The "Saw" Franchise

[StevePulaski]

Saw (2004)
Directed by: James Wan

Cary Elwes in Saw.

Rating: ★★★

NOTE: This review was written back in 2012.

It is understandable that when people think about the Saw franchise now, images of snuff and torture cloud their minds. Speaking from someone who has seen the first, second, and final film of the franchise, I can definitely see where the series began and how differently it ended. To me, it was a film that could've stood perfectly on its own. It never needed a sequel, let alone six, leaching off of its coattails.

After the astonishing success of the first film, grossing over one hundred million at the box office, it almost became a yearly tradition to release a Saw sequel around Halloween. Hollywood had successfully turned Saw, a suspenseful and intriguing psychological thriller, into a shameless, inept cash-in for the season of fright.

At least we have the first film to remind us that this series was once destined for greatness. The film begins with Adam (Whannell), a voyeuristic photographer and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Elwes), an oncologist, awaking in a dilapidated basement to find that they are chained at the ankle to opposite ends of the room, with a bloody corpse in the middle of them. They find that they each have tape-recordings that, when played, reveal the ominous voice of our antagonist. Call him the "Jigsaw Killer." He informs them that they have, in some way, taken life for granted and that Dr. Gordon must kill Adam in six hours to be set free.

Meanwhile, the film is intercut with scenes of detectives trying to piece together the explicit tracks left by this notorious killer. He is constantly kidnapping people who take life for granted and have it all, but choose to dispose of it in a careless, unorthodox manner. A drug addict woman and a man who enjoys inflicting self-harm on himself are among his victims. Detectives David Tapp (Glover) and Steven Sing (Leung) continue to breathlessly map out his killings and try to figure out where his notorious tapes are being shot. The Jigsaw Killer, himself, is obviously a real person, but is voiced through a creepy puppet with stringy black hair, swirly red cheeks, and always riding on a tricycle.

The film knows how to create atmosphere effectively. Many scenes are unsettling, but I found the most fun to come out of the scenes between Adam and Dr. Gordon. Saw compliments my rule of claustrophobic filmmaking perfectly which is, when you limit characters geographically you must make up for it with dialog and subtleties to properly convey tone and development. Both Elwes and Whannell do great justice to their roles and play them convincingly, and the flashback scenes never seem to derail the film or make it stumble without direction.

I feel some have written off the film as being "too gory," when in reality, Saw doesn't have as much as gore as I remember. It's more of a clever, tricky, psychological thriller perfectly complimented style and dialog. The last five minutes of the film are fabulous, and don't become winded and lazy. It actually becomes quite mysterious, brutal, and above all, intriguing, with the intro to the credits being actually somewhat depressing. This is a well-written horror film, reminding us that PG-13 can't do justice to the genre physically or mentally.

Starring: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, and Tobin Bell. Directed by: James Wan.

[StevePulaski]

Saw II (2005)
Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman

From left: Franky G, Emmanuelle Vaugier, and Timothy Burd.

Rating: ★★½

Perhaps less surprising that the massive success of Saw resulted in a sequel being released barely a year later is the fact that the subsequent installment doubles down on the gore. While a great deal of the brutality in the original film happened off-screen, a psychological angle permeated the story and elevated it above, say, a feeble work of torture porn. Saw II is a more direct sequel in the sense that it gives viewers what they expect, and on the surface, there's nothing wrong with that. Yet the abundance of telling as opposed to showing coupled with the heavy emphasis on gore downplays what made the original so successful.

This time around, the story follows Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg), a detective whose team successfully apprehends the elusive serial killer John Kramer, better known as "Jigsaw" (Tobin Bell). They find him in his warehouse of booby-traps and blood-splattered rooms, however not before Jigsaw has kidnapped Eric's song Daniel (Erik Knudsen) along with seven others, including Amanda (Shawnee Smith) from the previous film. Jigsaw informs Eric that his son and the others are trapped in an abandoned house with a limited amount of time to escape before a deadly nerve gas emitting through the vents will kill them. Eric and his team are mostly helpless as they watch the monitors in horror, but the situation allows for him to have a one-on-one with the infamous serial killer, who reveals the thought-process behind his horrifying traps.

