Spiral - 3/5

I was definitely hoping for more from "Spiral". It was impressive to see the range of films that Adam Green could pull off (the reason I got this was it was from the director of "Hatchet" one of the best off beat Horror films I've seen in a while) and he does so with some pretty stylistic charm that makes him a director I will continue to follow in the future.

Unfortunately, the story wasn't has 'thrilling' or 'mysterious' as I thought it would be. There is a few Hitchcockian moments, I thought multiple times through the film that it would have been better in black and white, but overall it just didn't have the edge that it could have. The twist at the end was rather predictable and not all the twisty, but getting there had some great moments.

I was also rather impressed with Joel Moore in particular. All of the actors did far better than I had expected and even the best friend/boss guy had some great subtle moments particularly towards the end, but Moore impressed me. His awkward and social irrelevance made you really feel for him so that by the end when he was breaking down it was somewhat of a crisis for the viewer too.

I'm not going to go too in depth on the film as it is a mystery film and I don't want to spoil it. I will say that this isn't going to be for everyone. It's very slow moving with lots of character building through what would be seen as idle conversation (part of the Hitchcockian vibe I got) but it works in the end. The jazz music choices were wonderful and added a very cool layer to the film that many viewers might overlook. It's a nice touch.

I just wish that this film had a little more of a unique ending. It really was somewhat anticlimactic and easily guessed. Otherwise the film was a pleasant surprise and recommended for at least one viewing. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider