History Film / Spiral2021

** Zeke telling [[spoiler:Schenk]] to stay quiet after Pete shoots his father directly leads to [[spoiler:Schenk killing his own father years later.]]

** Angie, despite [[spoiler:being guilty of covering up corruption]] and being upset with Zeke's maverick tendencies, genuinely cares about him and is a BenevolentBoss underneath it all. And finally, Zeke's father was an unpleasant KnightTemplar who actively fostered the toxic police culture that the killer seeks to dismantle, but genuinely loved his son.

* TakeAThirdOption: Subverted. [[spoiler: Zeke attempts to take one of these in the final game, using the bullet to save his father, and then trying to arrest Schenk by force anyway. Instead of focusing on checking if there was another trap keeping his father in harm's way, he gets distracted by Schenk, leading to the SWAT team killing his father and Schenk getting away regardless.]]

** A flashback depicting a "younger" Zeke shows a non de-aged Chris Rock wearing a backwards baseball cap and a hoodie; much like John Kramer in the flashbacks of Saw VII.

** A flashback depicting a "younger" Zeke shows a non de-aged Chris Rock wearing a backwards baseball cap and a hoodie; much like John Kramer in the flashbacks of Saw VII which has become victim to MemeticMutation.

* FatalFamilyPhoto: Early on, Schenk shows Zeke a photo of his wife and newborn child, appearing to set this trope up. Later on, [[spoiler:a dead body believed to be Schenk's is discovered, seemingly playing the trope straight. Then it's subverted; not only is Schenk alive, and not only has he been the Spiral Killer all along, but his family never really existed]].

* ArtisticLicenceBiology:

* BeneathSuspicion: [[spoiler:Schenk]] is never suspected by anyone to be the Spiral Killer, even just before revealing himself at the climax. That said, it's easy for the audience to assume this when [[spoiler:he's supposedly captured by the killer, because his game is never actually shown, unlike the other victims in the film and ''many'' more in the previous ones. Also his name is Schenk, which sounds like "Shank" (which means to stab someone in the back)]].

* SarcasticConfession: When Schenk and Zeke arrive at the crime scene of Bozwick's game, Schenk gives the offhand remark, "I've been dreaming about this since I was twelve years old." Come [[spoiler:the reveal of his true identity as the Spiral Killer]], it's shown that [[spoiler:the catalyst for his line of work was his father being killed when he was twelve, after which he and Zeke had their first interaction]].

* AnthropicPrinciple: ''Spiral'' stops trying to make it seem like [[TheChessmaster John]] is indirectly behind every murder in the franchise, and instead establishes that in the series' city, it's somehow extremely easy for anybody to abduct and then elaborately kill numerous victims, including high-ranking police officials. It's not just that the PoliceAreUseless, it's that somehow there are countless abandoned buildings and other structures throughout the whole city that allow for elaborate traps and executions. Plus, most people constantly get alone and isolated for long periods of time wherever they go and whatever they do.

*** [[spoiler:Zeke shouting at Schenk and reaching out to him as he flees the scene]], calling back to the ending of the first film.

* WeCanRuleTogether: [[spoiler:This is what Schenk hopes will happen between him and Zeke after the former is revealed to be the real copycat killer. Schenk wants to work together with Zeke to purge the corrupt officers in the police department, with the final act of the film being an elaborate test to see if he can trust him. Unfortunately for Zeke, Schenk knows that he's bluffing in regards to agreeing to work with him and intentionally sets up the final trap so that whatever decision Zeke makes [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose still ends in a favorable outcome for himself.]]]]

* WhatTheHellHero: The flashback in which Zeke had gotten shot due to his calls for backup being ignored. Once [[PapaWolf Marcus arrives on the scene and sees the state his son is in]], he furiously chews out the other officers for putting Zeke's life at risk.

* WhiteShirtOfDeath: Zeke wears a white shirt when he's abducted by the Spiral Killer for a trial of his own. He doesn't die, but his shirt gets stained with blood from his wounds and other victims throughout the trial.

* BeneathSuspicion: [[spoiler:Schenk]] is never suspected by anyone to be the Spiral Killer, even just before revealing himself at the climax. That said, it's easy for the audience to assume this when [[spoiler:he's supposedly captured by the killer, because his game is never actually shown, unlike the other victims in the film and ''many'' more in the previous ones]].

** In real life, it would be impossible to rip off one's tongue with the restraining bolt used in the Subway Trap's vice, due to both the strength of the tongue's base fixture and the bolt's small size. At most, Boz would have had part of his tongue split between the bolt, with the resulting injury being quite easy to heal afterwards and not giving him any serious inability to speak.

** When the police learn of the new killer, they talk about how this would not be the first time there was a copycat killer, a nod to the previous films' Jigsaw killers. Schenk suggests the killer might be another disciple of John, akin to Amanda, Hoffman and Logan, but Zeke dismisses the possibility, as it was already obvious that the killer couldn't be a disciple due to them following their own agenda and otherwise acting pretty independently from John's philosophy.

** Zeke finds himself handcuffed to a pipe with nothing but a handsaw to free him, calling back to the first film. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Fortunately]], he also has a [[ImprovisedLockpick bobby pin]] within reach.]]

*** [[spoiler: The protagonist finds out his partner is the killer, so he goes to the area where his partner is and beats the hell out of him, only for the partner to escape with the protagonist being affected greatly.]] That's what happened previously in ''Saw V'', but [[spoiler:the protagonist doesn't die this time around.]]

** In real life, it would be impossible to rip off one's tongue with the restraining bolt used in the Subway Trap's vice, both due to the strength of the tongue's base fixture and the bolt's small size. At most, Boz would have had part of his tongue split between the bolt, with the resulting injury being quite easy to heal afterwards and not giving him any serious inability to speak.

** It would be impossible to rip off one's tongue with the restraining bolt used in the Subway Trap's vice, both due to the strength of the tongue's base fixture and the bolt's small size. At most, Boz would have had part of his tongue split between the bolt, with the resulting injury being quite easy to heal afterwards and not giving him any serious inability to speak.

* ArtisticLicenceBiology: A new tattoo made several minutes ago doesn't look the same as a years-old one, so there is no way that [[spoiler:Schenk could have made a perfect replica of his tattoo on somebody else in a matter of minutes]]. Furthermore, cutting off that piece of skin immediately after tattooing it would probably completely ruin the tattoo.

-->'''Marcus:''' Where the fuck were all of you, huh?! My son called for backup ''three times in 8 minutes'', and none of you motherfuckers could get here?!

Preceded by ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}''.

-->[[spoiler: ''"Careful, while you’re looking for more bodies to drop, I’ll take your '''head'''."''\\

-->-- '''Spiral'''

*** A screenshot of the Classroom Trap's video tape from ''Saw III''.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Played with in regards to Marv Bozwick, the film's first victim. He's targeted for lying under oath multiple times and getting many innocents imprisoned, but he's also one of the few cops not to harass Zeke for snitching on Pete, with the two actually being close friends with each other and their families. Angie, despite [[spoiler:being guilty of covering up corruption]] and being upset with Zeke's maverick tendencies, genuinely cares about him and is a BenevolentBoss underneath it all. And finally, Zeke's father was an unpleasant KnightTemplar who actively fostered the toxic police culture that the killer seeks to dismantle, but genuinely loved his son.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Played with in regards to Marv Bozwick, the film's first victim. He's targeted for lying under oath multiple times and getting many innocents imprisoned, but he's also one of the few cops not to harass Zeke for snitching on Pete, with the two actually being close friends with each other and their families.