Saw II satisfies in giving us some insight into John Kramer. Writers James Wan and Leigh Whannell were not shy in revealing tidbits about Kramer in the original film rather than keep him in the figurative and literal shadows. Writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman (working with Whannell) makes this sequel as much about the man behind the traps as it does the traps themselves. I could listen to Tobin Bell expound about the survival instinct in human beings and people's lack of gratefulness for being alive for hours; he's given ample screentime to show the commanding veteran presence he is. Although much of his scenes involve him laboriously explaining his ways whilst hooked up to an IV and oxygen tank, it nonetheless establishes some credibility for a franchise that could just as easily get too consumed by blunt force, hopscotching from one ominous lair to the next.

The issue with Saw II lies in its many subjects. There's far too many characters for Bousman and Whannell to adequately develop whereas last time around we had a tight focus around Adam and Lawrence. No one outside of Daniel and Amanda is given a measurable amount of screentime to transcend a faceless personality whose purpose is to suffer and then succumb due to their mistakes in playing Jigsaw's game. The traps are still nifty and the score and editing work together to replicate a feeling of panic as time runs thin, but this follow-up feels more like a primitive distillation of the concept outside of Kramer's larger presence.

Starring: Donnie Wahlberg, Tobin Bell, Erik Knudsen, Shawnee Smith, Glenn Plummer, Franky G, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Timothy Burd, Beverley Mitchell, and Dina Meyer. Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman.

[StevePulaski]

Saw III (2006)
Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman

Rating: ★★★

Saw III is the most miserable telenovela you'll ever see. Its juxtaposing storylines involve a troubling trifecta of a madman lying on his literal death-bed being kept alive by a captive doctor and his apprentice while a grieving father is given the ultimate test of forgiveness. With Leigh Whannell back as the film's sole screenwriter, it's surprising (given his style) he negates any attempt at humor, opting instead for two hours of melancholy. Following a sequel that doubled down on the gore and negated the psychological aspects of the series, Saw III finds a way for both to coexist in an utterly nasty piece of work.

This time around, it's Dr. Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) who becomes a central pawn in John "Jigsaw" Kramer's (Tobin Bell) game. She's kidnapped and taken in by John's apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith), who traps her in the hospital room of his warehouse and straps an unwieldy collar to her neck. The collar is linked to John's heart rate as he lies near death, dangerously close to succumbing to his cancer. Lynn's task is to use the surrounding tools and medicines to perform a dangerous operation on John's frontal lobe. If she fails, John dies and so does she. Once she overcomes the initial shock of her situation, Lynn's fledgling banter with John becomes a source of contempt for the emotional Amanda.

Meanwhile, there's Jeff (Angus Macfadyen), who is arguably put through a more grueling test. Jeff lost his young son to a drunk driver, a tragic event that has soiled his relationship with his wife and surviving daughter. Jeff must navigate John's lair, coming face-to-face with everyone who played some role in the accident as they're bound and tortured in inexplicable ways. Jeff can either choose to save their lives or watch them perish with the promise of finally getting to look his son's killer in the eyes.

Where Saw II loaded up on characters and placed them in a Rube Goldberg house of horror, Saw III dials back and gives us two elaborate setups on which to focus. Whannell might be a little flashback heavy in certain spots, inadvertently jumbling what is an otherwise digestible narrative, but this juxtaposition is equal parts entertaining and riveting. It delivers what we expect (ample gore, sadistic traps) but what we ultimately stay for — the interpersonal exchanges coupled with the rising stakes for the characters.

Tobin Bell is given less time to wax poetic about his motivations and more time to coerce — with his ominously raspy, hoarse voice — Amanda and Lynn into keeping him alive. Furthermore, Macfadyen makes a human out of Jeff, easily the most intriguing anti-hero of the series since Adam and Lawrence. It's hard to believe a father who lost his son to a drunk driver wouldn't feel at least a measurable amount of hate and a desire for vengeance, but we see early on how it consumes Jeff's will to live. With each passing trap — everything involving a subject freezing to death to being drowned in pig slop — that no matter how severe or ungodly the punishment for those Jeff blames, it will not bring him closure nor his son back to life.

