There is a person like Mason (Joel David Moore) at every job.  He (or she) is the quiet one, the one that doesn’t seem to click the rest of the staff.  His only friend is his boss Berkley (Zachary Levi,) and even that friendship is more out of sympathy for Mason rather than true friendship.  However, when a new co-worker (Amber Tamblyn) starts to fancy the shy and awkward Mason, secrets from Mason’s pass begin to surface.

CRITIQUE

There are many films that attempt to outdo Hitchcock.  Some are more successful at channelling the spirit of Hitchcock than others, but none every truly capture that thing that made Hitchcock movies the creepy and tense classics that they are.  Spiral tries to channel Hitchcock (and a bit of Poe,) but never seems to hit the right notes.  It’s a psychological thriller that doesn’t really attempt to play with your mind.

There is a wonderfully eerie film hidden in Spiral.  But the script, penned by Jeremy Danial Boreing and Joel David Moore, is far to thin for its own good. Moore’s Mason is a wonderfully broken character, at least potentially. Sadly, there is a lack of character development that would have made him a more sympathetic protagonist, rather than just the “weird guy” that the film is about.

Moore is very good at playing these strange characters, and it’s a shame that Mason is, in the end, not as well-rounded and as interesting as he could be.  Both Zachary Levi and Amber Tamblyn are good, but have very little to do.  Much more could have been made about Berkley’s relationship with Mason than what is hinted of in the film.  Is Berkley just being a friend to Mason out of a sense of duty, or is Berkley protecting Mason from the world (or the world from Mason?) 

Is Spiral worth checking out? Yes. There are things about it that are salvageable (as I said, there is a good film in there.) It’s well directed (by Moore and Hatchet’s Adam Green) and acted.  The story is coherent and is paced perfectly. Even the twist (as predicable as it is) is pretty good.  As thrillers go, you can do far worse than this.

THE VIDEO

Spiral is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and it looks fine.  There is nothing special to mention in regards to the transfer.

THE AUDIO

Spiral is presented in both 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Surround. Both mixes are good but nothing special to speak of.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentary: A nice little track that has a decent amount of information about the making of the film. Participants include Directors Adam Green and Joel David Moore, Writer Jeremy Denials Boreing, Director of Photography Will Barratt, and Actors Amber Tamblyn and Zachary Levi.

Spinning Spiral: The Making of Spiral: Just behind the scenes footage from the shoot.

Cinefile Promos: 3 short behind the scenes promo bits. Nothing special.

FINAL THOUGHT

Spiral’s a rental flick. If you dig it after the rental, then add to your film library.