It’s easy for some to cast aside the Saw franchise as a series of mindless horror movies but, in some of the earlier installments, deeper meanings lay beneath the carnage and mayhem. And it sounds like in Chris Rock’s latest Saw movie, Spiral, director Darren Lynn Bousman wants to harken back to what Saw has always been truly about.
Darren Lynn Bousman, of course, knows a thing or two about the Saw franchise. He’s directed several of the early sequels, including Saw II, III, and IV. After taking a bit of a hiatus from the franchise, he’s back to his old stomping grounds with Spiral. Bousman was recently asked if the film deals with any of “life’s biggest questions,” which brought him to what philosophy Spiral might come to grips with. Here’s what he had to say on the No-Praise From God podcast:
Chris Rock’s character is dealing with some baggage which I, and many others, will find themselves dealing with. Moreso in a relationship with father and son, with Samuel L. Jackson who plays his dad. We definitely get into stuff like that. And we definitely get into philosophies. I think of the things I love about the Saw franchise in general is the philosophies of what the killer is doing. If you go back and watch what Jigsaw is doing it's a philosophy. He’s trying to teach people to appreciate their life.
Jigsaw’s underlying motivations have long been what made his villain so unique and terrifying. While other horror villains may have razor-thin motivations, Jigsaw believes putting people into horrifying life and death torture devices is meant to help them appreciate their lives.
While the Saw franchise started out fairly modest, its sequels increasingly became more and more grisly until they became somewhat focused on one-upmanship and spectacle. But with Spiral, Chris Rock and Darren Lynn Bousman seem to want to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.
Ironically, a clean slate also seems to be what Chris Rock wants for his own career. Though he’s long been considered a comedian, he recently has been dabbling in drama with FX’s Fargo and hopes to continue that trend with Spiral, having served served as a producer as well. So if things go well with Spiral, no doubt you might be seeing more of Chris Rock in these kinds of roles and maybe even another installment in this franchise (if he survives this film).
In Spiral, Chris Rock plays Detective Zeke Banks, who gets caught up in a case of murders by a serial killer that is reminiscent of the city’s past. Eventually, his character finds himself right in the middle of the serial killer’s sick game.
Unfortunately for Saw fans, they’ll have to wait a little longer until they get to see Spiral. It’s currently expected to be released on May 21, 2021. For more movie news, be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
