cuffed to a pipe. There's a saw nearby and knowing he is dealing with a copycat killer, he thinks about straight away chopping off his arm to escape but then sees a Bobby pin. Being an expert with picking locks, he frees himself and comes upon another detective who is hanging in front of him.
It's the same detective who shot an innocent man who was willing to testify against a crooked cop.
Zeke tries to free him but a machine to crush glass bottles is switched on and soon enough, glass shards start flying straight towards the detective.
SPIRAL Ending Explained with Spoilers!
Zeke takes some time to figure out the riddle and finds the key in a trash can.
Of course, he is too late again. The detective is dead and Zeke leaves to go into another room where he comes face to face with the killer: William.
Except of course he isn't exactly who he said he was. He doesn't have a family, the system clearly isn't great at doing background checks before hiring cops, and his father was none other than the guy the corrupt detective shot.
Since Zeke was the one who sort of saved him by telling the kid William to stay hidden in the presence of the cop who shot his father, William wanted to clean the system and help Zeke in a weird way...by killing off his father.
William explains how the spiral symbolises evolution and progress and how he didn't want to change one person but the entire system.
Also, Marcus, when he was chief, allowed a lot of cops to go corrupt so they could clean the streets. Only that idea backfired and William wanted to take revenge from all those involved in his father's death, even indirectly.
Zeke is then shown Marcus hanging from wires and a target on top that when shot at will free Marcus. But the gun has only one bullet and William has already made a call to the police pretending to be in trouble so a SWAT team could be sent.
Zeke obviously chooses to shoot at the spiral target. William runs away and Marcus instructs his son to follow him.
The SWAT team enters the room, and trigger a trap William had set.
Like the pig puppet in the video, Zeke was sent, Marcus is held up by strings once more.
Zeke realizes he hasn't won the game yet but before he can stop the SWAT team, they begin shooting at Marcus who, against his will, has his arms moved and hold guns.
He is shot dead while William escapes, pressing a finger to his lips. Zeke screams in frustration and the movie abruptly ends and the credits roll.
The movie did have some thrilling notes but it doesn't explain why William was taken by Kramer, the original Jigsaw. Or why no one checked on William's father to see if he had a family. It was a big controversial case, wasn't it? How did the cops not know that the guy who was shot must have a family? And that the boy would grow up and join the police academy?
Apart from a couple of plot holes, the movie is an enjoyable watch.
Scare scale: 3.5/5
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