In "Saw VI," there will be blood... lots of blood. Yes, Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is back in the latest "Saw" entry, despite us seeing his demise way back in "Saw III" (2006), but his legacy continues in this series that does not seem to have a logical end in sight. Really. The "Saw" franchise is one movie franchise that can literally just go on and on without the slightest hint of some movie exec getting the brilliant idea to pull the plug. Each new film fills in the gaps of the last film while continuing on with a new story; that is really the biggest plus about this film series, rather than falling into the trap of just repeating the same story over and over again.
For those unacquainted with Jigsaw's legacy, he is a serial killer who places his victims into highly sophisticated tricks & traps designed to teach them the meaning of life, because that is the reward for escaping intact, or alive but horribly mutilated: life. (Who said horror movies could no longer have a philosophical bent?) Technically, of course, Jigsaw is not a serial killer because he's never actually killed anyone; his victims usually end up killing themselves trying to escape his elaborate systems of tricks & traps. And of course if they fail their "test," then there will be one hell of a mess to clean up.
Since the original Jigsaw is long dead, taking his place was Agent Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), a vengeful F.B.I. who designed a trick & trap of his own to exact vengeance upon the man responsible for killing his sister, thus becoming Jigsaw's apprentice. Since taking care of the nosy colleague at the Bureau who was on to his trail at the end of the last film, Agent Hoffman is now the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. But a new team of F.B.I. agents are hot on his trail, and he must find a way to deal with them. At the same time, Agent Hoffman has his hands full with a new tricks & traps setup involving a greedy insurance executive who must navigate his way through a series of "tests" designed to, of course, teach him the meaning of life. And so let the games begin...
"Saw VI" is an impressive new entry. It was certainly better than the last film that came out in 2008; it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. "Saw VI" firmly establishes itself as an improvement in a series that seemed to be losing its steam, despite its apparent ability to never die. I guess it's to the credit of director Kevin Greutert and screenwriters Patrickt Melton & Marcus Dunstan to fill his movie with gore and more gore delight, and an ending that promises yet another sequel later on this year.
Did I mention that this movie was hella-gory (perhaps even more so in the unrated director's cut)? I have to say that this is probably the goriest "Saw" film to date, with severed limbs, disembowelment, and acid-injecting syringes aplenty. This is also the first movie in the series since "Saw" (2004) to really wear its morality on its sleeve: the greedy insurance executive comes to be representative of all greedy insurance executives (greedy insurance execs, look out!) when he is forced to come face-to-face with his moral repugnance in the deciding of who lives and who dies, and the lives of those his decisions will surely ruin, least of which is his own.
"Saw VI" proves that the human body is a remarkable piece of machinery, all right, able to withstand the greatest amount of destruction and still find a way to heal itself. Not after Jigsaw gets through with you...
7/10
For those unacquainted with Jigsaw's legacy, he is a serial killer who places his victims into highly sophisticated tricks & traps designed to teach them the meaning of life, because that is the reward for escaping intact, or alive but horribly mutilated: life. (Who said horror movies could no longer have a philosophical bent?) Technically, of course, Jigsaw is not a serial killer because he's never actually killed anyone; his victims usually end up killing themselves trying to escape his elaborate systems of tricks & traps. And of course if they fail their "test," then there will be one hell of a mess to clean up.
Since the original Jigsaw is long dead, taking his place was Agent Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), a vengeful F.B.I. who designed a trick & trap of his own to exact vengeance upon the man responsible for killing his sister, thus becoming Jigsaw's apprentice. Since taking care of the nosy colleague at the Bureau who was on to his trail at the end of the last film, Agent Hoffman is now the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. But a new team of F.B.I. agents are hot on his trail, and he must find a way to deal with them. At the same time, Agent Hoffman has his hands full with a new tricks & traps setup involving a greedy insurance executive who must navigate his way through a series of "tests" designed to, of course, teach him the meaning of life. And so let the games begin...
"Saw VI" is an impressive new entry. It was certainly better than the last film that came out in 2008; it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. "Saw VI" firmly establishes itself as an improvement in a series that seemed to be losing its steam, despite its apparent ability to never die. I guess it's to the credit of director Kevin Greutert and screenwriters Patrickt Melton & Marcus Dunstan to fill his movie with gore and more gore delight, and an ending that promises yet another sequel later on this year.
Did I mention that this movie was hella-gory (perhaps even more so in the unrated director's cut)? I have to say that this is probably the goriest "Saw" film to date, with severed limbs, disembowelment, and acid-injecting syringes aplenty. This is also the first movie in the series since "Saw" (2004) to really wear its morality on its sleeve: the greedy insurance executive comes to be representative of all greedy insurance executives (greedy insurance execs, look out!) when he is forced to come face-to-face with his moral repugnance in the deciding of who lives and who dies, and the lives of those his decisions will surely ruin, least of which is his own.
"Saw VI" proves that the human body is a remarkable piece of machinery, all right, able to withstand the greatest amount of destruction and still find a way to heal itself. Not after Jigsaw gets through with you...
7/10