''Spiral'' is a 2007 American

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

directed by

Joel David Moore Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American character actor and director. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen ...

and Adam Green, and starring Moore,

Amber Tamblyn Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and author. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the p ...

Zachary Levi Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He starred as Chuck Bartowski in the action comedy series ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'' (2007–2012), and as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), the titular character in the superher ...

, and

Tricia Helfer Tricia Janine Helfer (born April 11, 1974) is a Canadian actress and former model. She played Number Six in the science fiction series '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009). She also voiced Sarah Kerrigan in the video game ''StarCraft II'' an ...

. The original screenplay for the film was written by Moore and Jeremy Danial Boreing. ''Spiral'' was an Official Selection and was awarded the "Gold Vision" Award at the 22nd Annual

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California in February annually, since 1986. The festival screens over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. ...

in 2007. The "Gold Vision" Award is given for the "most innovative and unique film with an inspiring and groundbreaking vision."

Plot

The story follows lonely introvert Mason, a telesales insurance company worker by day and talented painter as well as a lover of classic jazz by night. His only friend is his boss, Berkeley (Levi), who keeps an eye on him and humors his bizarre behavior. When awkward Mason meets social Amber, a new co-worker, he begins to come out of himself, and reveals the depth and darkness of his mind.

Cast

as Mason *

as Amber *

as Berkeley *

as Sasha * David Muller as Will * Annie Neal as Diana

Production

''Spiral'' was filmed in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Soundtrack

Because jazz is such an important part of the plot, Joel David Moore wanted to use a completely original score. It was composed by Todd Caldwell and Michael Herring. It features Brad Leali on alto sax, Jay DaVersa on trumpet, Royce Chambers playing tenor and soprano sax, Todd's father Don Caldwell on tenor sax, and Ted Greenberg on drums.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $3,072 in the United States.

Critical

The film received mixed reviews from critics. As of February 17, 2008, the review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported that 60% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 5 reviews.

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

reported the film had a weighted average score of 40 out of 100, based on 4 reviews.

References

External links

* * * * {{Joel David Moore 2007 films 2007 psychological thriller films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films American psychological thriller films English-language thriller films Films directed by Adam Green (filmmaker) Films directed by Joel David Moore Films set in Oregon Films shot in Portland, Oregon