“You think it’s over, but the
games have just begun…”
John Kramer is dead. Very dead. So
dead, in fact, that the film begins with his autopsy. But that doesn’t mean
that we’ve heard the last of Jigsaw. Things have been set in motion from beyond
the grave, and an unsuspected individual is carrying on the nastiness.
This film covers some edgier
themes than its predecessor, but in spite of some extreme gore it doesn’t feel
as sadistic, perhaps because of these themes. There’s a slightly stronger focus
(relatively speaking) on character, with even John himself being given some
greater depth in flashback, not that his past remotely justifies his actions,
of course. Nevertheless, Tobin Bell is excellent as ever.
As before, a supporting character
in previous films (in this case Officer Rigg) is promoted to a starring role
because of the disturbingly high death count amongst his colleagues. Intricate
and sadistic situations happen. There is blood. There is suffering, much of vaguely
ironic. You know the drill by now. The references to previous filmed are
becoming increasingly intricate, as are the concluding revelations. The “everything
you think you know is wrong” factor gets bigger and bigger with each entry in
the series.
And yet… well made though this is,
and less gory than its predecessor (that, of course, is a relative statement!),
the very serious themes leave a bad taste in the mouth. Child abuse and
miscarriage are used, without much in the way of subtext, to titillate, and
this makes me feel a little uncomfortable.
Time for an extended break from
the Saw films, methinks. I’ll eventually
be back to do the rest.
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