In what must surely be the most unsurprising (but no less reassuring) news of the day, Lionsgate’s Spiral: From The Book of Saw has officially been rated R for “sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, pervasive language, some sexual references, and brief drug use.” Shock, horror!
Truth be told, the first-look teaser for Spiral, which is coming to us by way of Saw II producer Darren Lynn Bousman, opened up a brand new chapter in the Saw legacy, one in which Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson will be forced to follow a paper trail which may or may not lead to the dreaded Jigsaw.
So, in that respect, the presence of Rock and Jackson hints at a very different Saw movie, though longtime fans of the horror franchise needn’t worry about an identity crisis, as today’s announcement of a hard R rating for Spiral all but confirms the inclusion of toe-curling death traps.
Story-wise, we understand Chris Rock is due to take charge as brash Detective Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Banks who, together with his rookie partner (Max Minghella of The Handmaid’s Tale), uncovers a string of brutal murders which evoke memories of the city’s troubled past. Dark, nightmarish memories of twisted traps and a demented killer named John Kramer – otherwise known as the ghostly Jigsaw.
Chris Rock is the brains behind the film’s premise, though it was Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger who put pen to paper on Spiral‘s screenplay. It’ll be the first Saw movie since *checks calendar* 2017, when Michael and Peter Spierig delivered an overly disappointing reboot in Jigsaw. However, this time around, a whole new game is afoot.
Spiral: From The Book of Saw unlocks a new mystery (and a whole new can of worms) on May 15th.