Spiral: Bousman Says David Fincher’s Seven Influenced the Saw Reboot

January 21, 2021

In a recent interview with Empire, Saw director Darren Lynn Bousman has opened up about the process of making Lionsgate’s horror reboot Spiral: From the Book of Saw. He revealed that David Fincher’s 1995 crime thriller Seven was one of the main inspirations that they’ve had when they were first conceptualizing the upcoming reboot.

“Chris came in with a thriller concept,” Bousman said. “He pitched this very elaborate, dense idea. We wanted it to feel much more like Seven. But it has so many ties to the mythos of Saw.”

He also confirmed that unlike previous Saw installments, Spiral will feature toned down gore and violence in order to highlight the film’s story and character. “Gore and violence was the gimmick, I think. Gore and violence is no longer a gimmick – it just serves the story. This is much more about character, tension and fear.”

This particular installment of the long-running horror franchise comes from a story by Chris Rock, who will co-star with Samuel L. Jackson. Rock plays a police detective investigating a series of grizzly crimes, with Jackson playing his father. They’re joined in the film by Max Minghella who plays William Schenk, Rock’s partner and Marisol Nichols as Capt. Angie Garza, Rock’s boss.

You can pick up your copy of the original Saw here.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw will offer fans worldwide a new amped up level of deviously treacherous traps, clever clues and the edge-of-the-seat suspense they expect from the one of the world’s most terrifying horror franchises.

The film will be produced by longtime Saw producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules – who are back once again to shepherd this re-imagining, which will be directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who helmed three of the most successful films in the Saw franchise. The screenplay is based on a story conceived by Rock and written by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg (Jigsaw). The film will be executive produced by Chris Rock, long-time Saw executive producer Daniel Heffner and the original creators of Saw, James Wan and Leigh Whannell.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw is due in theaters on May 15.