Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) Facts

Spiral (2021) is a 2021 horror film written and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, Josh Stolberg, and Peter Goldfinger. The ninth entry in the Saw film franchise. Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, and Samuel L. Jackson feature in this thriller about police attempts to arrest a copycat Jigsaw murderer. Executive producers include the series' original creators, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, as well as Rock and series veteran Kevin Greutert.

After the success of Jigsaw in 2017, Chris Rock expressed interest in returning to the horror genre with a sequel to Saw. Jigsaw's directors, the Spierig Brothers, were considering returning for a sequel but ultimately decided against it. Rock is polishing a screenplay by Stolberg and Goldfinger, which was formally unveiled in May 2019. The remainder of the actors arrived in July, and shooting took place in Toronto in July and August.

When the COVID-19 epidemic delayed the release of Spiral (2021), it was released theatrically in the United States on May 14, 2021, by Lionsgate Entertainment. Critics were split on whether or not the film was successful in reimagining the series, with some praising the new direction it had taken.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw's storyline

During the Fourth of July parade, off-duty Detective Marv Bozwick pursues a burglar through a sewage pipe. After being attacked from behind by a person wearing a pig mask, Bozwick wakes to find himself dangling by his tongue in an active subway tunnel and is offered a decision through a recorded message: remove his tongue and survive, or wait until the next train comes, which will kill him. Bozwick, unable to escape the trap in time, is struck and killed by the train. The next day, Captain Angie Garza gives Zeke Banks a new companion, the idealistic novice William Schenk. Banks and Schenk examine the death of Bozwick, and Banks learns that the manner of death is identical to that of the dead Jigsaw Killer.

Meanwhile, murder investigator Fitch, who rejected a backup call from Banks and almost died, is taken and put in a trap where he must pull off his fingers to prevent electrocution; he also dies. Due of his relationship with Fitch, several police suspect Banks. The package contains a pig puppet and Schenk's tattooed flesh. A little vial inside the box leads detectives to a butcher shop that Banks and his father used to frequent. The squad finds a recording recorder and Schenk's skinned body. Marcus goes to a warehouse to find the murderer but is taken. Garza is abducted and put in a trap in the precinct's cold storage where she must slice her spinal chord to stop hot wax from dripping down her face. She fails and Banks finds her body with burns from boiling wax.

Banks is kidnapped while pursuing a lead and wakes up in a warehouse chained to a pipe with a hacksaw nearby. An untightened bobby pin saved his arm from being sawed off. Peter Dunleavy, his ex-partner who was sacked and imprisoned after Banks disclosed a murder he committed, is shackled in place. Shrapnel is hurled at him from a massive glass-crushing machine that has been modified. Banks has the option of either releasing the prisoner or letting him die, as relayed via a tape recorder. Despite Banks' best efforts, he is unable to get the key in time to rescue Dunleavy. He then discovers Schenk in a different chamber, who reveals that he faked his own death by using the skeleton of the robber who had enticed Bozwick into the tunnels. It was Charlie Emmerson, who was shot and murdered by Dunleavy because he had promised to testify against a crooked officer, that his son's last name is Emmerson. He also admits that Marcus sheltered corrupt officers while serving as chief in order to better enforce Article 8's mandate to clear up the streets of criminality.

Emmerson, believing that Banks may be an ally, administers a last test, displaying Marcus restrained in the air and slowly being drained of blood. Emmerson dials 9-1-1 and pretends to be a civilian being chased by a gunman, prompting the operator to deploy a SWAT squad to his position. He provides Banks a handgun with one cartridge and gives him the option of shooting a target that would rescue Marcus but enable Emmerson to escape, or killing Emmerson and letting Marcus bleed to death. To rescue his father, Banks fires the target, forcing his shackles to loosen and dropping him to the ground, and then starts fighting Emmerson. Shortly later, the SWAT squad comes and accidentally trips a tripwire, forcing Marcus' handcuffs to tug him upward once again. Marcus' arm displays a pistol, prompting the SWAT squad to mistake him for the gunman and murder him. Banks shouts in sorrow as Emmerson flees.

