It’s the opening night for Spiral: From the Book of Saw, the first spinoff movie in the long-running Saw horror movie franchise. While it’s not a direct sequel to the eight films that preceded it, Spiral takes place in the same universe that they do. I’m currently re-watching all of the entries in the Saw series, with Saw IV being my most recent retrospective. So, naturally, I had to see Spiral tonight, and I’m glad I did. Does this spinoff live up to my expectations? Read on to find out.
Saw III is the greatest sequel in the Saw franchise and one of the most inspired and well executed horror films I’ve ever seen. Just one year later, in 2007, Saw IV was unleashed upon the world, and it had big shoes to fill. Once again, Darren Lynn Bousman was the director. However, there was a new writing team on board, and they were faced with the massive challenge of continuing and expanding on the intricately woven stories of the original Saw trilogy, which felt like a collective unit. Did the team succeed in making a worthy successor in Saw IV? Read on for my spoiler-filled thoughts.
If you haven’t already read them, make sure to check out my retrospective pieces on Saw and Saw II. Today, I’m going to revisit Saw III. The story of Saw II was repurposed from a script by director Darren Lynn Bousman entitled The Desperate. It wound up being a fantastic sequel that features the most unnerving trap in the entire franchise — at least for me — in the form of a pit of needles. For Saw III, Bousman is back in the director’s chair. However, this time, Leigh Whannell, one of the original creators of Saw, has returned to write the screenplay. What follows is a spoiler-filled review of the movie. Make sure to read this after watching the film.
Saw II is an excellent but brutal movie. It sets the formula for the sequels that follow, and it dials up the gruesome horror from the first film to an extremely high level. Behind the camera is Darren Lynn Bousman, the same man who is directing the new Saw movie, Spiral. Let’s dive into my thoughts on Saw II.
I bought a ticket to see the movie Spiral: From the Book of Saw on opening night this Thursday. I’m a longtime fan of the Saw series, which is one of the highest grossing horror movie franchises of all time, bringing in more than a half-a-billion dollars across eight films, starting with the original 2004 classic. The new movie, Spiral, is not a direct sequel to the previous eight movies. Rather, it’s a spinoff — a standalone movie that lives in the Saw universe that blazes a new trail all its own. Of course, if it’s successful, Spiral could launch its own series of films, extending the Saw legend even further. On Twitter, the official Saw account is doing a movie marathon and live tweeting about it over the next few days. I’m doing a marathon of my own, re-watching all of the Saw movies. Today, I watched the original Saw. Let’s dive in and take a look at what made this movie so special.
Last Saturday I attended Monster-Mania. This biannual event features notable actors and actresses from the horror, action, comedy, and science fiction genres, as well as professional wrestlers. For the thousands that attend, this is an opportunity to meet their idols, get autographs, participate in photo-ops, watch Q&A panels, browse through aisles of cool merchandise, and enjoy hours upon hours of movies.
I recently watched The Cabin in the Woods for the first time and, overall, it was enjoyable. When it came out in 2012, I remember hearing a lot of hype around it being a top-notch horror film, and it was marketed as “the Inception of horror.” Let me set something straight: This film wasn’t nearly as intricate as Inception, and, in some ways, that’s a good thing.
Being a horror-movie buff, I assumed that a film about a bunch of kids in the woods would be a straight-up slasher in the style of Friday the 13th. Thankfully, I was wrong. While there was plenty of blood and guts spilled in and around the cabin, the plot was deeper than that. Similar to The Hunger Games, it involved an organization controlling the action. What is this organization? And what is its purpose? These questions were answered towards the end of the film.
To me, the greatest horror film of all time was Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. This film doesn’t even come close to that. As a matter of fact, I don’t even think it’s more compelling or clever than the original Saw. But it is entertaining and it tried to do something different. The acting was a mixed bag, but some terrific thespians made up the supporting cast, one of which blew my mind when she appeared on the screen at the end.
If you like horror films, check this out. Just don’t expect it to be the next Halloween – no, not Rob Zombie’s Halloween – or Hellraiser.
Official Synopsis
Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen. If you think you know this story, think again. From fan favorites Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard comes The Cabin in the Woods, a mind blowing horror film that turns the genre inside out.
