Chris Rock's Chilling, Overlooked 2021 Horror Movie Is Streaming On Netflix

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Chris Rock is known primarily for his work as one of our finest comedians and comedic actors. He's owned that place in popular culture for decades now. But that doesn't mean he never steps outside of his comfort zone. To that end, in 2021, he ventured into one of horror's biggest franchises, leading a twisted, chilling horror movie in a rather unexpected turn for Rock as a performer.

The movie in question is "Spiral: From the Book of Saw," which is now streaming on Netflix. It was a chance encounter that landed Rock a role in "Spiral," the ninth movie in the "Saw" franchise. Lionsgate and director Darren Lynn Bousman, who had helmed several earlier entries in the series, were attempting to take the franchise in a new direction. The result was overlooked by many fans at the time, but a few years removed, it's worth circling back to.

It centers on a brash Detective named Zeke Banks (Chris Rock) who is living in the shadow of his esteemed, veteran police father, Marcus (Samuel L. Jackson). Zeke and his rookie partner William (Max Minghella) are investigating a grisly series of murders that are eerily reminiscent of the ones perpetrated by Jigsaw years earlier. Zeke soon finds himself at the center of the new killer's twisted game.

The original "Saw" was a gory smash hit that gave rise to one of horror's biggest franchises. The sequels that followed were all tremendously successful, even if critics were rarely behind them. Unfortunately, "Spiral" was by far the lowest-grossing entry in the series, taking in $40 million globally. However, the box office was still firmly in recovery mode in 2021 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Spiral" is a swing and a miss by "Saw" franchise standards, at least commercially speaking. That led to Tobin Bell's return as John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, in 2023's "Saw X," originally intended as "Saw 9." However, once it came to light that Chris Rock was interested in making a "Saw" movie, plans shifted around him. He had the idea to riff on the classic "48 Hrs.," but do it against the backdrop of "Saw."

"We wanted to lean into the '48 Hrs.' aesthetic a little bit," director Darren Lynn Bousman said in an interview with /Film of "Spiral" in 2021. "But I've kind of come to this realization over the past couple of days: 'Spiral' is three different movies. It's '48 Hrs.,' it's 'Seven,' and then it becomes 'Saw' at the very end."

The problem with a franchise like this is that audiences have a certain expectation. Even though John Kramer died canonically at the end of "Saw III," the producers kept having to find a way to bring him back. It got increasingly wacky. Bousman and Rock, rather respectably, tried to find a new path forward for the series beyond Jigsaw. Without getting into spoilers for those who haven't seen it, they find a pretty interesting way of going about that.

While "Spiral" may have flown in the face of expectations, it has a lot to offer fans who go into it knowing what to expect. Especially since Blumhouse now has the rights to the franchise after "Saw 11" was canceled. We're getting more "Saw," so why not try to enjoy the one big outlier in the franchise?

You can also grab "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD on Amazon.