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    Movie Review

    Torture horror cycle gets a second spin with star-heavy Spiral

    Alex Bentley
    May 12, 2021 | 2:32 pm
    Torture horror cycle gets a second spin with star-heavy Spiral
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    The horror genre tends to run in cycles. The slasher movies of the ‘80s gave way to psychological thrillers in the ‘90s, which in turn led to multiple films utilizing “found footage” and then torture porn. That last one was especially prolific in the late 2000s, with six films in as many years coming from the Saw series.

    Even though 2010’s entry was named Saw: The Final Chapter (aka Saw 3D), we all know that nothing stays dead in the horror genre. The series returned with Jigsaw in 2017, and now it’s back in another form with Spiral, subtitled From the Book of Saw. This time around, it’s police who are being hunted by a possible copycat killer of Jigsaw, with Detective Zeke Banks (Chris Rock) leading the way trying to track the killer down.

    Zeke, however, has a lot of baggage attached to him. As a younger beat cop, he turned in his partner for killing a man without provocation, getting Zeke shunned by most of his fellow officers. He’s also the son of former police chief Marcus Banks (Samuel L. Jackson), and is now being paired with a detective-in-training, William Schenk (Max Minghella). Zeke’s history comes back to haunt him as it becomes clear that he and the killer are using vastly different methods to accomplish the same goal: Get rid of dirty cops.

    Directed by Saw veteran Darren Lynn Bousman and written by Jigsaw writers Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger, the film treads familiar ground while offering a little something new. While the specter of Jigsaw’s legacy looms over the entire film, it’s the first film in the series not to deal with him directly. Instead, the killer uses his tricks – the tape recordings, the pig head mask, and the diabolical torture devices – to emulate him in almost every way.

    The whole point of a Saw film is to make the audience as uncomfortable as possible, and the kill scenes certainly do the trick, with victims faced with impossible choices that lead to gruesome results. Ideally, those scenes would be the culmination of suspenseful sequences set in motion by solid storytelling. However, as has been the case throughout the series, the writers have no skill in setting their story up, forcing their actors to bumble their way through clunky, often laughable dialogue.

    The best they come to being clever is an early scene where Rock delivers a diatribe about Forrest Gump that calls to mind the pop culture riffs of Quentin Tarantino in the ‘90s. They also have Rock throw out a New Jack City reference at one point, which is somewhat funny since Rock was in that 1991 movie. However, having a character talk about 30-year-old movies only shows how the writers have failed to move forward in their storytelling abilities.

    Rock makes for a decent lead, but the emotional range of the character is a bit beyond his talents. Every time he’s called upon to be extra angry or upset, his believability factor goes down. Marcus’ coworkers are mostly one-note characters, so none of the actors stand out in any way. Minghella, known mostly for his roles in The Mindy Project or The Handmaid’s Tale, has a nice turn, though. And Jackson is typical Jackson, sprinkling in expletives like he invented them.

    Saw movies have always been for a certain kind of moviegoer and their willingness to endure the sight of torture for their entertainment. Spiral, like all the other films in the series, is not a pleasant experience, but if it succeeds at the box office, it could be the start of another cycle for the always-popular horror genre.

    ---

    Spiral opens in theaters on May 14.

    Chris Rock and Max Minghella in Spiral.

    Chris Rock and Max Minghella in Spiral
      
    Photo by Brooke Palmer
    Chris Rock and Max Minghella in Spiral.
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    Death of Dallas Caramel Company founder leads week's most-read stories

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    Jun 14, 2025 | 10:00 am
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    Editor's note: It was a newsy week in Dallas. Sadly, the founder of a Dallas sweets company passed away; there was also news of a new gourmet European market in the works and peach cobbler coming to DFW Airport. Here's a chance to get caught up on the week's most-read stories, and here's help planning a fun weekend.

    1. Dallas Caramel Company founder Rain McDermott dies at 52. Dallas entrepreneur Rain McDermott, who founded artisan caramel maker Dallas Caramel Company when she was only 34 years old, died after a battle with breast cancer; she was 52.

    2. Gourmet European Market to open in north Dallas with pierogi and more. A new food shop with a distinct European flair is coming to Dallas: Called Gourmet European Market, it's opening at 17435 Preston Rd., in a shopping center south of Frankford Road, where it will feature food products from all over Europe but with a special focus on the Eastern European countries of Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Israel, and Bulgaria.

    Gourmet European Market Polish gingerbreadPolish gingerbread at Gourmet European Market.Photo courtesy of GEM

    3. Chef and caterer opens Southern to-go cafe south of Dallas. A chef and caterer has opened an eponymous to-go cafe south of Dallas: Called The Cedric Frazier Experience, it’s an upscale soul food kitchen located at 103 Waller St., in Red Oak, where it opened on June 7.

    4. Dallas cuts slack on senior homeowners with new property tax exemption. Dallas seniors who own a home got cut a break: On June 11, the Dallas City Council approved additional property tax relief for senior and disabled homeowners by increasing the city’s property tax exemption for residents who are 65 or older or disabled.

    5. Peach cobbler concept to open 2 locations at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Southern desserts are coming to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): The Peach Cobbler Factory, a chain based in North Carolina, will open not one but two locations at the airport. The first DFW location will open in Terminal D in late 2025; a second location will open in the new Terminal C Pier in 2026.

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