Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | Final Verdict
The Story:
Spiral (2019) is a horror movie about a gay couple, Malik and Aaron, who move into a suburban neighborhood with their daughter. When strange things start happening, Malik begins to question their neighbors’ intentions.
On December 12, 1983, a teenage Malik (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman) and his boyfriend are attacked while kissing in their car in an empty parking lot. Malik’s boyfriend is dragged out of the car and beaten severely while Malik watches.
Move ahead to November 7, 1995. Malik, his partner, Aaron (Ari Cohen), and their daughter Kayla (Jennifer Laporte) move into an upper-class suburban neighborhood. Aaron soon becomes friends with the neighbors. Malik, who isn’t the most trusting person, assumes the neighbors aren’t as friendly as they appear.
Late one night, Malik looks out the window and sees that the house behind them is full of people with their hands clasped and raised as they slowly sway. One of them stands in the window and looks directly at Malik, who quickly moves out of sight and turns off the lights.
Soon Malik is waking up at night, hearing strange sounds, and seeing the neighbors watching their house. Do the neighbors belong to a cult, and what do they want with Malik and his family?
Some Thoughts:
Spiral works as a psychological horror. The story is told through Malik’s eyes, who has a disturbing past and a mistrust of straight people. He’s also not upfront with Aaron when strange things begin to happen. When Malik comes home to find a gay slur painted on the wall, he doesn’t call the police or tell Aaron. He simply paints the wall and has a security system installed. I found this a bit unusual and odd but went with it.
Malik’s secretive nature seems to be attached to the emotional trauma he still carries from the gay bashing back in 1983. Also, Malik’s lack of trust is a bit of an issue he and Aaron have been dealing with in their relationship. It’s an easy explanation for why Malik doesn’t tell Aaron everything, which I didn’t fully buy.
Spiral does a good job showing Malik gradually loose his sense of reality, making the viewer question what’s real. After all, as strange things begin to happen, Malik seems to be the only person to notice them. Are the neighbors in some weird cult targeting Malik and his family or is this all in his head? And this is a question that goes unanswered until the chilling conclusion.
Director Kurtis David Harder does a good job with pacing, blurring reality, and keeping everything cohesive. The installation of the security system was a bit unbelievable, especially since Aaron doesn’t know about it until it gets triggered. It’s not enough to ruin the movie, but it did take me out of the story.
The acting and cinematography are serviceable. I doubt that anybody is going to watch Spiral for amazing visuals or acting, so it does deliver what’s expected. There’s some decent suspense and the typical horror moments.
Final Verdict:
Spiral may not be a perfect movie, but it delivers some decent chills and suspense. Not all your questions will be answered, but horror doesn’t need to tie up every loose end. If you’re looking for a horror movie that makes the viewer uncomfortable instead of using cheap jump scares, Spiral should fit the bill.
