Spiral (2019) is a movie I recently watched on Shudder (finally). The storyline focuses on two homosexual men who move to a small town where they are the only of their kind in the area. Some time ago another gay couple were murdered in that town and as one of the men start seeing strange things around him, it's hard to tell how much of the occurances are due to the town versus his own dark past. This movie is directed by Kurtis David Harder (Summerland) and stars Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (American Horror Story: 1984),Ari Cohen (IT) and Jennifer Laporte (Freaky Friday). The storyline for this picture is very unique with several solid twists and turns. There's definitely some questionable decisions by the characters involved, some of which are frustrating, but that's what makes these movies interesting. I will say seeing a horror movie from a unique perspective of someone gay was different and entertaining. The acting is very good in this as are the subtle horror elements. There aren't a ton of kills and scares in this, as this is more eerie than scary. This is one of those movies that is worth seeing once but probably has limited rewatch value. I'd score this a 6/10.
Spiral
2019
Action / Drama / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Spiral
2019
Action / Drama / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Keywords: gay theme
Plot summary
A same-sex couple move to a small town so they can enjoy a better quality of life and raise their 16 year-old daughter with the best social values. But nothing is as it seems in their picturesque neighborhood. And when Malik sees the folks next door throwing a very strange party, something shocking has got to give.
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This is one of those movies that is worth seeing once but probably has limited rewatch value.
It could be better...
"Spiral" is a Mystery - Horror movie in which we watch a same sex couple going to a small city in early 90's in order to have a better quality of life and raise their daughter. Some strange things start to happen and they start to feel uncomfortable there and their lives will change for ever.
I found this movie interesting due to its concept and plot but the interpretations and the direction were very poor. I did not like the direction of Kurtis David Harder because he did not succeed on giving us the main idea of the movie at the right time and he was a bit late. That had as a result, the audience not to have much time to evolve this idea and fully understand it. Regarding the interpretations, both Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman who played as Malik and Ari Cohen who played as Aaron did their best but was not enough for this movie. To sum up, I believe that "Spiral" is not a bad movie but not great too. It's just another horror movie that tried too much to be something more due to its plot and its twists but failed so, it's simply another horror movie to spend your time with and nothing more.
Discriminating or not?
If you think too politically correct, you may take issue with a premise that is set by the movie, that villages may have problems with same sex couples. But it would take the "fun" out of the movie (or rather the watching experience) for the viewer. Now the main characters move into a new neighbourhood and it seems quite lovely at first ... but of course that won't stay that way.
The sense of danger is there, but there is also a sense of maybe overreacting to certain things. Than again you never know what is going on or rather what certain people really think (and do). So there is a bit more to the movie than the initial surface is presenting and there is enough tension to hold through the whole movie - more than decent if you can dig it