Saw III also features the best climax of the series yet with one of the most sinister and horrifying scenes in a horror film I've seen in a blue moon. It's called "The Rack," which has a subject's limbs and neck tightly secured in what is essentially an oscillating crucifix that will completely turn one's arms and legs 360 degrees. Coupled with the grungy aesthetic, banging metal music, blood-curdling screams, and graphic bone-cracking, it's stomach-turning, yet delightfully on-brand.

Saw III is a strong return-to-form for a series that would go on to be more than a trilogy, with four more installments coming each subsequent year serving as a reminder not only that Halloween is near but you can't milk a good idea enough. I slightly shudder at what direction this series takes from here, but rest easy knowing the first three films, flaws and all, make a devilishly entertaining trilogy.

Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Bahar Soomekh, Angus Macfayden, Donnie Wahlberg, Dina Meyer, and Leigh Whannell. Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman.

[StevePulaski]

Saw IV (2007)
Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman

Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) discovers several lifeless bodies, including John Kramer's (Tobin Bell), in Saw IV.

Rating: ★★

The first mistake Saw IV makes is trying to continue a flawed but effective trilogy. The second mistake is the total absence of Leigh Whannell; he apparently didn't have any input on the script. Whether that was a conflict of interest or a personal choice, who can clarify? But his lack of involvement is felt early on as the fourth installment in this grisly franchise lumbers through a barrage of narratives after Saw III so deftly juggled two distinct storylines.

The immediate disadvantage for Saw IV, narratively speaking, is nearly all the main characters have been killed off, including Jigsaw himself, leaving a second unit of mostly faceless nobodies — at least at this juncture — to further the series. This is Saw in rebuild and the path forward is bleak with this foundation.

The film opens with an autopsy of John "Jigsaw" Kramer (Tobin Bell), who was killed in the previous film. Slashers have conditioned many of us to be nebulous to the death of the central villain, but Kramer remains lifeless throughout the bloody nip and tuck process. Make no mistake, John's presence is felt throughout. On top of many things, Saw IV is part-prequel, which shows John's once-happy marriage to Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) halted by tragedy before ending in pure insanity.

Enter two surviving cops from the previous installments: Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) and Rigg (Lyriq Bent), who work with Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Agent Perez (Athena Karkanis) to confirm their suspicions both Kramer and his apprentice Amanda are dead. The unnerving thought in their minds is that John, knowing his cancer was inoperable, tasked another person to carry on his sinister deeds. Before long, Hoffman is kidnapped and learns that Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is still alive, albeit barely, as the two are bound together in a precarious trap. Rigg on the other hand, gets the Jeff Denlon Experience insofar that he gets a multi-part test. Rigg, who is constantly trying to play savior for the public and his fellow officers, is tantalized by the possibility of saving Eric's life.

With Darren Lynn Bousman (who has directed each installment since Saw II) back in the director's chair, the style of Saw IV doesn't deviate much from its predecessors. There's still the epileptic editing that overtakes the film's coherency whenever the time on a particular trap begins to tick down along with the super washed-out color palette which verges on monochrome in more clinical settings (morgues, rehab clinics, etc). Flashbacks complicate the timeline worse than any Saw movie yet. We have Rigg's storyline, Jigsaw's origins, Hoffman and Strahm's interrogation of Jill, Eric Matthews' ongoing plight, and anecdotes about John's former business partner Art Blank (Justin Louis, who looks like he walked off the set of a police procedural or a mob flick as a background guy).

Therefore, Saw IV falls into the rough spot of housing a plethora of new faces and too many plotlines into a 90 minute runtime. Without Whannell's creative input on the script, the traps feel less inventive, save for one involving a serial rapist getting his gruesome comeuppance. The justification for them too feels flimsier. Some of the most fun I've had with the Saw films is the prologue to the traps offered by John via tape-recorder. They are ominously poetic and suggest deep thought behind each trap, either symbolic or designed to permanently scar the victim akin to their past sins. John's presence, outside of flashbacks, is a huge loss, especially seeing as his involvement in this installment is so haphazardly handled.

Starring: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Lyriq Bent, Athena Karkanis, Justin Louis, and Donnie Wahlberg. Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman.

