Movie Reviews

‘Spiral: From The Book Of Saw’ 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – A New Take On The Franchise With The Same Twisted Kills

By Dillon Gonzales
July 18, 2021
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A criminal mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in Spiral, the terrifying new chapter from the book of Saw. Working in the shadow of his father, an esteemed police veteran (Samuel L. Jackson), brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner (Max Minghella) take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.

For in-depth thoughts on Spiral: From The Book Of Saw, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Spiral: From The Book Of Saw makes the most of its 4K 2160p presentation in 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc. This presentation especially shows its worth with black levels that are incredibly deep and detailed with digital noise mostly absent from the screen. The 4K presentation provides a depth of field that just cannot be replicated as well with the accompanying Blu-Ray. Brighter scenes like those of the detectives driving around the city wow with an intense clarity and a strong handle of white levels that show no evidence of blooming. Skin tones look very realistic throughout and show a great amount of facial detail. Color highlights are another area of substantial improvement in comparison to the Blu-Ray. Colors look more natural in this presentation with multiple instances of vibrant purples, greens and other hues rendering quite beautifully. Overall, this is an excellent 4K UHD presentation that offers a noticeable uptick in clarity and depth. It is as close to perfection as this film can possibly achieve.

Audio Quality

This disc comes equipped with an incredibly effective Dolby Atmos presentation that fully immerses you in this world. There are elements in this track that are truly unnerving, such as the sounds of the traps fulfilling their purpose (glass shards blown into skin, anyone?). Sounds are appropriately rendered with precise directionality from the more kinetic scenes to the quieter dialogue-driven scenes filled with subtle ambiance. The score from Charlie Clouser brings to life a truly chilling soundscape that amps up the creepy factor. Dialogue is presented perfectly clear without ever being overwhelmed by any of the competing sonic elements. The low end is engaged well at multiple points throughout the film including death scenes and some music pulsating through the room. The sound design of this film is quite intense, and the implementation of environmental sounds are executed very effectively. The mix here is very well done with nice engagement of all the channels, which makes this track more than satisfactory for fans of the film.

Special Features

Audio Commentary #1: Director Darren Lynn Bousman, Co-Screenwriter Josh Stolberg and Composer Charlie Clouser provide some entertaining scene-specific commentary along with some general insights about why they wanted to return to the franchise, what they wanted to say with this new chapter, building on music from the previous films while bringing new elements into play and much more. The trio have a nice rapport that makes this one an enjoyable listen.

Audio Commentary #2: Producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg provide a relatively more reserved commentary track in which they discuss bringing this franchise back to life, working with performers in individual scenes and more. There is a lot of time where these two are just watching the movie play out with not much to add. If you are going to just listen to one track, stick with the other one.

The Consequences Of Your Actions – Creating Spiral: A five-part 59-minute making-of documentary that provides a nice overview of the franchise and resurrecting it for the current times. The piece begins with discussions about the legacy of the original seven films, abandoned scripts before Spiral, the initial idea from Chris Rock and more before moving on to the new blood in the franchise, the directorial hand, the new traps and various other pieces that had to come together to make the film a reality.

Drawing Inspiration – Illustrated Trap Breakdowns: A 9-minute piece in which Darren Lynn Bousman takes you on a tour through some of the various traps in the film.

Decoding The Marketing Spiral: A 6-minute look at the marketing of the franchise over the years that could be very gruesome but memorable.

Trailers: The disc includes the Teaser Trailer (1:43) and Theatrical Trailer (2:26) for Spiral.

Final Thoughts

Spiral: From The Book Of Saw attempts to bring a new reason for existing to this franchise, and what is able to achieve is something of a mixed bag. The social commentary they are trying to bring to the franchise is admirable, but sometimes it feels like the story is lacking a compelling mystery to go along with this message. The performances are quite strong and the pacing is delightfully unrelenting. Fans should mostly appreciate the return to this world save for a few creative shortcomings. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has provided a 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a flawless A/V presentation and an excellent assortment of special features. There is no reason for longtime fans not to add this one to your collection. Recommended

Spiral: From The Book Of Saw will be available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-ray, Blu-Ray and DVD on July 20, 2021. The film is currently available on Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.