Let’s give credit where credit is due: Darren Lynn Bousman’s “Spiral: From the Book of Saw” avoids the obvious deathtrap of wallowing in nostalgia for the blockbuster “Saw” franchise, which produced seven hit movies in its first seven years but only one other sequel in the last decade.
Instead, “Spiral” wallows in nostalgia for the crime thrillers of the 1990s, stuffing itself to the gills with distracting references to “Pulp Fiction” and constantly evoking not-altogether-unpleasant memories of films like “Se7en,” “Copycat” and “The Bone Collector.”
Whereas the previous “Saw” films swapped perspectives constantly between multiple timelines, protagonists and villains, in “Spiral” the focus stays squarely on its stalwart protagonist, Det.