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Spiral (2007)
And So It Ends…
Directed By: Adam Green & Joel David Moore
Starring: Joel David Moore, Zachary Levi, & Amber Tamblyn
MPAA Rating: “PG-13” (for disturbing behavior, violence, some partial nudity and language)
Starring: Joel David Moore, Zachary Levi, & Amber Tamblyn
MPAA Rating: “PG-13” (for disturbing behavior, violence, some partial nudity and language)
The first three-fourths of Spiral is a rather disturbing character study and the last act feels like a natural progression from what we already know. The film sets up an intriguing and shockingly dark mystery centered on a mysterious insurance salesman named Mason (Moore) who spends most of the time painting colorful portraits of beautiful women. We watch him stand outside of a diner, staring ominously at his latest subject as rain pours down across his face. He rarely speaks, suffers from severe asthma, and has only one friend: his manager, Berkeley (Levi). After he completes a series of paintings of a beautiful waitress, he needs a new subject: the overly-friendly and humorous Amber (Tamblyn). As their relationship grows, terrifying details of Mason’s “technique” are quickly revealed and put Amber in grave danger.
I believe that the less one knows about Spiral before watching it, the more they will enjoy it. I knew absolutely nothing, except that it came from the creative team that brought us the super-gory Hatchet and that it was supposed to be a profound departure of style and tone. Having not yet seen Hatchet, this did not mean all that much to me. It is hard for me to conceive how the filmmakers could have gone from a violently gory slasher flick to such a profound psychological character study, but it would seem that they have done so effectively. Here is a quiet, understated experiment, a film that rarely depicts outwardly horrific scenes...and yet it is perhaps one of the scariest films to come out in quite some time. We witness the world through the mind of a delusional man and it is truly disturbing.
Amber is a light source in a dark world, and we see her as an idealistic optimist. She falls in love with Mason, despite the fact that the relationship is, to say the least, one-sided. She talks and jokes; he stares eerily at nothing. Why does she love him? We are never sure...perhaps, in reality, Amber is just as sad as he is, but he cannot see that side of her. It becomes very clear that we probably are not seeing anything that is actually true. Instead, everything is as Mason believes it to be. At the end of the film, when his delusions are shattered, we know that no good can come after that point. The world, as we have come to know it, has changed and been darkened to an almost unbearable point. Suddenly, we are vastly disconnected from a maniacal Mason. He is no longer the silent, dorky insurance salesman we have grown to care about; he is scary, perhaps evil.
Spiral is not necessarily a horror movie, but it is far more effective than most of the stuff we consider horror. Joel David Moore...yes, the same one from the epic box-office disaster and Paris Hilton vehicle, The Hottie and the Nottie...gives a startling, unexpected, and deeply-affecting performance. He is a revelation here, perhaps giving the first career-defining film role in his life. Amber Tamblyn, a more established actress, took a risk by turning to such quirky, dark, and non-mainstream material. The girl who became a household name for playing a girl in traveling pants and for talking to God in a hit television show has naturally progressed to much more intense material and it works. We seem to know how Spiral will end, though we hope that we are wrong. There is a glimmer of hope, followed only by the miserable intensity that permeates the rest of film.
I believe that the less one knows about Spiral before watching it, the more they will enjoy it. I knew absolutely nothing, except that it came from the creative team that brought us the super-gory Hatchet and that it was supposed to be a profound departure of style and tone. Having not yet seen Hatchet, this did not mean all that much to me. It is hard for me to conceive how the filmmakers could have gone from a violently gory slasher flick to such a profound psychological character study, but it would seem that they have done so effectively. Here is a quiet, understated experiment, a film that rarely depicts outwardly horrific scenes...and yet it is perhaps one of the scariest films to come out in quite some time. We witness the world through the mind of a delusional man and it is truly disturbing.
Amber is a light source in a dark world, and we see her as an idealistic optimist. She falls in love with Mason, despite the fact that the relationship is, to say the least, one-sided. She talks and jokes; he stares eerily at nothing. Why does she love him? We are never sure...perhaps, in reality, Amber is just as sad as he is, but he cannot see that side of her. It becomes very clear that we probably are not seeing anything that is actually true. Instead, everything is as Mason believes it to be. At the end of the film, when his delusions are shattered, we know that no good can come after that point. The world, as we have come to know it, has changed and been darkened to an almost unbearable point. Suddenly, we are vastly disconnected from a maniacal Mason. He is no longer the silent, dorky insurance salesman we have grown to care about; he is scary, perhaps evil.
Spiral is not necessarily a horror movie, but it is far more effective than most of the stuff we consider horror. Joel David Moore...yes, the same one from the epic box-office disaster and Paris Hilton vehicle, The Hottie and the Nottie...gives a startling, unexpected, and deeply-affecting performance. He is a revelation here, perhaps giving the first career-defining film role in his life. Amber Tamblyn, a more established actress, took a risk by turning to such quirky, dark, and non-mainstream material. The girl who became a household name for playing a girl in traveling pants and for talking to God in a hit television show has naturally progressed to much more intense material and it works. We seem to know how Spiral will end, though we hope that we are wrong. There is a glimmer of hope, followed only by the miserable intensity that permeates the rest of film.
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