Who played the leading roles in Spiral (2021)?

Detective Zeke Banks was played by Chris Rock. Max Minghella played William Schenk/Emmerson. Castrounis played Young William.

In the movie, Samuel L. Jackson played Marcus Banks. Angie Garza was played by Marisol Nichols.

Detective Marv Bozwick was played by Daniel Petronijevic. Richard Zeppieri played the role of Detective Fitch.

Patrick McManus played Dunleavy. Ali Johnson was Jeannie Lewis.

Palmer played Kara Bozwick.

Dylan Roberts played the role of Sergeant Morgey Silva. Collins played the role of Detective Drury.

Detective Deborah Kraus was acted by Edie Inksetter. The role of Coroner Chada was played by Nazneen Contractor. Detective Tim O'Brien was played by Thomas Mitchell. Benny Wrights was played by Chad Camilleri. Speez was played by Christopher Ramsay. The role of Charlie Emmerson was played by Frank Licari.

Genelle Williams played Lisa Banks in the film. Officer Pat Jones was played by Trevor Gretzky.

This is the only Saw film in which the character of John Kramer / Jigsaw isn't seen onscreen in any way other than through images, since Tobin Bell, who portrayed the role in the previous films, did not return. As Bousman noted, the film's murderer is a Jigsaw copycat, not the real Jigsaw, he stated his decision to not replace Bell in the famous role. When Billy the Puppet's origins were discussed, Bell indicated an interest in returning as Jigsaw.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw's Chris Rock

Chris Rock went to Lionsgate with his idea for Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) as a way to bring new life to the Saw series and to his own career.

According to Chris Rock, Spiral (2021) was inspired by a chance encounter with Michael Burns, the vice chairman of Lionsgate, at a friend's wedding in Brazil, and he felt that doing something in the horror genre would be a new direction for his career, though he planned to include comedic elements in the film. Rock contacted Lionsgate with his plans to expand the series, and the studio was enthusiastic about the notion. The chief executive officer of Lionsgate, Joe Drake, said that Rock's concept was totally respectful of the material's past while reinvigorating the brand with his humour, artistic vision, and enthusiasm for this great horror property. The Spierig Brothers would not return for the ninth installment of the Saw franchise, according to industry speculations circulating in January 2018. In an interview with Screen Rant, the filmmakers revealed that their picture established the groundwork for potential sequels. By April 2018, Twisted Pictures was collaborating with Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger on a sequel to Jigsaw.

After Jigsaw, Stolberg and Goldfinger pitched a new Saw film based only on John Kramer / Jigsaw to series veterans Mark Burg and Oren Koules, but Burg and Koules phoned the pair to advise them about Rock's plans for a new film, with Rock calling them soon after to explore his notion. Before Rock, several writers presented their ideas for the next Saw film to Lionsgate, but none of them succeeded. Stolberg and Goldfinger had come up with eight versions of the picture before Rock blended his concept with theirs. Burg and Koules had the pair pitch Rock. Stolberg and Goldfinger's idea was accepted by Lionsgate and Rock, and they wrote a first screenplay that was greenlit a week later. Rock rewrote Stolberg and Goldfinger's script where needed.

Early scripts had Rock's character tied to Danny Glover's David Tapp. Stolberg and Goldfinger decided against this since it smelled fishy. Bousman said in May 2021 that he's discussed recasting Costas Mandylor as Mark Hoffman. Tobin Bell was suggested as Jigsaw until the final day of production, but Bousman and the team decided it would make the film seem like the ninth part of the Saw series rather than a standalone picture. Bousman thought that earlier films did a disservice by utilizing flashbacks to introduce Jigsaw, and he didn't want to make the error in Spiral or disrespect Bell's legendary performance. Bousman contemplated having Bell perform a Johnny Cash song during Spiral's concluding scene, but found it too gimmicky.

