David Frederick
Journal Staff
When the first Saw (2004, Twisted Pictures) captivated audiences six years ago, it broke new ground, built a fan base and became a box office monster. By 2010, the series has become a satire of what it once was.
Now unlike most fans, I have liked the previous six films, with the sixth actually being more fluid than the two that preceded it. But when I went to see this chapter, as soon as the title screen ended, I knew that it wouldn’t be a horror film, but a horrific experience.
One of the many stars of the film, Sean Patrick Flanery (Boondock Saints), plays Bobby Dagen, a man who claims to have once been in a Jigsaw trap. Dagen uses that to sell his self-help book as he gathers up other survivors to create a support group to add to his profit. Of course, the greedy bastard and his close ones are kidnapped by Jigsaw’s successor, corrupt police officer Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) who puts him to a grueling test to free himself and those he dragged into it.
The other side of the plot involves Hoffman killing a vast amount of people while trying to find Jigsaw’s wife, Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), who almost got away with murdering Hoffman in the last installment. The film seems very rushed and feels like it was thrown together in a matter of days. Imagine two Saw films, mashed into one. I normally love the traps, and, with the exception of the trap which had Chester Bennington (Linkin Park vocalist) in it, I was not impressed. It was just recycled garbage. Normally, I look forward to seeing the traps because from an artistic view point. They can be hauntingly amazing. This installment, however, had no art with the exception of the slaying of the one cop, Gibson (Chad Donella) whose acting ability can be summed up as a poor man’s Matthew McConaughey.
Sean Patrick Flanery and Costas Mandylor gave great performances, but at this point not even a hypothetical Tarantino could save this movie. With an ending that online trolls will be buzzing about for a while, Saw 3D is almost the horror equivalent of The Room (2003, Wiseau-Films).
A poor decision that the filmmakers thought would be good was to bring back Cary Elwes as Dr. Lawerence Gordon, creating perhaps one of the most lackluster endings in cinema history. One can’t help but wonder if all this was done on purpose. The director, Kevin Greutert admitted that he did not want to work on this movie, as he wanted to direct Paranormal Activity 2 (2010, Paramount Pictures) but as a contract clause was legally obliged to work on this instead. The writers, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, even admitted that the films’ stories were thrown together. Maybe they just wanted one big satire.
Even being a satire, it doesn’t defend the fact that Saw 3D was a very crappy movie that shouldn’t even be downloaded online. Don’t bother watching it for any form of amusement. I think it’s over though. At least, I feel safe to say that I think it’s over. One thing worries me though: Saw 3D was No. 1 at the box office this weekend. Will the series ever end, or will the producers want to keep going and see just how deep the rabbit hole goes?
