To think that the games were ever over, was certainly a mistake. With a turn of events, Chris Rock has provided us with a Saw continuation. Some fans are excited, other fans are skeptical, some both. The franchise in the past has been controversial due to the constant change in writers and directors after Saw III, so the plot itself became questionable.
Darren Lynn Bousman— director of Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV — admitted to having no intentions of returning to the franchise. However, the script was sent to him anyways and as he was informed of Chris Rock’s involvement, he ultimately changed his mind.
Bousman told NME what to expect: “…But this movie is so unique and so different than what I think people expect and are ready for. That’s what made it so exciting to get back to the franchise. I read the script and I thought, ‘Holy shit! This is actually really good.’ It didn’t feel like a sequel at all. It feels like a Saw movie and it has some very Saw elements in it but it’s definitely its own unique thing.”
Hearing this from someone who had not even thought about returning to the franchise in general, brings me to have curiously high expectations for Spiral. Bousman isn’t the only one shocked.
The writer of Saw — actor and director Leigh Whannell — ran into Chris Rock at a party where they had an awkward exchange at first. That is until Rock’s agent told him who Whannell was, then he engaged about how he really wanted to write a Saw movie.
Whannell did not take it that he was being serious, but after the release of the Spiral trailer, he was taken aback (just as Bousman and everyone else was as well). With that said, I would like to present some ideas that may or may not be expected to be answered.
I personally have recently re-watched the entire franchise during the span of almost three months. There’s many plot holes, gaps, and timeline confusion in each of the eight movies.
While Spiral is a continuation, by keeping the reminisce of Jigsaw’s past reign in this city, it does not feel like a sequel as Bousman said. Unfortunately, this also includes Jigsaw (2017) in the timeline.
The flaws in that movie are unbelievable. Bringing in another so-called apprentice of Jigsaw is too late in the game — no pun intended. The writers didn’t have to be so far fetched, then again they did not write any of the films from 2004-2010.
In production of Jigsaw, everyone was trying to go for Saw but not Saw, which does not make sense, hence why a lot of fans do not like to think about the movie. Interestingly, the screenwriters for Jigsaw helped with Spiral.
While I did not like Jigsaw for straying away from what the Saw signature is, there were few things I did like. So, I’ll give them that on their part and hope that they worked well in the making of Spiral.
As I mentioned earlier, the franchise itself was controversial. Not only did it have to do with the constant change in the screenplay writers and directors, but with the writing itself. John Kramer (aka Jigsaw) is a horror icon that made an impression in the history of antagonists of the horror genre.
Not only was he a mastermind, but his presence was always there even after he was killed off in Saw III. Which was impressive, however, rather too perfect.
Kramer once said, “I anticipate the possibilities and let the game play out.” In which Mark Hoffman, homicide detective and apprentice of Jigsaw remarked, “That leaves a lot to chance.” Kramer responded, “If you’re good at anticipating the human mind…it leaves nothing to chance.” (Saw V).
Jigsaw makes a valid point adding onto his mantra as antagonist, but it’s hard to believe everything played out perfectly, even after his death, because of his mastermind skills.
With Bousman saying Spiral isn’t going to be what we expect, perhaps Jigsaw will not be haunting us anymore. There could be the possibility of someone new that is not associated with Jigsaw at all, or at least it is what we hope, as theorized by others.
That brings up the cliffhanger in Saw VII where Hoffman was left chained in the original bathroom trap to die. As fans, we know that no one is considered officially dead until the body is shown. That is how all deaths were confirmed in the franchise, never by speculation or implication.
There could be the possibility of bringing Hoffman back to going after the police. However, with Rock bringing something unexpectedly different, it is highly unlikely that Hoffman would ever be brought up in the future Spiral trilogy. It’s probably for the best, considering many fans did not like the Hoffman plot.
Moreover, it is interesting that in Spiral it will be based on going after cops. In Saw VII, it was also technically about cops as well, but the focus was not targeting them.
The focus was Hoffman showcasing his own mastermind skills, seemingly taking notes on the conversation between him and Jigsaw in the flashback in Saw V, by conjuring an entire scheme.
This scheme is where he kills everyone in his way; basically killing off the entire cast just to get to one character he is solely determined to kill. With bad writing on the screenwriter’s end, it’s understandable not many fans want to see anymore of Hoffman.
Nonetheless, I hope you are looking forward to Rock’s Spiral: From the Book of Saw, which was originally releasing May 15, 2020 but has been moved to May 21, 2021.
A Saw movie with Chris Rock AND Samuel L. Jackson? It must be good. It is one of the biggest shocks to me for a reboot since the Halloween (2018) reboot.
Do you have any theories for Spiral? Any expectations? If you would like to discuss Saw or horror movies in general, feel free to find me on Instagram, Twitter, or Tumblr.