Review of Saw VI (2009) by Bsh N — 22 Mar 2011

Well I guess I finally got around to watching what I hope will be the final Saw film. I love this franchise but it's gotten so confusing that I almost have to go back 2 or 3 films and watch them in a marathon to catch on. The sixth entry brings the entire series to a satisfying conclusion but of course it still leaves it open to continue on. Don't all horror films do that anyway?

I thought the first Saw flick was extremely smart and I never saw the end coming but as the series wore on it started getting bogged down in weird back connections that seemed to just be thrown in to make the film seem smarter than it was. This one actually keeps it pretty simple and doesn't start adding in too many twists. I can't imagine watching this one without having seen all the other films though. I've heard a lot of people comment that this was so much better than the previous film but I don't remember hating the fifth one that much anyway. Of course I have trouble keeping the different movies separated in my brain anyway. They've managed to meld into one giant film in my mind and while my enjoyment of each film has progressively gone down, I always like them.

The traps are probably a big part of the draw of the Saw franchise and while some of them were really well done, others seemed quick and lame. There's a good heaping of gore on display but the final trap was my favorite. It also winds up being the most gruesome. What bothered me about it was the fact that most of the advertising I got from this one was of a group of people strapped to something. A table or wheel or whatever it was, hell, it's even the image on the poster above. This actual trap is not only the weakest of the flick, it's also the one with the least impact and point. I was assuming it would be the great focal point of the film when it's really just a small portion.

If you've been following the franchise like I have then this is a great way to end it. It ties up all the loose story threads and gives closure to the saga of Jigsaw. To think they've managed to go this far when Tobin Bell's character has been dead for 3 films (3 or was it 2 or 4, I don't even know now!) is a shock to me. Costas Mandylor is back as Hoffman but I've never really liked him. I mean, Hoffman is such a suspicious and shady guy. Didn't anybody ever think it could have been him? The second the guy walked on the screen I kept thinking it was him. Of course at this point there's no mystery as to who is setting up the traps and I think it hurts the film. I would have liked it to have been a big secret from the beginning. Once we know who is running things we're left with only the traps to entertain us. I imagine that's why the endless amounts of twists are thrown in. Kinda seems like an episode of Lost!

Saw 6 will deliver the goods for fans of the series but if you don't like it then this will only serve up more of the same for you. It's very true to the formula that they have been using since the start but it's like one continuous movie now. I had to watch them all to see what the hell was happening. Lets just hope the finish on this high note. I've enjoyed the 6 films they have made and wouldn't want to see them go the way of some other horror franchises that went way beyond their prime. I don't wanna see Jigsaw Takes Manhattan!