Review: Saw VI
Posted October 23, 2009 3:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
If you’re reading this review, that means you have some interest in seeing Saw VI. In that case, chances are you’ve probably also seen the previous five Saw films and know what you’re in for, rendering this review useless. If you don’t know the Saw films and think starting at part VI is a good idea — it’s not. This movie is for fans of Saw only. Everyone else should avoid it at all costs!
Notorious serial killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is still murdering from beyond the grave with elaborate traps and games he has his puppet, Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), carry out for him. Most of the “story” is told via flashbacks and enlightens the audience to the motive Jigsaw has for this batch of murders. His ex-wife Jill (Betsy Russell) is part of the game now too and is acting suspicious and sneaking around not letting the audience know what she needs to do or who she needs to kill.
As with all the previous films, the games and traps are disturbing scenarios that force the people trapped inside (who have done something of moral question to be there) to kill someone else in order to live. Relevant to today’s economic times, the opening scene deals with two trapped loan officers who gave money to people who couldn’t afford to pay it back. However, a majority of the the movie is about health insurance agent William (Toronto’s own Peter Outerbridge), who has to play a demented life-or-death game for not honouring his clients’ policies. This is the horror movie based on Michael Moore documentaries.
Now is a good time to state my admiration for the Saw series. The first one was a brilliant thriller and holds it own against flicks like Seven and Silence of the Lambs. The sequels are not good movies at all but they do fulfill an urge to see people get messed up real good. And no one does it better than the makers of Saw. It’s the same urge as going to a haunted house on Halloween. You know it’s stupid and fake but it’s fun and gives you a jolt. Since the movies’ timely releases occur every October, a lot of people are into it and eat it up, myself included. Next year we can expect to see Saw VII in 3-D too.
Is Saw VI scary? Not really. Is it gory? Hell yeah! But it was surprisingly toned down compared to the others. Toned down doesn’t mean there is not a lot of sick, twisted, gross scenes showing people being mutilated. It’s full of blood and guts and it delivered what I expected. However the preceding film’s opening showing a guy with his guts falling out and being slowly sliced in half is hard to top.
As a Saw film, it’s worthy of three out of five stars. On its own, I’d give it a one. If you’re a fan, you’ll be out enjoying it this weekend either way.
*** out of 5 stars
Rated R
Cast: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Betsy Russell
Directed by: Kevin Greutert
Official Site IMDb
brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com
ALSO OPENING THIS WEEK: Amelia, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Astro Boy, The September Issue, An Education
Top image: A scene from Saw VI. Courtesy Maple Pictures.