[StevePulaski]

Saw V (2008)
Directed by: David Hackl

Joris Jarsky in Saw V.

Rating: ★★½

If you've stuck around with Saw long enough to make it to number five, you fall into one or more categories: you're either a devoted completionist, you ostensibly love the sight of people being maimed, or you're genuinely captivated by the interconnected storylines and eagerly anticipate how they play out. By Saw III, I can honestly say I became entrenched in the mythology of John Kramer, the many detectives who succumbed to a grisly fate trying to find him, and the idea of redemption by torture. We all have to find ways to occupy ourselves during these unprecedented times.

Saw IV had the uphill battle of trying to continue a series that I believe was never meant to have a follow-up, which explained the absence of series creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell. Wan went on to direct Dead Silence and the Kevin Bacon vehicle Death Sentence with the assistance of Whannell; the two went on to hit another career high with Insidious in 2010. Saw IV was in rebuild, as I dubbed it, as it tried but failed to be too many things at once, including an origins story for Kramer — what it should've ultimately been, if anything, in the first place.

Saw V is more complete than its predecessor, and for those even mildly interested in the mythology of the series, it does a fine job at juggling three storylines and giving us further insight into Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), Kramer's successor as revealed in Saw IV. While piecemealing together the how/why of Hoffman becoming one of Kramer's recruits, writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (who went on to director the underrated horror film The Collector a year later) detail Agent Strahm's (Scott Patterson) dive into his partner's involvement with each and every Kramer-related case. And, of course, we have a new crop of fresh meat put through an elaborate warehouse of horrors. Five folks — all connected through a larger wrongdoing — awake to find themselves put through torture for an attempt at salvation; if they can only work together in doing so.

Despite the heavy reliance on flashbacks to the previous films growing tiresome at this juncture, it's noble of Melton and Dunstan to find some way to keep Tobin Bell involved. Bell's absence would be a gaping loss for this series, as his soft-spoken, philosophical monologues have done their part in giving each film of the series some modicum of substance. This is part of the reason why I've avoided using the term "torture porn" as a criticism because I don't believe that's ultimately what it is (although I don't bristle at the accusation). While three adjoining narratives are a tough ask for any film, Saw V does a better job at making them both coherent and involving especially when compared to the fourth film.

The first three Saw films could reasonably be seen as one long film, for they are so interlinked narratively and thematically. The first two detail Kramer's master-plan and show how he leaves no stone unturned in terms of forging a desired outcome. The third film develops what is started in the second by portraying Amanda as a worthy but easily deceived apprentice to Kramer. Saw IV had to find a way to build a foundation on which for future films to stand. Naturally, Saw V is more devoted to exposition than gore insofar that it had to explain how this now decimated police department, led by Hoffman, became that way at the hands of the now revered lieutenant detective who is made to look like a hero in all of this.

By this point, your mileage might vary. I, for one, am far more invested in Saw than I ever imagined, though I do recognize it's a franchise predicated on muchness. Detective-work and procedural setups occasionally make Saw V feel like a CBS series gone mad, but Bell's reticent performance and the ingenuous ways different writers and directors (this time, David Hackl in his directorial debut) make it all come together has proven to be enough ground on which future installments can stand. The clarity offered in Saw V is marginally satisfying, if you've cared to stick around this long. No one can blame you if you haven't.

Starring: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Julie Benz, Carlo Rota, Meagan Good, Laura Gordon, and Joris Jarsky. Directed by: David Hackl.

[StevePulaski]

Saw VI (2009)
Directed by: Kevin Greutert

Tanedra Howard.

Rating: ★★★½

It might've taken three films for this series to fully regain its footing following the death of its antagonist, but Saw VI emerges successful after two less-than-stellar installments. Mere days after seeing Saw IV and Saw V, I find them bleeding together with their ability to retcon themselves in a manner that would not be seen again in a mainstream series until the new Star Wars trilogy. Saw VI not only has value in context of the larger Saw-verse but social commentary that gives it something of a purpose. It's a scathing critique of the healthcare system in America, calling it like it sees it in the wake of a massive recession.

Sure, it's not perfect, but it's something unique and distinguishable — two traits that ordinarily get lost by the time horror franchises find themselves at the fourth or fifth sequel.

