Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Working in the shadow of an esteemed police veteran, brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks and his rookie partner take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.
Spiral attempts to revitalize the Saw franchise with a cop thriller procedural angle and Chris Rock's star power, but largely falls flat. The plot recycles familiar Saw mechanics with a police corruption twist that feels telegraphed early on, leading to a predictable and underwhelming reveal. Rock and Samuel L. Jackson deliver competent performances, elevating what is otherwise a thin script, but neither is given enough material to truly shine. Cinematography is gritty but unremarkable, leaning on franchise visual conventions without adding much distinction. The film's novelty is limited — while repositioning the series as a buddy-cop procedural had potential, the execution is formulaic and the traps lack the inventiveness of earlier entries. The ending, meant to be a gut-punch twist, lacks the earned emotional or narrative weight to land effectively.