Review of Saw VI (2009) by Ryan M — 27 Jan 2011

6.0/10.

"Saw V" nearly convinced me to give up on the "Saw" franchise for good. It was a film so bad that I couldn't bear it; a blood-and-guts "thrill-ride" without thrills. And then there was this part of me saying, "Screw the possibilities. Let's watch "Saw VI" for the hell of it". And as I watched it, I expected nothing more or less than an improvement on "Saw V". And you know what; I was not wrong to predict the decent but worthwhile outcome. "Saw VI" is an enormous improvement on the epic failure that was "Saw V". This is a wittier, smarter, and more entertaining film. I won't call it good cinema, and I won't call it "good" as a whole, but "Saw VI" is actually pretty decent. There will always be this boyish part of me that drives me to enjoy films like these as long as they are creative, and surprisingly this installment delivers enough of the goods; at least enough to have me sold. But I suppose I should discuss the film's flaws. And believe me; it has many of them. First of all, the plot is still fairly convoluted BUT it's definitely less tedious than the filler plot that was in "Saw V". All I can say is that at least "Saw VI" has one, even if it's obviously full of flaws. None the less, it makes me want to watch "Saw VII" regardless of how crappy/mediocre the thing is. There's something that I actually found myself liking about Kevin Greutert's directorial style, and it's good to see that "Saw" is worth watching once again. This is a piece of entertainment; not a piece of art. It's not as good as "Saw", and I don't think any future installment will be, but it comes close enough to the point where I kind of have to applaud it for being better than the others. "Saw" fans can rejoice; this is a miracle for the extremely flawed serious. I have personally had a rough past with the series and I always will be, but I'm totally open to nigh success when it's there; and I tell you right now that this is most definitely a "nigh success". I'm not going to say that I liked "Saw VI", but it's a fairly entertaining installment in the "Saw" franchise that seems like more of a good old return to the series' roots as a thriller rather than a horror franchise. "Saw VI", for all it is worth, delivers the bloody, mostly entertaining goods. If you can't enjoy it, then...well, I have nothing left to say to you. You either enjoy it or you don't. Take "Saw VI" as you will, but just remember that for once it doesn't feel like a forced sequel. It actually wants to exist. And it kind of makes me appreciate "Saw" for what it was. So that's it; it's neither a recommendation nor a skip. Only see it out of will.

Leaving off from the fifth installment, Detective Hoffman has killed Strahm and is now trying to frame his victim for Jigsaw's murders. Some new additions to the game are Perez, who has since recovered from her previous injuries, and a Health Insurance executive named William Easton who is now in nigh complete control of Jigsaw's latest "grand" game. As one could expect, the story constantly jumps around from the big game to the big hunt for the truth. Of course, now that we know Hoffman is the protégé of the late Jigsaw, we know that someone on his team has got to have some understanding of his double identity. This makes "Saw VI" more of a thriller than a horror film, and I must admit that I quite liked the shift in tone; for most of the time at least. "Saw VI" is a mostly entertaining, trap-laden film if you can get past the few backdrops. Occasionally, the plot can feel like nothing more than the usual, while at other time's it actually makes sense. It none the less leaves room for something mighty awesome to happen in the final game, "Saw VII", and I'm hoping for the best. However, despite the fact that it's better than the other "Saw" sequels, it won't earn the franchise any new supporters. Even I am questioning my will, and I conclude that it's a franchise with one-too-many bad movies to earn my full attention (and support). I liked "Saw". I enjoyed "Saw VI". And I hated just about everything else this torture porn franchise has to offer. This is by no means a well-made film, but there is some craft to be found. It never goes to artistic thriller extremes, but the fact that it's such a huge improvement on a disaster by the name of "Saw V" is both surprising and quite admirable. If you're a fan, then I urge you to see it. This is the best thing to happen to "Saw" since the first installment, and that's saying something, right? I'd say so.

There's not much to see here in terms of acting, although this time around, the absence of Jigsaw doesn't really hurt the film; it does better on its own. The returning actors are truly nothing special, while anyone new is just the same. Peter Outerbridge plays William, who a less than interesting character, is played by an equally as mediocre actor. I won't say the actors seem as forced, uncomfortable, and emotionless as they were in "Saw V", but not enough has improved in this department for me to be impressed. None the less, it's nice to see the actors who I hated in the fifth installment are somewhat better in the sixth, although then again, perhaps "Saw" will never have good actors. It's just not meant to be, I suppose.

"Saw VI" is as corpse-filled as any of the other installments, although with a slightly positive twist. I found that watching the body count was actually somewhat entertaining, even if I felt kind of guilty about watching it in the first place. It's sort of a guilty pleasure; not really a "good" movie but none the less an entertaining piece of work. "Saw VI" is not what "Saw" was; a taut thriller. It's getting closer to being a thriller yet again than any of the other "Saw" films have, but alas it's a tad too flawed to earn its full stripes. But as I said, I enjoyed this film. It was entertainment. Nothing more or nothing less, but entertainment all the same. And as a "Saw" film that's actually entertaining, it might as well be the "Citizen Kane" of the series. Or maybe that's "Saw" I'm thinking of rather than the sixth film. Nevertheless, you get my point. If you like gore, then this film has plenty of it. If you like traps, then this film features a handful of surprisingly entertaining nooks and crannies. It's for the "Saw" admirers only; as well as anyone who sat through the other imperfect and almost unwatchable installments. I still kind of hate myself for watching the unbearable madness of "Saw V", but in many ways the fact that it led up to this minor gem was its own reward. So yes, I did enjoy myself. It's not art, it's not good, but director Kevin Greutert seems to have a handle on how to do "Saw" right, and he's made the second best film in the entire franchise. For the better or for the worse, "Saw VI" is a fairly decent but forgettable little ride.

This is all fun and games for gore-hogs. I am not a gore-hog, I do not suppose, but I did enjoy this little game while it lasted. It's ultimately forgettable and sometimes I questioned myself for enjoying it as much as I did, but "Saw VI" is a suitably gory and surprisingly solid sixth installment in the decaying franchise. It brings many of the elements of "Saw" and creates a pretty decent film out of them, even if it's not as good as "Saw" was to me. I liked "Saw" was a thriller. It made me feel good watching such a thrill-ride. "Saw VI" almost made me feel this way, but alas it fell a bit short in the plot and character departments. I do however think it makes up for its flaws in gore and entertainment. It really does leave something interesting to happen in the final installment, and for the better or for the worst, it makes me want to continue to the game. I think at this rate, it's fairly intelligent to ride this potentially ugly bastard of a franchise to the very end, since now that I'm (kind of) interested, I'm (kind of) hooked. "Saw VI" was guilty fun if one would consider it fun at all, and in fear of loosing my credibility I will not call it well-done, but the new director brings more than enough style and interest to the game to make it entertaining once again. I don't usually enjoy gory horror, but this film somewhat fit the bill. As a film in such a poor franchise, I'd call it fairly impressive. It could even be called one of the biggest movie shockers of 2009, since I expected it to suck really hard. But it didn't. And that's what I enjoyed about it. My last words to you are that if you want to play the game, then please do by all means. If you don't due to your hatred for the "Saw" films, then stay away. As many have said, "Saw VI" will not gain new fans for such a series, although I admire the improvements on display here. They are obvious and essential; just as they should be. And it doesn't suck, which last time I checked, was actually a good thing. Am I right? Yes, I think so. And I think many will agree with me when I say that "Saw VI" is not good. But hey: it's better than "Saw V". And that's good enough for me.