Where was Tobin Bell in Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)?

Spiral (2021) is the first Saw film without Tobin Bell as Jigsaw.

Stolberg told Bloody Disgusting that Jigsaw was never in any draft of the screenplay for Spiral, even though they talked about it after the first test screening and all the way through post-production. They thought that including Jigsaw would change the core of the story they were trying to tell, not because they didn't like the character but because they wanted to move the franchise in a new direction. Stolberg also thought that because of the franchise's timeline, any possible connection between John Kramer and William Schenk/The Spiral Killer should have happened when the latter was still a child. Stolberg and Goldfinger once proposed an after-credits scene in which Kramer met a young Schenk after the murder of the latter's father and became friends with him, maybe giving him the puppet he later uses as the Spiral (2021) Killer.

As the film's murderer is a Jigsaw imitator who differs from the original, it was decided to replace Billy the Puppet with Mr. Snuggles, as Bousman believed that if the original Jigsaw was changed, the original puppet should also be altered so that the new killer cannot be compared to the old one. Deeming Bell's voice as too iconic, the production feared that reusing it for Mr. Snuggles could have raised questions about the relationship between both killers; an early draft featured Jigsaw's voice, which was later revealed to be a digitally altered version of his voice, and the story originally had all the speeches as being past recordings of Jigsaw's voice with the words rearranged to indicate that the Spiral (2021) Killer had digitally rearranged the words. The directors had struggled to locate a replacement voice for Bell's murderer. Before deciding on the computer-generated voice, Bousman experimented with several female, male, and kid voices. The final voice used in the film was chosen barely two days before the final sound mix was completed.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw's backstage.

The film started pre-production on May 16, 2019. Darren Lynn Bousman, who previously directed the series, will direct the feature, with Burg and Koules serving as producers. In addition to developing the plot concept, Rock served as an executive producer on the film.

James Wan, Leigh Whannell, and Daniel Heffner, who made the original Saw, are now executive producers for Rock. Stolberg and Goldfinger were confirmed as screenwriters.

Rock revealed in his statement that he has been a fan of Saw since the original picture was released in 2004. He was thrilled by the chance to take this to a new level of intensity and twistedness.

Rock suggested Bousman direct a Broadway production when Bousman declined to direct Saw IV.

Burg and Koules felt Rock's portrayal of Saw was like Eddie Murphy's in 48 Hrs., giving the series a new viewpoint. Bousman said that compared to previous entries, Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) had less violence and gore. He said that gore and violence were the gimmick when he began working on the Saw films, but that both components now support the plot, which focuses more on character, suspense, and terror.

Stolberg also said that the ninth movie would be part of the same storyline as the first eight, and that it would not be a reboot or a direct sequel to Jigsaw.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) cast

Rock played Detective Zeke Banks. As Rock pondered what he would do if he were the original Saw protagonist Dr. Lawrence Gordon and was forced to chop off his own foot, Stolberg and Goldfinger agreed that it would be fascinating if Rock portrayed a policeman who had been outcast by his colleagues.

Samuel L. Jackson agreed to play Chief Marcus Banks because he wanted to do something he had never done before, like the scene in the end where his character is hung up like a marionette. Captain Angie Garza was played by Marisol Nichols. The part was originally written for a man, but the producers ended up giving it to Nichols. Nichols, who liked the Saw movies, chose to prepare for the role by watching David Fincher's Seven instead. After years of acting on stage, Patrick McManus tried out for the role of Detective Marv Bozwick in the movie, but he was called back to play Peter Dunleavy instead. Dan Petronijevic was cast as Bozwick.

Max Minghella, a lover of both horror and buddy-cop films, took on the part of William Schenk / The Spiral (2021) Killer because he wished to play in a movie with straightforward story-telling like the buddy police of his childhood, such as 48 Hrs., and when he read the script, he believed it was that, coupled with a Saw picture.