At long last, it appears that screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (who have written every installment since Saw IV) are finally able to implement their own ideas for the series. That required substantial groundwork in the fourth film, a rather boring watch, and establishing a direction with the fifth film, an improvement that still found itself coming up short. With Saw VI, we are reminded that before he had his throat slashed by Jeff Denlon in Saw III, John Kramer (Tobin Bell) was battling brain cancer. It turns out what led to his suffering was his lackadaisical insurance company not wanting to foot the bill for an experimental treatment. John, personally, had nothing to lose trying it, but he was denied by William (Peter Outerbridge), a smarmy executive who had devised a formula that allegedly helped him quantify whether or not a patient is worth the money to save.

Naturally, William becomes one of Jigsaw's posthumous pawns as he's put through an elaborate series of tests that will show him how difficult it is to determine a human life worth saving when it's right in front of your face and not hamfisted into some cockamamie equation. Meanwhile, Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) does all he can to frame the now-deceased Agent Strahm for the most recent Jigsaw-esque murders, but the surviving task force, including Agent Perez (Athena Karkanis), fully recovered from her wounds, is onto his elusive ways. Also involved is John's late wife Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), the primary executive behind a drug rehabilitation clinic, which we see earned the scorn of John in a pivotal flashback that features one of Bell's finest moments since the series began.

Kudos to first-time director Kevin Greutert and cinematographer David A. Armstrong for restoring something of a color palette to this series. The previous two films boasted cold, clinical grays and whites that drowned out any and all visual personality of the predecessors. Saw VI plays more like a funhouse of horrors, with deep reds and multiple intuitive sets. While some traps feel more like stunts — such as one multi-level maze that involves ladders, smoke, and fire — they feel more realized in their creativity, with a lesson embedded in each. One extended sequence involves a carousel that takes turns stopping on one of six individuals before a shotgun aimed at point blank range lowers, aiming directly for their heart. It's up to William to decide who lives and who perishes; of course not without some self-inflicted pain of his own.

We, too, are treated to more gore, less cutaways, and pleasantly frenetic editing — all features we've come to expect of this series yet elements that were MIA in both Saw IV and Saw V. A return to form this is and you absolutely love to see it.

Greutert, Melton, and Dunstan give us some inkling that these events live in the real world as they take aim at some of the slimiest American institutions, such as healthcare and predatory mortgage lenders. John Kramer's monologue about the United States' "ass-backward" healthcare system resonates and does so with the gravitas you expect from a veteran actor who, at long last, has found a role he's made his own over time.

It feels like Saw VI restored the ingenuity that had been lacking since Saw III, what I previously upheld as the strongest of the franchise thus far. By intently focusing on two distinct storylines, it negates the narrative overload of the previous two while inviting social commentary into the mix. Sure, it could've happened sooner, but the journey is part of the fun, and Melton and Dunstan show that after a lot of retooling, Saw still has a leg on which to stand.

Starring: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Peter Outerbridge, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, and Athena Karkanis. Directed by: Kevin Greutert.

[StevePulaski]

Saw: The Final Chapter (2010)
Directed by: Kevin Greutert

Rating: ★★

Coming hot off the heels of the best installment and promising to be "the final chapter" of the then six-year-old franchise, Saw: The Final Chapter (better known as Saw 3D during its theatrical run) ends the series with a whimper and a shrug.

The problems allegedly started in production when it was reported that Kevin Greutert (director of Saw VI) was essentially forced to direct the film due to a contractual clause with Lionsgate, effectively handicapping him from directing Paranormal Activity 2 at the time, his desired project. Upon arriving on set, Greutert attempted to make changes to Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan's screenplay, much to their dismay as filming was set to commence. This impression holds water given there are a couple traps that are totally divorced from the narratives at hand and exist solely to add to the film's body count. The opening trap takes place in a windowfront before a bustling city crosswalk after all, while another features a slew of skinheads bound in a junkyard and commences before we can get a good look at all the potential consequences that await the them if their ringleader fails his task. All this makes Saw: The Final Chapter feel unsteady and half-baked.

