Review: Saw VI
Director: Kevin Greutert
Year: 2009
Country: USA
I have yet to review any of the Saw films. As a whole I do not like them, as I feel they do nothing more than endlessly recycle the same basic premise without ever really accomplishing anything new. The stories being told in between the violence and gore get thinner as the series progresses, the disastrous result of the decision to kill off Jigsaw in the third installment, which is arguably the best of the series. Instead, the series continued, introducing new characters and a successor to Jigsaw, the motives of which are revealed in the fifth installment, considered the weakest entry in the franchise. After watching Saw VI however, the realization that all of this serves a purpose has come full circle, and fans of the franchise are given a stellar horror film and the first Saw film since part three where the plot, as opposed to the clever kills, is the most interesting aspect of the film.
Wrapped up in a not-so-subtle critique of the current state of the health care industry, Saw VI delves even deeper into the motives of John Kramer and this time centering the newest game around the V. P. of an insurance company whose formula to determine who gets coverage and who doesn’t. Without descending into spoiler territory, this naturally has negative effects on his overall wellbeing, as he is thrown into a deadly carnival of mayhem that has come to typify the new millennium’s latest horror franchise.
The success of this film relies heavily on past events, as it manages to wrap up every lingering detail in a tight-knit package without making the same mistakes the prior two entries in the franchise did. The story focuses heavily on Kramer, his motivations, and the role of his ex-wife Jill Tuck, who as largely been a very minor character throughout the series. Saw VI in many ways is analogous to Saw III in that it marks a point where one storyline ends and another begins. Most cried foul upon seeing installments IV and V, as the main antagonist of the film was gone and thus should signify the end of the series. Instead, they in many ways act as a second trilogy, involving new characters and new story lines without straying too far away from the overarching theme of the series. While Saws IV and V were undoubtedly the worst films in the franchise, they allowed all of the elements of the first three films to come together in a solid and entertaining way.
Like most Saw films (the original film is excluded, because that wasn’t acting, it was failing in motion), the acting is questionable but by no means bad. Costas Mandylor, who plays detective-cum-Jigsaw the Deuce, plays his role better in this film than the prior few in which he was a central part of the mayhem, though his face continues to be permanently locked in a grimace, which is appropriate for his character yet still mildly humorous. The editing is frenetic as usual but toned down given the nature of the traps, and of course we’re met with one Hell of a twist ending that would leave most shocked when it’s revealed.
Some have been saying Saw VI has “saved the franchise,” which is both a good and a bad thing, depending on your point of view. After part three, we were treated to two subpar sequels that some felt signalled the end of the franchise, only to be met with a supposed saving grace. While this is merely a reflection of cynical pessimism concerning the Saw franchise, the smart money is now on two more sequels that serve as an attempt to jump start a new storyline, only to have Saw IX in 2012 reconcile everything once again. The future of the franchise notwithstanding, however, Saw VI is a solid effort and a breath of fresh air, especially for those who have endured the first five films every October for the past five years. With luck, the momentum can continue and the series can eventually end on a high note.
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I think you were pretty much dead on in what you said about how each of the successive movies in the saw series basically perpetuating what the first installment establishes.
But for me its hard to really find too many things wrong with any of what the writers and director have put out. For one Tobin Bell is awesome in the role as Jig Saw. Could you possibly envision anyone but this man embodying the Jig Saw character? And secondly, the use of the doll, although not entirely new in horror movies, it works very well here. The decision to incorporate the voice of Jig Saw (in voice over) synced with the movement of its mouth on a somewhat grainy home video in my opinion is one of many elements you see in the series that set it apart from many other horror movie franchises.
When all said and done, Saw will go down in history as the most successful horror movie franchise ever, unless of course it has already obtained that status.
I wasn’t sold on this movie (and, in fact, hated quite a bit of it) right up until the last 60 seconds. Which proved to be the finest in the history of the series, finally giving us an ending that lives up to, and yes, even surpasses, the first film’s resolution.