When thinking of films to cover for June, one jumped to the top of my list. Over the past few years, I had heard murmurs of the twisty, cult-based Spiral. People whose opinions on film I respect had mixed things to say; some loved it, some hated it. Would Spiral be the second film called Spiral that I didn’t like? Or would its overt paranoia and well-crafted psychological narrative make Spiral an underdog hit?
Malik and Aaron’s Suburban Nightmare in Spiral
Spiral follows Malik (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman) and Aaron (Ari Cohen), a couple who move to the suburbs with Aaron’s daughter Kayla (June Laporte) in hopes of a quieter life. Malik is followed by tragedy and trauma that rears its ugly head at the most inopportune times. Their neighbors, Marshal (Lochlyn Munro) and Tiffany (Chandra West), seem like well-intentioned allies but looks can be deceiving.
One night, Malik sees Marshall, Tiffany, and other neighbors doing odd, cult-like dancing in their living room…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. But is everything in Malik’s head stemming from a lifetime of trauma?
Or will their lives be turned upside down and irreparably destroyed?
How Spiral Compares to Kurtis David Harder’s Influencer
Influencer co-writer/director Kurtis David Harder takes on a directorial role for his sophomore film. Spiral feels more tonally similar to Influencer than it does to his other films (referring to In Control, I have not seen Cody Fritz). Conceptually, Spiral should work on all fronts.
The Colin Minihan and John Poliquin penned script is full of perfectly paced twists and, storywise, flows very naturally. If anything, Spiral feels more like a first attempt at the style and atmosphere Harder would use with success in Influencer.
Spiral works as an idea, an exploration of a gay couple in suburban anywhere. It’s a unique examination of the faux threats felt by heterosexual couples and looks at it with a very privileged lens. Spiral falls apart due to Harder and cinematographer Bradley Stuckel’s inability to effectively convey the script’s themes. That’s not to say they did a bad job, but I often found myself questioning certain visual motives.
Standout Performances in Spiral
Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and June Laporte must have broken their backs with how much they carry this film. Canada’s Lochlyn Munro does what he does best in films like this: read his lines. For the Scary Movie and Freddy vs. Jason alumn, Spiral feels little more than a paycheck. However, Bowyer-Chapman gives 110% as his life descends into madness.
His performance single-handedly pushes the film forward. It’s just the ultimate shame that his warranted, and unwarranted, mania is hindered by lackluster direction and visual storytelling.
Like another film I will be covering in June, Spiral feels like a valiant attempt to tell a unique story of allyship through a skewed lens. But it inevitably fails to have enough oomph to get itself across the finish line. It’s far from an awful film, and many moments made it a well-told tale.
I just wish it felt like there was a more concentrated effort to tell a visually engaging story rather than just an interesting story.
