Review of Saw III (2006) by Billy C — 23 May 2012

Jigsaw has disappeared. Now aided by his new apprentice Amanda, the puppet-master behind the cruel, intricate games that have terrified a community and baffled police has once again eluded capture and vanished. While city detectives scramble to locate him, Dr. Lynn Denlon is unaware that she is about to become the latest pawn on his vicious chessboard. One night, after finishing a shift at her hospital, Lynn is kidnapped by the deranged Amanda and taken to an abandoned warehouse where she meets Jigsaw, aka: John Kramer, who's now bedridden and on the verge of death. Lynn is told that she must keep the madman alive for as long as it takes Jeff, another of his victims, to complete a game of his own. Racing against the ticking clock of Jigsaw's own heartbeat, Lynn and Jeff struggle to make it through each of their vicious tests, unaware that Jigsaw and Amanda have a much bigger plan for both of them...

Saw is back for another installment in the series as Saw III carries on from Saw II however is it any good? The story is mediocre this time round and isn't very friendly to people who are watching the series for the first time. You'd have to watch the first two to actually make sense of the story. The characters aren't very well created except for Doctor Lynn and obviously John and Amanda who were in the first two movies. You didn't really feel connected much to the rest of the characters so you didn't really care much. The character development was okay but it was mainly between Amanda and John (or Jigsaw) as she starts to care for him like a daughter would care for her father, trying desperately to cure and heal him. The acting is average except for the talented Shawnee Smith as Amanda and Tobin Bell as Jigsaw, both of them were yet again brilliant and the relationship between them is great. The direction isn't bad and the writing is great except for the fact that the story is more for the people who watched the first two movies than newcomers. The special effects and the blood and gore were yet again realistic and the traps were inventive but there was one scene that I think could have pushed the blood and gore scenes a little too far.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It's a good horror movie but it's definitely the weakest at the moment. Another thing that was bad was the amount of blood and gore in this one. Even though I'm okay with blood and gore scenes in movies, there was one scene in particular which made me feel uncomfortable watching because it went a little too far (you'll know which scene I'm talking about if you watch the movie) and I felt that the movie didn't really need to cross that line as the story was very good anyway. The twists and turns in the movie won't let you down however, as there are plenty of them in the story.