Got sent an early copy of Adam Green's latest 'SPIRAL' on a screener disc by the studio. This review will likely make a few of you sit up and take notice that are nice enough to read my reviews on a regular basis. I do not claim to be a critic but I like to think I know enough about this genre to be a good meter for fans who share my tastes.

This is the first film out of the hundreds of films I have seen ( yes its hundreds) that I have given a 10 star rating. Adam Green best known for his work on Hatchet has stepped outside the bounds of his first films 'box' and truly done something unique and exciting. Most filmmakers can do one thing well and only one thing. They either do deep emotional tales, or they do what some might call 'torture porn'. Very rarely do they touch an emotional note and deliver a master piece... its just not done in this genre.

Lets be honest for a second, Adams first film Hatchet was a great fun film that was a throw back to gore flicks of yester year. It was not a deep film, well not deeper then a shallow puddle and it was far from a master screenplay. The acting? It was ok, not Shakespeare. That does not make the movie bad, I gave it a 9 out of 10. It is exactly what it is, a slasher flick for chuckle heads like me to enjoy the carnage, laugh at the witty one liners and try to guess how the next person will be slaughtered. It was great fun... a horror throw back where the emphasis was on the cult of horror, great fx, campy fun and terror that is fun!

Spiral is so far the polar opposite from HATCHET it defy's explanation.   Lets first start with the story. A gifted artist, Mason is never-the-less neurotic and reclusive, living a life of anonymity, working from a drab cubicle in a florescent-lit phone bank, repeating the same meaningless conversation with faceless strangers ad nauseam.

Mason is never truly noticed by anyone, save his boss, Berkeley (Zachary Levi), not quite a friend, but a sole source of companionship in an otherwise isolated existence.  That is, until he meets a gregarious co-worker named Amber (Amber Tamblyn), a girl struggling with her own loneliness and need to define herself.  Amber's jovial demeanor and seemingly carefree attitude provides a sort of catharsis for Mason, and allows his true gifts to come to light as she poses for his art.   It is an unlikely, and unusual courtship that helps Mason find peace for possibly the first time in his life.  But as Mason's defences lower, and the man inside is revealed, there may be something behind the surface darker than anyone expected.  For not everything that is hidden should be found, and not every love is meant to be.  And you can't paint over your past...

Over the years there have been many thrillers, indie and mainstream but this is the first time I am going to compare a movie to Alfred Hitchcock's early works. This film is a masterpiece of story telling. Nothing I have seen can hold a candle to the intricate story that is told in SPIRAL. Any fan watching this movie without knowing it would not realize the director is the same one who just finished a highly successful splatter fest. This movie has oceans of depth with a story that twists, arcs and redefines the term psychological thriller. If you did not know better you would think Mr Hitchcock himself had written this script.

The acting and the overall look and feel of the film is outstanding and once again shows that Adam as a director is not a one trick pony and can do far more then just cut up bodies and put buckets of blood on film. The gore factor is not the factor in this film. The story, the intricate characters and the intense twists and turns are the draw. This film is for fans of Hitchcock. If you thrive on films that are story driven with fantastic direction, unparallelled character acting and intense moments this movie is for you. Admittedly if you want gore, fast paced action and blood letting SPIRAL will not appeal to you. I really am curious to see how this does with mainstream horror fans. I can see why this film although its pure genius might not work with a generation of horror fans who are fixated on quick thrills and carnage instead of deep methodical character development with intense writing and no focus put into quick moving thrills or blood letting. I hope to read alot of other reviews for this film and will without question feel warm and fuzzy if I find that many of you like me truly enjoyed this film immensely.

In closing I have to say that yes this is my first 10 and I almost gave it a 9 so as to not break my rule that 'no movie is perfect'. I just couldn't do it. This movie is so intense, so masterful that although its not perfect its the most delightfully terrifying and fantastic psychological thriller I have seen.... ever.