While detectives begin to close in on Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) as evidence mounts towards his involvement with carrying on the legacy of the late John Kramer, fraudulent self-help guru Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery) is the latest subject put through a multi-part Jigsaw game. Bobby has made a career off of claiming he's a survivor of one of Kramer's games, when in reality, he never experienced the horrors first-hand. He authored a book about his "experiences," runs support groups, and amassed wealth off of his ruse, making him the perfect candidate to get his comeuppance. Bobby has the moral compass of a televangelist in one of the film's best scenes, which shows him preaching to a group of Jigsaw survivors — most of whom recognizable faces from previous sequels — about forgiveness and overcoming the physical and emotional setbacks they presently endure. This makes things all the more surreal for him once he finally finds himself trapped in a game that puts not only him in harm's way, but his many cohorts including his lawyers, publicists, and wife (Gina Holden).

Meanwhile, internal affairs detective Matt Gibson (Chad Donella) is summoned by Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), Kramer's wife, when she promises to reveal evidence to incriminate Hoffman for his crimes. Gibson and his narrative aren't adequately fleshed out in the time the film allows. His investigative work feels like an afterthought, especially when compared to that of Strahm's pursuit of Hoffman in Saw IV, which, flaws and all, loaned itself to some compelling revelations. Gibson's detachment from the series until this point is greatly felt, and we don't spend nearly enough time with him to see him as anything more than a background detective shuffling in the foreground of the story for the first time.

Saw: The Final Chapter finds more ways to involve Tobin Bell in the series, reminding us once again that he was killed off too soon. Furthermore, it's worth noting that even Melton and Dunstan wanted to make the concluding chapter two parts, but were forced to scale back their vision due to Saw VI underperforming (figures, given it's great). You get this impression that the film was cut down greatly in post-production. While loose ends do mange to be tied up, things happen in so swiftly that you're almost forced to read some sort of synopsis after the credits role in order to get an idea of what happened, which isn't as fun as if the film were simply more calculated. The seismic revelation in the climax zooms past despite being a circumventing moment for the series — which, to their credit, Melton and Dunstan pull off well if you don't think too hard about continuity and plausibility.

The Saw franchise is a gruesome roller-coaster, but one with more highs than lows when all's said and done. No installment is downright awful, each merit some inventive traps or a handful of compelling revelations. With an anchor as great as Bell, it's no bother being treated to philosophical monologues regarding his modus operandi. Saw: The Final Chapter isn't a terribly good finale, but few horror franchises wrap up pretty when they're seven sequels deep.

Starring: Sean Patrick Flanery, Chad Donella, Tobin Bell, Betsy Russell, and Gina Holden. Directed by: Kevin Greutert.

[StevePulaski]

Jigsaw (2017)
Directed by: The Spierig Brothers

Rating: ★★

There's something disheartening about a franchise lying dormant for so many years only to reemerge with a theatrical installment that feels like a direct-to-DVD movie - and we're not talking about Jeepers Creepers 3 again. Jigsaw follows hot on the heels of that belated sequel, unfortunately bringing much less exciting events to the table that are much less interesting to discuss.

Jigsaw is a wooden, substandard installment in the once captivating franchise that emerged during the Bush administration's controversial emphasis on "enhanced interrogation" practices during the Iraq War. The now-thirteen-year-old Saw created many fans sick enough to seek out the films en masse enough to prompt six annual sequels as well as the subgenre now informally known as "torture porn," where numerous characters in a film are tortured or mutilated as audience's appetite for blood grows by the second. It's a mystery to ponder why Lionsgate decided to resurrect what was thought to be the concluded franchise for another installment that gives one the impression the writers and crew behind it were so excited to get the series moving once again they would operate as quickly as possible in order to realize that dream.

The film presents us with a predictable amalgamation of several individuals subjected to the vindictive ways of the Jigsaw killer in a booby-trapped warehouse and a police procedural that involves numerous individuals trying to track down Jigsaw and those kidnapped. The film opens with a criminal named Edgar Munsen (Josiah Black), who evades police custody long enough to get to the top of a parking garage to obtain a trigger mechanism. He's cornered and subsequently shot by police, with his frantic ramblings about five kidnapped individuals standing as his last statement before he is transported to the hospital in a coma.

