Warning: The following interview contains spoilers for Spiral: From The Book Of Saw, now available for digital rentals.
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, Spiral: From The Book Of Saw marks the ninth installment in the long-running Saw franchise. John Kramer might've been dead since Saw III, but his legacy lives on in the form of a copycat killer hellbent on targeting corrupt police officers. After the copycat begins killing cops, Detective Zeke Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner Detective William Schenk (Max Minghella) take over the investigation. However, it's not long before they realize the killer's motives are deeply personal.
CBR had the opportunity to speak to Spiral's Max Minghella about stepping into the beloved horror franchise. With Minghella garnering praise for his role on The Handmaid's Tale, the actor also weighed in on how Nick and his more devious Spiral character would get along.
CBR: Were you a fan of the Saw franchise before getting the role?
Max Minghella: Yeah, I was definitely familiar with the franchise. I love Saw II. That was a big staple movie for me. But the most unexpected and exciting part of this project was the sort of the buddy copy element, and that blend of two things was really compelling and exciting and original to me.
Do you want to talk a little bit about how the opportunity came up?
It's not a particularly exciting story [laughs]. I knew the project was sort of in development and that they were maybe interested in me playing a role. I didn't really know what that might look like. I just knew it was Chris [Rock], and that alone was incredibly interesting to me. I'm a huge fan of Chris' work, and he's one of my specific heroes. The idea of him coming into this space and what he could bring to it as a dramatic actor was really interesting to me. I was sort of all in before I even read the script. When I got the script and saw that -- again -- it had this detective element to it, I was really excited.
Speaking of Chris Rock, his involvement in Spiral was surprising just because he is known for his comedy. What was it like working with him?
I loved him [laughs]. It's a very easy answer. He was so great to work with. He was so good to me, man. He was supportive, and he's so talented. He does all these different things. He's not just an actor. He's a brilliant filmmaker as well. So to talk to him about the work -- he can see it from so many different angles. I can't really think of a better person to learn from. I love every second of it.
You also have a pretty brutal interaction with Samuel Jackson's Marcus Banks at the end of the film. What was it like shooting that scene and working with him?
Well, it was an amazing week because here's sort of this English idiot in a room with Chris Rock and Sam Jackson for five days. It's an amazing privilege. I never forgot that for a second. I was just like, "Wow! This is a really, really fun thing to get to do." It also never felt stressful. I think the nature of this movie, one of the things I'm so proud of about Spiral, is how unpretentious it is. I tried to bring that same energy. I think that I tried to enjoy myself, and I did [laughs].
I know you mentioned earlier that you're a fan of Saw II, which Darren Lynn Bousman also directed. Do you want to talk a little bit about working with him on Spiral?
He is such an architect of the Saw aesthetic, and that's a very specific aesthetic. These movies aren't edited in a way that any other movies are edited. There's a very specific way of shooting. I thought all the pieces were really cleverly assembled in this film, like a wonderful blend of the old guard and then the new people. It was like a very healthy balance. It is delivering for me what I want out of a Saw movie. I also feel like if you've never seen a Saw movie, you can come in and have a good time. You don't need to have context.
Fans can put a lot of expectations and pressure on new installments in long-running franchises like Saw. In that regard, did stepping into such an established franchise elicit any specific emotions for you?
Responsibility is the word I think of. I really felt a huge amount of responsibility. It is by far the hardest I've worked on anything. I really kind of killed myself in this move. I'm glad I did because it was something I really cared about. I didn't want to let people down. At the same time, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't trying to emulate anything and that I was doing something different. So yes, to answer your question, I felt a huge amount of responsibility. But I also didn't want to put too much unhealthy pressure on myself to try and replicate.
Along those same lines, how did you approach the role knowing you'd sort of be stepping into Tobin Bell's legacy as John Kramer?
It was a huge amount of responsibility. Tobin has this extraordinary gravitas and presence and weight as an actor that I don't have. If I tried to emulate that, it would be completely bonkers. So from the outside, I wanted to approach it in a different way. I do think there's sort of two characters. There's Schenk and the guy at the end or whoever you want to refer to him as. It's a little bit of a meta performance, I think. He's a little bit outside of the stakes of the movie. I have to credit that to Josh [ Stolberg] because that was beyond the page, that kind of tonality to the character, which I thought was really fun.
So, this movie has a huge reception. Why do you think this franchise, with all its glory subject matter, continues to fascinate audiences?
We got to screen the movie son Imax when it came out and when you watch a movie like that with an audience on a big screen with that sound system -- I'd kind of forgotten the incredible joy of that experience. It's sort of visceral. And it's a movie where people scream and cover their eyes and also laugh. There are all of these emotions, and having that as a communal experience is pretty singular. These movies are very visceral in a way that very few films are. I think that the theatrical experience loves visceral storytelling. It makes so much sense to me. It's almost like a science.
Considering your filmography doesn't contain much horror. Was there anything that surprised you about working on Spiral?
I didn't expect the experience to be so intimate. It's my first time stepping into a franchise movie, and I think I sort of had an imagination that it was going to be this giant machine that you might get swept up into. The reality is these movies are by people. I don't want to be misleading; this movie has the support and the machinations of the studio. But the actual creative group who makes the film is very intimate. It was one of the most intimate creative experiences I've ever had. I wasn't expecting that. I didn't know that was going to happen, and I loved it so much.
It's a very small group of people where everyone's very opinionated. Everyone's pretty tough. It leads to this very expressive and robust dialogue. There's a lot of passion and love and care. I just really enjoyed it. It kind of reminded me of when I started out making movies with my friends. I keep saying this thing about how the movie's unpretentious, but the way we made it was very unpretentious. Everyone pulled their sleeves up.
Given Chris Rock's comedic background, I'm sure there was a lot of fun behind the scenes. Can you recount a particular fun moment that stands out?
I always loved getting pictures with all the bodies. I have lots of funny photographs in my camera roll of skinned bodies and me [laughs]. It was crazy to work with all that special effects makeup. It was totally new to me, but a really good time.
Is there a scene in Spiral that you're most excited for the audiences to experience?
Oh, good question! I love the movie. I really do. I think it's really fun and rewatchable. It's a movie I've seen an embarrassing number of times because I'm in it. I hope that it's like one of those movies that's just fun and you can throw on and everyone's going to have a good time. It's just a fun ride. And we need that right now. We need movies like that.
When you made your directorial debut with Teen Spirit, did that experience shift how you've approached acting since then?
Directors get a much better sleep schedule [laughs]. I didn't realize that until I made a movie. Actors really do work a long day. It's hard for me to know. I'm sure it does to answer your question. I don't know how good I am in tracking this down other than to say that I love working in film. I love that I get to do different things in it because I find it all really invigorating and exciting.
Considering Saw is known for its traps. Do you have a favorite one in Spiral?
Yeah, I love the subway trap. That set was so cool. It felt like Universal Studios. It was amazing to see in person. I love that effect in the movie. It was such a clever way to open the movie.
Your character in Spiral is pretty devious. How do you think Nick, your character in The Handmaid's Tale, would react to him. Do you think they'd be able to sit down and have coffee together?
Whoa! There almost antithetical people. William is very extroverted and flamboyant [laughs]. He's sort of like a court jester. I think of him as a court jester. And then Nick is like an internal, sort of tortured person. So they sort of seem like polar opposites. I don't know. Maybe they'd get along because they're so different. Maybe Willaim could make him laugh or something.
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, Spiral: From The Book Of Saw is available for digital rentals now and VOD July 20.