Critic Reviews

It all climaxes in an apocalyptic finale: an enjoyable and macabre family affair.

Even if the movie gets a bit crazy in an apocalyptic epilogue, its picture of bourgeois smugness due for a takedown is delicious.

As far as elegantly stylized horror films go, Strippoli hits a home run with a rueful and devilish metaphorical homily.

It’s stylish and silly, with two excellent performances that play against each other perfectly to deliver an entertaining romp.

What The Spiral may lack in meticulous build-up it makes up for in successive pay-offs.

A faintly absurd Faustian fable blown up to grand guignol proportions through Strippoli’s brash formal command of his favorite genre, The Spiral doesn’t add up to an awful lot, but the sum of its parts is flashily entertaining enough.

The Spiral has definite flaws and ugly features, but it’s also a fun thriller that brings unhinged madness to the screen. The less you know going into it, the better, because Strippoli crafts a true popcorn flick with twists and turns that keep audiences guessing.

There’s a nugget of an idea buried in here about how tempting it is to blame the gods, the evil eye, or a raincoated stranger for woes that are self-inflicted. But it’s buried so deep that, like that deal-making devil, it may not even exist.