In May 2021, a full four years after the tepid reception of Jigsaw , the ninth installment of the legendary horror franchise arrived with a subtitle rather than a number. Spiral: From the Book of Saw was a bold gamble. It wasn't Saw 9 in the traditional sense; it was a "re-quel"—part reboot, part sequel, and a complete tonal overhaul.
Nevertheless, Spiral deserves credit for taking risks. It abandoned the soap opera for a police procedural. It traded Tobin Bell’s whisper for a loud, angry shout against institutional rot. For a series that had become a parody of itself by Saw 3D , Spiral proved that there is still blood left in this stone—provided you are willing to look at it through a different lens. In May 2021, a full four years after
The question on every fan’s mind was simple: Could the franchise survive without its two core pillars, Tobin Bell’s John Kramer and the grimy, green-tinted aesthetic of the original films? The answer, as it turned out, was a bloody, ambitious, but ultimately uneven "yes." Director Darren Lynn Bousman, who helmed Saw II , III , and IV , returned to steer the ship. His mission was clear: detoxify the franchise from its convoluted soap-opera continuity. Spiral ditches the rural warehouses and abandoned mental asylums for the bright, bureaucratic heart of a major metropolitan police department. Nevertheless, Spiral deserves credit for taking risks
However, longtime fans may feel shortchanged. The elaborate, multi-stage escape sequences of Saw II and III are replaced with rapid-fire, single-scene executions. The pacing is frantic, but it sacrifices the slow-burn dread that made the original traps iconic. You never get the feeling that anyone could actually win , which breaks a cardinal rule of the franchise. Critics were split, but Spiral achieved something rare for a ninth entry: it made the franchise feel dangerous again. It is not a perfect film. The dialogue is clunky, Chris Rock’s dramatic range is tested to its limit, and the final act relies on a monologue that drags longer than Jigsaw’s tape recordings. For a series that had become a parody
Recommended for: Fans of police thrillers, body horror, and anyone who thinks Se7en needed more power tools.
