Review of Saw VI (2009) by Zuzanna S — 04 Nov 2010

The Saw saga has survived better than most horror movie franchises. There aren't many series that can turn out five movies, all of which can be classed as good, with the original being a whisker shy of brilliant. Saw managed that task thanks to it's inter-movie linking story, constantly revealing something new about the events of the previous installments and backing it up with a twist ending.

It is with great dismay then that the sixth entry in the macabre tale of the man known as Jigsaw is the moment that the series jumps the shark. This time around we're shown the plight of an unscrupulous insurance company boss as he faces some of those difficult choices while the brooding Jigsaw disciple Detective Hoffman tries to cover his tracks as the investigation closes in on him.

The traps are inventive enough as per usual. One of the chief attractions of the Saw films is seeing what diabolical contraptions will pop up next.....the spinning gun wheel is a particular highlight here. Unfortunately, this is all this Saw film really has going for it.

The protagonists seem like very small players in the Jigsaw saga this time so it feels like the film makers are clutching at straws to find another excuse to fill 90 minutes. There is also a very heavy reliance on remembering every single little bit from the previous five movies, some of which is filled in but usually too quick for the audience to digest what's actually going on.

It was always going to happen that a saga built on it's twist endings was going to let it's fans down eventually. Yes, there is a bit of a twist to Saw VI but it's a disappointment when compared to the previous five climactic sequences.....even that signature tune seems to be turned down. Plus, the end is a bit ambiguous and unclear as to what actually happened which is pretty irritating.

Is the Saw series finally beginning to blunt.