[Review] Shudder’s ‘Spiral’ Explores Social Horrors With All the Effectiveness of ‘Get Out’ – Bloody Disgusting

Jordan Peeles Get Out has proven itself to be an influential horror movie in a bit of a different way than influential horror movies of the past. While classics like Night of the Living Dead and John Carpenters Halloween spawned countless imitators, the films that have come in the wake of Get Out and its box office and Academy Awards success thus far havent been direct imitators at all. Rather, it would seem that Get Out has kicked open the doors and busted open the floodgates for fresh perspectives, experiences and representation in the horror genre, paving the way for new types of social horror movies that unfortunately just wouldnt have ever been made without one big success story leading the way first.

The latest movie that no doubt has some Get Out influence to it is Kurtis David Harders 1995-set Spiral, written by Colin Minihan and John Poliquin. Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and Ari Cohen star as Malik and Aaron, a gay couple who move into a new neighborhood in search of a better life for themselves and their teenage daughter, Jennifer Laportes Kayla. But just underneath the surface of the friendly suburban smiles lies a dark, twisted secret. And as Malik digs deeper into the homophobic reactions to his familys presence, he finds himself trapped in a decades-spanning nightmare that he may not be able to get his family out of.

Spiral kicks off with a brief flashback sequence wherein a young Malik and his boyfriend are attacked while on a date at the drive-in, violently assaulted by homophobic men wielding baseball bats. Its only a brief glimpse at a past trauma thats further explored throughout the film, but its a horror that haunts every frame beyond it. Black man Malik, quite unlike white boyfriend Aaron, has gotten a taste of just how dangerous it can be to simply exist in America, and it creates an interesting dynamic between the duo when hateful terrors start rearing their ugly head once more. Aaron, at one point referred to as an Uncle Tom for gay people by Malik, has trouble even believing that his kind new neighbors could possibly be homophobes, while Maliks experience in the neighborhood is quite different. He sees the stares and he knows whats coming, and it often falls solely on Maliks shoulders to deal with the brunt of it.

Theres a creeping dread that hangs over the entirety of Spiral, and whats so terrifying about the film is that its horrors are sadly so very real. While the film begins in the same way countless horror movies do young family moves into a new house, unaware that their happy lives are about to take a detour into nightmare territory its immediately unique in its perspective, putting all viewers into the mindset of a gay man whos painfully aware that hes not safe simply because of his sexual orientation. Bowyer-Chapman delivers a heartbreaking performance as Malik, a man who so badly wants to believe the live loud and proud mantra he bestows upon his daughter; deep down, however, he knows just how dangerous that can be in a world thats all-too-quick to demonize anyone who doesnt fit a particular mold.

In this town and in this country, it is not safe for people that stand out, Malik finally breaks down and tells Kayla later in the movie, his devastating character arc being realized in the precise way we hoped it wouldnt. You need to forget everything that I said about loud and proud; do not draw attention to yourself. Dont speak out, dont speak up. It is not safe.

Spiral is set in 1995 on the road to the following years presidential election, and its a backdrop thats used for reasons beyond the nostalgic charm of being able to play with Polaroid cameras, VHS tapes and clunky, archaic computers. 1995 was the year President Bill Clinton signed an Executive Order stating the U.S. government could no longer discriminate based on sexual orientation; just three years earlier, a U.S. Army Colonel was discharged after coming out as lesbian. Conservative groups, naturally, spoke out against the decision, continuing to spread false fears about homosexuality, HIV/AIDS and the threat gay people pose to society. All of this turmoil is baked into the DNA of Spiral, a film thats particularly relevant as we approach yet another election with heavy social implications. It may be set in 1995, but Spirals social horrors are scarily potent in 2020. And whats particularly powerful here is that theres a surprising amount of ambition in regards to its scope, with the film laser focusing on one issue but ultimately reminding that our societys demonization of the other isnt limited to one group of people and certainly isnt exclusive to any one period of time.

Audio from Pat Buchanans speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston plays over one scene in Spiral, as we watch Maliks heart break. This, my friends. This is radical feminism. The agenda that Clinton and Clinton would impose on America. Discrimination against religious schools, women in combat units, homosexual rights. But thats not the kind of change America needs. Its not the kind of change America wants, and its not the kind of change we can abide in a nation we still call Gods Country.

Above all, Spiral is a damn good horror movie, gripping from start to finish and home to surprising turns and a devastating mythology all its own. And its not afraid to be as dark and emotionally upsetting as it needs to be to drive its point home, which it does in highly effective fashion. It all works so well in large part because of Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapmans powerful performance, one of the horror genres very best this year. There was a time when a character like Malik simply never wouldve been the leading focal point of a horror movie, and there was similarly a time when LGBT characters in movies were seldom played by LGBT actors. But Spiral reminds that the horror genre has found itself in a whole new era. Locked doors are now wide open. And the genre is only getting better thanks to films like this one.

I only wish theaters were safely open right now and Spiral was playing in all of them.

Spiral is now streaming exclusively on Shudder.

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[Review] Shudder's 'Spiral' Explores Social Horrors With All the Effectiveness of 'Get Out' - Bloody Disgusting

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero