Mason (Joel David Moore) is an asthmatic telemarketer by day and an artist with an affinity for Jazz by night. He's also painfully shy around girls. That being said, it comes as no surprise that he's less than social when he meets Amber (Amber Tamblyn). Eventually, he starts to open up to Amber by painting a series of portraits of her. Naturally, mutual love blossoms between the two, but a disturbing revelation could literally tear them apart.
Adam Green and Joel David Moore, who previously worked together on the oft-misunderstood Hatchet, re-team on Spiral, with Moore this time sharing the director's chair with Green.
Moore, much like he did in Hatchet, turns in a phenomenal performance. However here, instead of portraying a head-strong hero, he takes on the role of a pitiful and sometimes annoyingly hopeless romantic. Moore really plays up the sympathy angle; you genuinely feel sorry for Mason and you really want things to work out for him. I especially took a liking to the character because I can relate to him in a couple of ways. Like Mason, I moonlight as an artist. I also have severe asthma, which is a major part of Mason's life as well. The scenes in which Mason goes into wheezing fits are painfully realistic and really got to me.
Amber Tamblyn is very lovable, to say the least, as Amber. From the very moment you're introduced to her, you want to fall in love with her. Her cute smile, witty demeanor, and often failed attempts to make Mason laugh only make you fall for her even more. Although, Mason doesn't exactly take to her at first, the two instantly have a chemistry together. Tamblyn does a better job of showing concern for Mason, and an even better job of letting you know when she's scared. Because you become so invested in the character, when things take a turn for the worse, we're right there cowering in fear with her.
Zachary Levi is really good as the lovable asshole Berkeley, Mason's best and only friend. He does an amazing job of selling the fact that he really doesn't 'get' Mason, but cares for him regardless. In many ways, Berkeley is the anti-Mason. He has no trouble getting women and isn't shy around them. He seemingly wants Mason to live vicariously through him, but Mason will have none of it. Even though Berkeley rubs you the wrong way at times, Levi plays him in such a way where you can't help but feel sorry for him when everything falls apart.
Green and Moore abandon the slasher mentality of Hatchet for a more psychological approach. Spiral trades in the gore, tits, and humor for pure, raw emotion. To put it simply, if Hitchcock were alive today, this would be the film he'd make, in my opinion.
The film is told through sporadic cuts and odd, invasive close-ups which sometimes give it a claustrophobic feel. No shot is wasted. We're never shown anything that doesn't serve to further the story. Literally every frame of film is put to use. It is, to me. like a mixture of Hitchcock, Lynch, and even Kubrick.
Spiral is a bright spot in very dim times and offers many things the films of today are lacking; for one, a soul.
Directed By: Adam Green & Joel David Moore
Starring: Joel David Moore, Amber Tamblyn, Zachary Levi
Released By: Anchor Bay
Special Features:
- Audio commentary with director Adam Green, writer-producer-director-actor Joel David Moore, writer-producer Jeremy Danial Boreing, director of photography Will Barratt, and actors Amber Tamblyn and Zachary Levi.
- Spinning Spiral: The Making of Spiral
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