What was it like to film Spiral?

Jordan Oram is the cinematographer for The Organ Donor, which started principal filming on July 8, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario. The film will include performances by Rock, Jackson, Minghella, and Nichols. According to Lionsgate CEO Joe Drake, Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock, as well as Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols, will make this picture utterly unique in the Saw series, and they can't wait to unleash this surprising and scary new plot on fans of the genre. On full throttle, this was the next level of Saw. On set, Rock rewrote his character's debut sequence and entirely reworked it. According to Bousman, a sequence involving a trap was deleted from the movie because it was too gruesome.

On August 28, 2019, production officially concluded. During post-production, Dev Singh edited the footage.

How did Spiral get its name?

Before the name Spiral was announced to the press on January 22, 2020, the movie was known by its working title, which was The Organ Donor. Mongrel Media was announced as the Canadian distributor at the same time. The title of the movie was revealed to be Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) in the first teaser poster and trailer, both of which were unveiled on February 5, 2020.

The release of Spiral: From the Book of Saw in theaters and on Netflix

Spiral was initially set to be released on October 23, 2020, by Lionsgate Films in the United States. It was pushed ahead to May 15, 2020 in July 2019. Because to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film's release date has been pushed back to May 21, 2021, replacing John Wick: Chapter 4. As cinemas started to reopen, it was rescheduled for a week earlier release on May 14, 2021.

Lionsgate announced on May 25, 2021, that Spiral (2021) would stream exclusively on Starz beginning October 8, 2021 in the United States. In Canada, Spiral (2021) was available on VOD on 1 June 2021.

Spiral (2021)'s score?

According to Darren Lynn Bousman, the picture was awarded an NC-17 classification from the Motion Picture Association 11 times before eventually deleting enough sequences to get a R certification.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw made how much money at the box office?

As of March 3, 2022, Spiral had made $23.2 million in the United States and Canada and $17.3 million in other places, for a worldwide total of $40.6 million.

In the United States and Canada, Spiral: From the Book of Saw was released with Those Who Wish Me Dead, Profile, and Finding You, and was anticipated to make $10–15 million from 2,811 screens in its opening weekend. On its opening day, the picture grossed $3,750,000 (including $750,000 from Thursday night previews), decreasing its projected gross to $9 million. It went on to launch at $8.8 million, leading the box office (the sixth time for the series) but marked the lowest opening weekend of the franchise. Audiences reported on were 56 percent male and 75 percent under the age of 35, with a favorable reaction occurring more commonly near the East Coast of the United States. It stayed in top position the next weekend, falling 48 percent to $4.6 million.

What did reviewers say about Spiral?

Film critics liked how Spiral (2021) tried to change up the formula of the franchise, but they said it didn't give Saw the big boost it needed to become popular again.

On the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, 37 percent of 221 reviewers' reviews are favorable, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's critical consensus was Spiral (2021) reveals an exciting new approach for the Saw series, even if the gruesome whole is somewhat less than its pieces.

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave the movie a score of 40 out of 100 based on the opinions of 33 critics, which means that the reviews were mixed or average.

CinemaScore rated the picture a B- on a scale of A+ to F, while PostTrak reported that 63 percent of audience members gave it a good rating, with 43 percent indicating they would definitely recommend it.

A film reviewer said that the picture takes an unexpected twist or two but given that it's a thriller connected to the problem of police immorality, the film handles that theme in a bizarrely offtopic, almost garishly generic fashion.

According to a separate film reviewer, the writing captures the grizzled-cop-movie tone and creates some memorable characters, but the narrative is repetitive, the mystery is hopelessly foreseeable, and the inventive deaths are less imaginative than before. Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) chose respectability above entertainment value, and in the process failed to attain either.

Many film reviews praised Spiral: From the Book of Saw as a really terrifying, albeit unevenly paced, detective thriller, while also criticizing its writing for failing to communicate the possible tensions between its major characters' father-and-son relationship.

