User reviews

Didnt have a great story like the original, didnt have a character that grabs you like jigsaw. Ending was weak and the ending saw twist was now where near as good as most saws. Sorry Chris but didnt like you in fargo and didnt like you here. It might just be me maybe seeing him as a stand up comic to much, but his acting delivery seems the same as his stand up. And his presence just doesn't transfer into drama horror or him being a tough guy. Was ok once but not theater or bluray worthy, it's a Netflix or cable watch film.

I had high hopes for this as potentially a new beginning for the franchise. Unfortunately, poor writing and a lack of depth really let it down. The pacing was off and though Rock was ok, his lack of real acting chops showed. It's worth a look but don't expect anything special.

What was his big idea, just to be in it? He's easily the most obnoxious Saw character of all time. Traps sucked, b-movie gore was mediocre, for a thinking horror fan this feels feeble AF. If I were a producer, I'd be wishing I spent that budget on cocaine.

Compared with the last SAW movies this one fits right in. Luckily there are a couple of torture, cat and mouse and other scenes that does make this movie worth your while. Just ignore the predictable plot, the "yes, i can edit 20 different vantage point camera shots in 1 second" editing, it's just entertaining mindless viewing food.

Either they wasted all the budget on getting Samuel on board or something else has gone terrible wrong. The small events (quarrels, etc) throughout all the movie happen just for no reason, it all just looks so incredibly stupid. There is no plot twist or anything to keep you intrigued cos you can see everything happening from a mile away because of how stupid it is. I can't believe grown people wrote and directed this.

Script - bad. (so many stupid dialogs and completely wrong psychology of the characters, not going to deep into it cos it's not worth the time)

Directing - bad.

Editing - bad. (there was a shot out of focus of the ground; some shots have "camera shake" and some don't, in the same scene.. why? Why even bother using this effect if it adds no realism in the case of this movie; color grading is terrible)

I'll keep this relatively short: It's a good movie worth watching, but if you've seen five thriller/horrors in your life and pay attention to small things, it's entirely predictable 30 minutes in. The traps aren't that great despite what others say. It's a fine movie on its own, though, and probably worth watching. Just don't expect to be blown away like some of these other reviewers.

It's not a perfect film and I saw the plot twist coming from a large distance.

Saying that...I felt that this is the most consistent Saw sequel ever, with the best plot, and the best structure. The formula "traps-after-traps" was more than used and reused, so no point to keep doing the same. This is a very competent detective thriller, dark, with a surprisingly good Chris Rock, lots of gore and without being afraid of being a Saw movie. A different one, but definitely a Saw movie. This is the way to go!

The rhythm of the plot was fast and devoid of real emotions. The use of the camera in some moments is absurd and abuses cheap tricks. It is obvious who is responsible after 20 minutes and it is ridiculous how they try to play with the protagonist. By the way, lousy update for Chris Rock, and unfortunately for Samuel L. Jackson, it seems that if it's not Tarantino, they don't know how to guide him.

Now I will say this, this is not a bad film, for most part I quite enjoyed seeing Chris rock as the more serious detective comparing too his more comedic roles in other films. Now if you enjoyed the first 2 saw films, then you'll appreciate the film a little bit more since it has more of a story element and as much as this has some interesting traps and still has a lot of blood and gore, it's not as over the top as the films from saw 3 onwards so it was nice too see it try too go back too it's old element of the first 2 films.

Now the main problem I had with this film was the ending, I won't spoil it for everyone but it did feel very rushed and as much as I was praying that the reveal would throw me off and trick me, it was so easy to predict who is the jigsaw copycat midway in the film and was hoping it would be completely different too what I predicted but it just felt rushed. Overall it was a good time watching this at the cinema, not perfect but way better then jigsaw that came out a few years back and feels like a homage to the first 2 saw films.

And they wrote a Jigsaw movie that actually kind of needed a whole lot more acting than the originals before (2017 "Jigsaw"), which forced Rock into acting mad; tired; emotional; exhausted; sad and desperate. And yet his face was the same for every single scene of the movie, regardless of the emotion his character was supposed to be feeling.

The more superfitial things about the saga were there thanks to Bousman, the director (also director of Saw II, III and IV).

But the fundamental stuff that made Jigsaw legendary was his "code", his "purpose", his "logical madness" (and also the ingenious traps). There is none of that here, with brutal but not that clever traps, and a villain that lacks any kind of coherent philosophy, which makes him basically a simple (and boring) serial killer.

Many people are saying that this movie sucked, but all of em are forgetting that one important thing. This is not "Saw", this is "Spiral". Ye sure, u can't compare Spiral to saw, but u can think about it as a completely new movie.

Overall i think that it was a great saw movie, with some exiting twists.

Would like to see Spiral 2.

My only real criticism is that the movie felt rush, another 30 minutes would've helped. There's some subtext that people will either hate or love. Chris Rock gives you a couple routines early in the movie for add enjoyment if you like his standup.

This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I'm not even joking, the movie is boring, really stupid, and extremely predictable. It looks like a movie Micheal Scott could direct, it's so full of clichés that it's actually baffling that this was produced.

I kid you not the main character is the "I don't want a partner" cop character we've already seen a million times, and there's literally nothing else to his character other than that badass imagery.

Also the ending shot is hilarious.

I've always been a hardcore fan of the Saw series, knowing this is the first movie not to have the name " Saw " in the title and knowing it's the 9th installment. I had very low expectations thinking this movie was gonna go downhill and it wouldn't be as great as the first 8 movies. Good direction, mediocre script, great acting. Maybe not the best horror movie of this year but still worth a watch for some quick entertainment.

