

He would really agonize over scenes, and settings, and locations. Mendelson: Speaking of the talk, what was it like working with someone like Chris Rock, who is an established icon in a very different sand box, but also a Saw fan?īousman: He surprised me about how much he would throw out ideas that would improve everything. But 100%, there was a longer version circulating. Things had to go that slowed the pacing down. But you've also got to remember the story you're telling. It had a lot more transitional shots and character beats.

Was there any potential for a slightly longer cut of Spiral that just had more character beats?īousman: I think my original cut was roughly the same time as Saw III. Mendelson: Saw III was 113 minutes, by far the longest in the franchise. I don't think (keeping those shots) made the movie any better, but it was a lot more violent at one point. I probably lost three minutes’ worth of torture and gore. If you ever watched American Horror Story, if you ever watched Hannibal, some of these television shows are much more violent than (our movie). I was shocked, because the times have changed. There was specific one shot that went out that was critical to it. The skinning scene was the one that I had an issue with (the MPA) about, because it was such a story point. But the MPA, I think that really came down hard on a few scenes. The version that opened in theaters is the better version. What were some of the battles that you had? Is there an unrated version in the future?īousman: There's not an unrated version. While it is a gory picture, I don't think anyone who does enjoy the Saw films for their gross-out moments is going to be displeased. Mendelson: Speaking of thriller versus horror, I was kind of surprised to hear that you still had battles with the MPA over this. And that turned it into much more of a procedural.

So, let's put them completely in the foreground in the very top of everything. Saw has always had a long history with the police. I wanted to have that much more thriller aspect to it. Watching the film a couple weeks ago, it felt like, “What if Frank Serpico fell into a Saw movie?”īousman: I think we wanted to do something that felt more adult. Mendelson: The first thing you notice, even from the first preview is the voice on the recordings is incredibly soft spoken and almost shy.