Some film reviewers praised the performance and Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)'s simple yet captivating idea, but they also commented on the voice of the unidentified murderer, who he claimed sounded like Kermit the Frog, and remarked that the screams and gore aren't for the movie's intended demographic. They are the attraction.

A film reviewer awarded the film one rating out of five and criticized the climax, noting that he believed it was hurried and half-assed and clumsily written and worst of all, progressively uninteresting. Finally, he declared that the game was finished.

Another film reviewer in his one star and a half review, offered the picture critical notes for its tone and Darren Lynn Bousman's directing, which he stated disappointed him owing to his love for the performers, calling it outright unreadable for its lack of tension, plotline, and movement in the storyline.

However, another film reviewer appreciated the opening sequence and concluded that the film's concept is dishonest at best and fear mongering at worst. Not as brilliant as it pretends to be like Jigsaw with one of his easy puzzles.

One critic gave the movie a 3 out of 10 and said that Spiral: From the Book of Saw: From the Book of Saw is likely to turn off both Saw fans and people who don't know much about the series. It looks and sounds nothing like the series and can't even meet the most basic visual and story expectations. It's also a bad movie in general that tries to tell a story that is important to society but can't do it. He also said that the movie didn't have much to do with the Saw series. He said that Spiral: From the Book of Saw is barely a Saw movie because it only shows the visceral thrill of mutilation briefly and doesn't follow any of the other rules of the series. It's also the most boring and insensitive version of what it's supposed to be: a rejected pilot episode for a boring police procedural.

Internet Personality Decker Shado told what he thought about the show Spiral. Spiral, the newest Saw movie, came released in 2021 from Chris Rock's head. After an Summer of Saw, you should know the drill: A murderer is on the run who doesn't directly kill his target but rather tests them with creative and unsettling mechanical contraptions. So far, so good. Many of these traps leave much to be desired... and the approach and purpose are wrong. The video explains it better.



Another film reviewer said that it is not a complete waste of a notion in any way. However, the franchise does not need a new take on the concept in any way. After a promising beginning, Spiral: From the Book of Saw just becomes a pretty okay Saw movie with some bigger names than usual; one whose jaundiced lighting and procedural storytelling are most reminiscent of David Fincher's Se7en than anything else. This is despite the fact that Rock's involvement in the film brings some new blood to it. Whether the point of the game was to test if a new spin on a long-running property could make it through being chopped up and reassembled by the sequel factory, then consider the game to be over.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw fumbles through its fundamental riddle without elegance, flair, or even much thinking, according to a film reviewer who gave it a bad review. Even the death traps lack imagination. He recognized the picture's promise, claiming that the most aggravating aspect of Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) is that a better, wiser film lies behind all the foolishness. There are just too many rapid cuts and sequences when the tempo ramps up. It's irritating to hear poor speech blasted at full volume. Spiral is ultimately a picture about corrupt, even deadly officers suddenly having a reckoning, and material like this has the potential to be both subversive and current for a Hollywood film, yet it's been remarked that Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) is almost infuriating in how little it appears to care about any of this. It merely want to lose a great deal of blood, which it does.

Spiral (2021)'s sequel?

Twisted Pictures revealed in April 2021 that a sequel film, named Saw X, is in the works. Bousman, on the other hand, felt that the announcement was made too soon, which startled him and the film's producers. He claims that just because they created Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) doesn't imply the Saw franchise is dead. Spiral (2021)'s arrival does not rule out the possibility of Saw IX. This is not the ninth installment in the Saw series. Jigsaw might very well be followed by Saw IX. I believe they're waiting to see how Spiral: From the Book of Saw performs and how viewers react before deciding what to do next. In December of that year, Josh Stolberg announced that the script was completed.

Is Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) going to be adapted into a TV show?

In an April 2021 interview with Deadline Hollywood, Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs said that Lionsgate TV is talking with Mark Burg and Oren Koules of Twisted Television about making a TV show based on Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021).