The first Saw movie did a lot of good for the horror world. It was a brand new type of horror film, one that was part mystery, part psychological thriller, and part cringe-worthy gore fest (even though the first Saw actually has hardly any gore at all). It also is the last movie I can remember to totally GET everyone who saw it. No one saw the twist coming in that movie. It was so impressive, I remember seeing the movie three times in theaters. It also launched the career of James Wan, who has honed his horror skills and given us great terrifying movies like The Conjuring and Insidious. Hell, the guy even got to do Fast and Furious 7 as well as the upcoming Aquaman film. The first Saw film still holds up today and is genuinely one of the best and most original horror movies ever made.
However... it also created a lot of bad. Since the first film, there have been seven sequels. There used to be a new Saw movie once every Halloween, until we got tired of seeing the same old thing. The sequels lost the acting quality, the script quality, and the intelligence of the first movie and it literally just became a bunch of random directors seeing how many different ways they could torture other human beings. The torture devices got more inventive and the carnage got gorier. There were little twists here and there throughout the series, but none that even remotely came close to the shock of the first film. Now, were any of the sequels good? Sure. I'd say one of them was good. But because they all blend together, I couldn't even tell you which one I'm thinking of. The sixth one? Maybe? Either way, most of the sequels were hot garbage that didn't require acting or a story. Fans of the Saw franchise saw these movies for the kills. That's it.
So, in order to bring back the franchise after a seven year hiatus, I thought maybe there was an idea so brilliant that it couldn't have been left alone. They came up with such good torture devices, such a good plot, such a good twist... that they HAD to bring the franchise back for one more, hoping once again to start anew.
Nope. Not the case. Seriously, if it hadn't been seven years since the last film, this movie would lump itself in with the rest of the series. Except this time, it's even more forgettable. I didn't go into the film thinking it would be good. Don't worry. Didn't make that mistake. But I did have high hopes for something within the film to impress me because, again... why bother bringing it back if you didn't have something new to offer? This question and more are unanswered in the film.
It's been ten years since anyone has heard from the Jigsaw killer, until bodies start turning up with jigsaw pieces cut out of them. A Detective and his partner have teamed up to figure out who is trying to pull a copycat of a long-dead serial killer (remember... Jigsaw actually DIED in the third movie despite this being the eighth). While the detective is searching for where the new "game" is being played, we are following a new group of reprobates being punished by Jigsaw - or a Jigsaw copycat - for their crimes against humanity. They are subjected to new torture devices and wind up getting killed by them one by one until the standard Saw big reveal at the end.
The acting is terrible, the dialogue sounds like it's straight from an episode of NCIS, the character motivations are laughable and the means of torture aren't even that clever. But it's actually a really fun movie to watch-- IF you enjoy watching the other terrible Saw films. Fans of the franchise don't see the movie to get scared. You go to laugh at the poor acting/dialogue/story and cringe at the gore. Critics of the franchise will not be converted. It's more of the same. It's more of the same even to a fault. Two consistencies in the Saw films really stood out to me and I was hoping we'd get a change of pace- first of all, everyone dies in every movie. Every person in every movie subjected to Jigsaw's games die. The only ones who don't wind up turning into Jigsaw helpers. No one ever gets to hack off a limb, escape and live happily ever after. Second, every Jigsaw victim, when put into a group (hell, even solo) is an idiot. No one listens to reason. No one tries to actually figure out the game. Everyone acts out of moronic instinct and all wind up getting killed because of it. A nice change of pace would've been to see a smart victim or a group of victims actually trying not to fall into the same trap over and over and over again. But, alas, we are given much of the same.
The other thing about the movie that hindered the fun a little bit, too, was the new directors (the Spierig Brothers) decided not to go balls out like the previous directors and a lot of the gore is held off screen. The one thing you can certainly rely on in a Saw movie is satiating your inner blood lust, but most of the carnage happens off screen, which is a little disappointing. There's also a couple of Jigsaw "traps" that are very confusing on how they're supposed to work, which makes the tension almost non-existent. There are still bloody moments and a couple of cool traps, but overall it's a weaker entry into the series (something a resurgence of a franchise after several years should never be).
I will give Jigsaw this-- the twist, though not mind-blowing by any standard, is actually pretty clever. I don't know if I should've seen it coming all along, but it was clever enough that it took me by surprise. It's too easy to just put the blame on a copycat Jigsaw killer, so the way they are able to explain the resurgence of Jigsaw after ten years was a bit more clever than I was willing to give the movie credit for. Other than that, it's your standard Saw film (the first movie doesn't count as "standard" btw). If you've enjoyed the insane and grotesque aspects of the each film and are willing to laugh along with the thin stories that accompany the deaths, then you'll have fun watching this one as I did. But, if you're looking for something new and unique and worthwhile in theaters (that's actually going to scare you), then this is certainly not the franchise to pick up this late.
C-
No comments:
Post a Comment