3 out of 5

Director: Adam Green

An interesting step for Adam Green, director of Hatchet. Spiral, as with Hatchet, and Frozen, features something that is a rather strange pattern for Mr. Green: writing very realistic characters that, for some reason, dont inspire sympathy. That is not to say that you arent interested – in the life of Mason, lonerish artistic type with asthma who seems to harbor incredibly obsessive feelings toward women – its just that you arent really invested in the character(s), so that when things do happen, you watch somewhat passively. And less so than in the other two movies mentioned, the going-ons arent as interesting. This is cookie-cutter thriller, with great atmosphere and good character design, but expected twists and double-twists. Perhaps in a world where weve seen these plots before does it come across as staid, but that being said, there are ways to make old plots more stirring, and this doesnt quite get there. So: despite some absence of involvement for the audience, Spiral looks great and sounds great, and works as a stepping-stone film for the director to work out kinks on the way to something awesome.