This movie legitimately could be the worst in the series, and this is coming from a Saw fan. What makes these movies great is trying to connect the puzzle pieces as to 'who's behind all of this?' You know you the killer is within the first 10 minutes of the movie.

Chris Rock is a let down also. Give him props for stepping out of his comfort zone but man it looks like he just came out of his first acting lesson class.

Save your money, it's awful.

I have been a Saw fan since the early days and am always excited when another one is in the works, but I have very mixed feelings about this film. On one hand, there's a lot to like and also plenty to dislike about the final product. For starters, the best parts were obviously the traps and the ending, however, the film overall feels rather soulless. It doesn't particularly feel like a Saw film, though I guess at the same time Spiral is the most similar in structure and atmosphere to the first Saw film. But something still just felt off.

I'm not particularly a fan of Chris Rock, so I wasn't super impressed by his performance per se but it wasn't as bad as I thought it may be. The rest of the cast does their parts fine, but nothing to write home about. The story is fine, emphasis on fine, but I will say that I do like that this killer is basically hunting bad cops, which is very politically relevant. But a lot of it still felt very forced and the ending, while it makes sense, isn't gratifying enough nor does it even really get resolved (now that they have Saw 10 on the way, I kind of expected the cliffhanger). Also I absolutely HATE this new voiceover they chose for the killer, it sounds AWFUL. Please just go back to the OG voice, I beg of you!

Now this isn't to say the film is "bad", but it surely isn't very memorable. There are elements that work here, sure, but ultimately the sum of its parts leaves much to be desired. As much as I really wanted to enjoy the film more, I would go as far to say this is probably among the worst of the franchise, despite it technically being a spin-off(?) of sorts (or at least a departure from the John Kramer story). And maybe that's because the Kramer story was so intricate and intriguing, whereas this one is doing more of the same but with a less interesting version of Jigsaw. Hopefully it can be redeemed by the sequel, but I won't be holding my breath. The quality of the franchise has gradually decreased with every new movie, and it's obvious the end times may be near. But with all this said, I will always support Saw and any future films because she's an icon after all!

This movie had potential, but the writing was just awful. If you are looking for a nice plot twist, then us best watch the previous ones. Chris Rock made a valiant attempt, but fell short...by a long shot...and should stick to standup or comedies. The kills scenes were rather decent but were a little redundant with the design. Overall, the movie is hollow and falls right in line with the rest of 2020-2021 movies leaving us hungry for a quality product.

As a huge fan of Chris Rock and a huge fan of the 'Saw' series, when I heard that Rock was behind the revamped 'Spiral' movie we were getting I was beyond excited. Then a worldwide pandemic came along delaying the film by 12 months which only served to get my anticipation levels up that little bit higher. The end product is an interesting one. It's better in some ways than I hoped, and less so in others than what I hoped.

What really took me by surprise the most was how much I liked Rock as the lead. Early on we get a little stand-up routine from him (in context of the movie of course - more or less) and then here and there we get little glimpses of his terrific humour which he has obviously inserted into the script himself. But when it's time to get serious he is more than capable. He brings great intensity to the movie and combining that with his natural charisma, makes for a great centrepiece of the film.

The film takes a little bit of a step-back in terms of the brutality of some of the traps. Make no mistake, there are some brutal things to watch in this movie, however I suspect a conscious effort was made to reign things in just a little. In previous 'Saw' movies it felt like they were going out of their way to make as many audience members faint as possible. Here is just feels like they are trying to find a good balance between keeping the gore-enthusiasts pleased, and keeping those less inclined to enjoy that type of thing in the cinema.

The pacing of the film is lightning quick. There's a little bit of set-up and character introductions early on, but once the action begins it never relents. The film is only 93 minutes admittedly, however it is over before you know it.

There's a new voice on the tapes this time around. At first it took me off-guard and I didn't quite know what to think of it. However by the end of the film it had grown on me a lot. It is very different to the one we had in the original series. I will be interested to hear what other people thought of it. I can see it being quite a polarising thing.

I won't get into the conclusion of the film (always a treat in the 'Saw/Spiral' universe), suffice to say it is quite different to how we are used to these films ending. I still think I need to go back and rewatch the final scene to fully understand certain character's motivations and what they were trying to achieve. The door has been left wide open for more sequels though so if this one is a success then prepare yourself for Spiral 2-8 in the coming years. I say bring them on.

Lets face it, the only reason you're going to see this movie is for the elaborate deaths and games. For that, I could recommend this movie, but only that. I mean the acting is bad and there are some very enjoyable moments between mostly forgettable characters but where this movie really falls apart is the story and execution of it.

If you watch enough movies of any genre you can start to see patterns when not so talented writers or filmmakers are behind the scenes because they use "tropes". I won't spoil it here but the way a particular character is introduced screams of predictability. And then about half way through the movie another moment happens for the same character and it also screams of predictability and the movie just flops it down by the end like it's supposed to be from out of nowhere.

This was such a slog to get through. Chris rock's acting was way over the top and he was not believable. In fact all of the acting was pretty awful. The story was nothing special. It's as though they didn't even try to create a decent story or characters with any depth. I can't forget the continuity errors that I caught while watching. They were so obvious and distracting. It is apparent to me that the film makers didn't care about making a quality film. I did like the moodiness and certain production values which is why I gave this a 3. Other than that, I do not recommend this film.