“Spiral” Teaser Proves the “Saw” Franchise Isn’t Done Yet

The subtitle on the poster for Spiral reads "From the Book of Saw." But it's clear from this first trailer that it's taking a page from David Fincher's Seven as well.

Chris Rock stars and serves as executive producer in this spin-off (or sequel or prequel; it's not clear yet) as a detective investigating a string of cop murders. All the crime scenes are emblazoned with a red spiral. It may have something to do with Samuel L. Jackson's character, who ominously inquires, "You wanna play games, motherfucker?"

In the trailer's teasing final shot, Rock is chained to a pipe, with only a rusty saw to free himself, reminiscent of the original Saw film. There's no telling who will make it out of the film alive, but it for sure won't be Max Minghella, who plays Rock's partner and talks a lot about his wife and kid. He is definitely going to die.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.