Cut to a large warehouse where five people are held captive with metal buckets over their heads, the buckets tied to chains that run through a wall with various circular blade-saws, and we have ourselves a film. Several individuals (Laura Vandervoort, Mandela Van Peebles, and Paul Braunstein to name the most notable) are now subjected to Jigsaw's "game" that involves confessing to sins of the past in addition to surviving a brutal series of potentially lethal traps. Sometimes surviving for the collective means subjecting one person to torture or even death, but even that comes full-circle as serving as that person's repercussions for something unforgivable they've done in the past.

Such an event perplexes police due to the fact that Jigsaw, also known as John Kramer (Tobin Bell) died, leading Detective Halloran (Callum Keith Rennie) on a familiar goose-chase, with forensic pathologists Logan Nelson (Matt Passmore) and Eleanor Bonneville (Hannah Emily Anderson) along for the ride. Meanwhile, the trapped individuals confront their past crimes through bloodshed and self-sacrifice, kept in line by Jigsaw's strict emphasis on following the rules and avoiding the temptation of taking shortcuts, which will always result in more excruciating punishment.

Jigsaw's mediocrity comes in how ordinary it feels. For a once-inventive franchise that found ways to surprise with each new installment, Jigsaw provides its titular character with a weak "comeback," if you will, by giving us most of what we expect to be given in a very sub-par manner. The characters held prisoner by Kramer are one-dimensional, their dialog largely comprised of screaming while their backstory told in flashback, and those making a cogent effort to apprehend Kramer prove to be just as faceless. Even Jigsaw's voice doesn't terrorize like it used to, which makes a bulk of the film rest on the strengths of its traps, some marginally memorable, but most incredulous and disposable.

One thing I've appreciated about the Saw franchise was its ironic commitment to pessimism. One of Kramer's ulterior motives is getting those he holds captive to appreciate life after taking advantage of it for so long, but so often do the films show the characters' (realistic) failings, which of course means their murders. The conflicted, arguably disturbed desires of the audience come into play by the eternal conflict many Saw fans face: they want the character to live, but they also want to see the trap succeed and reveal its interworkings. With Jigsaw, the traps feel rudimentary, and maybe that's because after seven films, so many of us have become so in-tuned with the mind of Kramer and his motivations that we now simply predict what we once couldn't imagine.

But the coffin-sealing nail for the film is its pacing and the convolution it brings. Yet again reiterating that this film looks and operates like a belated direct-to-DVD sequel, it also moves like it was forced to be barely 80 minutes from the beginning. That means the final act of the film resorts to characters practically panting and hyperventilating in order to get their motivations heard so the credits can roll as soon as possible. These revelations are rattled off so quickly that you might find yourself watching the end credits longer than you normally would in order to piece together the details of the conclusion; not because it's elaborate but because it's so poorly explained.

Jigsaw might give the most-starved Saw fan something to cheer on, but the real fans of the franchise deserve something far more compelling than this monotone rehash. Part of the problem is somewhat inevitable and that's the idea that many horror fans have seen so much grisly carnage on film over the last decade that their stomachs aren't as queasy as they once were. With this in mind, the directing team of Peter and Michael Spierig (Daybreakers, Predestination) as well as the writing team of Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger needed to come with an approach that was cognizant of the altered minds of the zeitgeist. When you remove the allure of Jigsaw's weightless traps from the film, you're left with a sterile procedural with a twist rendered ineffective and that's no fun in a franchise that was once all about it.

Starring: Matt Passmore, Callum Keith Rennie, Hannah Emily Anderson, Laura Vandervoort, Mandela Van Peebles, Paul Braunstein, Josiah Black, and Tobin Bell. Directed by: The Spierig Brothers.

[StevePulaski]

Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman

Chris Rock takes a stab at the second Saw revival in four years with Spiral.

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★½

NOTE: I've recently signed on to write film reviews for Influx Magazine, the site that gave me my professional start in 2013.
Look for reviews of more recent movies on that site, including Spiral: From the Book of Saw:
influxmagazine.com/spiral-from-the-book-of-saw-2021-review//

NOTE II: Check out our discussion of Spiral: From the Book of Saw on my web-show Sleepless with Steve!