Darren Lynn Bousman
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Se7en (1995)
Directed by David Fincher
influenced Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
Visuals Plot Themes
The pig puppet dressed in a police uniform pulverizes the nail on the head, while the grimy, color-coded references to “Se7en” just remind us of what “Spiral” isn’t: enthralling or suspenseful.
In 1995, David Fincher’s Se7en also paired a hardened detective with an up-and-coming rookie, and tasked them with solving a series of murders linked by intricate riddles and a collective theme.
Instead of a strictly ninth Saw flick, they give you something from the Book of Saw, mixing 48 Hours and Se7en with the perfect amount of echoes of the iconic horror series.
Personally, the film felt like a great opportunity to branch out with a SE7EN -style film that could take some chances to expand the Saw universe while pushing the talented cast.
The series has always indulged in frothy police procedural nonsense but never more enthusiastically than here, which with the lavish cinematography and production quality that a $20 million budget allows, is superficially easy to accept as a contemporary riff on Se7en by way of Training Day.
The latest installment bears more in common with Se7en than Saw , which might prove polarizing for longtime fans.
Saw (2004)
Directed by James Wan
influenced Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021), Saw IV (2007), Saw II (2005)
The original Saw , which was directed by James Wan, prefigured what David Edelstein odiously referred to as ‘torture porn’.
In the end, however, Spiral still can’t hold a candle to 2004’s Saw .
The ninth instalment since the original Saw movie in 2004, Spiral is the first in the franchise not to feature Tobin Bell as John Kramer/Jigsaw, signposting a much-needed refresh for the beloved yet faltering horror series.
Spiral has “From the Book of Saw” as an optional add-on to make sure audiences know we’re back in the world made famous by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, and shaped into a template by director Darren Lynn Bousman, who has returned to direct this ninth installment.
Saw IV marks the first installment within the ongoing series that's almost devoid of similarities to the stellar original, as the movie generally places the emphasis on entirely uninteresting characters and surprisingly tedious sequences of gore.
Jigsaw may finally be dead, but Tobin Bell graces Saw IV with his presence quite a bit—via flashbacks.
"Saw II" continues to lift ideas, from films like "Speed" to "The Silence of the Lambs" (again), but the premise of the second is hackneyed, its acting weak, its score thudding and its direction and production values low rent.
The best parts of the movie involve Williams and Tobin Bell's Jigsaw having conversations and playing mind games, which are as strong as the scenes between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling in "The Silence of the Lambs."
All these subtly placed nods in this new contemporary setting are never distracting and really reward eagle-eyed (and eared) fans of Kaufman's version in a very similar manner as Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead did for Romero's masterpiece.
Besides the troubled Daniel, Jigsaw's got Xavier (Franky G, "The Italian Job"), a threatening type who just wants to punch his way out of the place no matter who he has to punch through to do it, and his counterpart Jonas (Glenn Plummer, "Showgirls," "The Day After Tomorrow"), the thoughtful type who wants to sift through the clues and formulate a plan.
The Genetic Opera , in which director Darren Lynn Bousman of Saw II , III , and IV fame brought the worlds of nonconsensual organ transplants and operatic pseudo-metal together.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is quite the mouth full, the title alone gives horrifying flashbacks to Spiral: From the Book of Saw - another spinoff of an iconic franchise looking to redirect to a new destination. Luckily, the title is the only comparison that can be found with that disappointing film as Ballerina stirs up the pot and allows fans of the Wick universe another chance to experience the carnage within.
Yet, apart from a story credit on Saw III, Wan had little involvement with the seven-part Saw series.
But the best decision of all that Craven and Williamson make is returning to Woodsboro and adding in a whole new and younger cast, including Emma Roberts (“It’s Kind of a Funny Story”), Hayden Panettiere (“I Love You, Beth Cooper”), Marielle Jaffe (“Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”), Rory Culkin (“Signs”) and Erik Knudsen (“Saw II”).
Jigsaw's grand plan involves sticking eight people in a cavernous, dilapidated old house and having them kill, scream, and reason their way out of his booby traps as if this were a hard-edged sequel to The Goonies.
When another Jigsaw victim is identified, Jigsaw expert Kerry (Dina Meyer, "Star Trek: Nemesis," "Saw") points out something additionally disturbing about the crime scene - a personal message to Detective Eric Mason (Donnie Wahlberg, "The Sixth Sense," "Dreamcatcher") that advises him to 'look closer.'
A group of eight strangers attempt to escape from a sealed house ingeniously booby-trapped by serial killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) while Detective Eric Mason (Donnie Wahlberg – "The Sixth Sense") attempts to rescue his teen son Daniel (Eirk Knudsen) from among the trapped victims.
This will no doubt draw the same viewers into theaters who sat through 2004's " Saw ," 2005's " Saw II ," 2006's " Saw III ," and 2007's " Saw IV ."
The setup for “Saw V” is far too similar to “ Saw II ” – which began as an original script that was later retro-fitted for the “Saw” franchise – and that, combined with Bell’s lack of screen time and the most ho-hum traps in the movie’s history (except for the final two traps, which are just brutal), result in the flattest “Saw” movie to date.
A sophisticated Jigsaw trap subplot weaves throughout “Saw V,” returning to the “Saw II” aesthetic of strangers (including Meagan Good and Julie Benz) duking it out for precious remnants of life.
Saw IV was particularly guilty of this, providing viewers with the revelation that its storyline was actually running concurrently with the events of Saw III.
On the plus side, Saw V director David Hackl , who conceived most of the elaborate contraptions in prior installments, brings an enthusiasm to the table that Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II-Saw IV) seemed to have lost last time around.