Saw III
Saw III: Want to play?
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Tuesday, 31, Oct 2006 12:00
In a nutshell.
Torture, death, brain surgery, power drills.
What's it all about?
Jigsaw, the serial killer from the first two films in the franchise, is orchestrating one final 'game' from his death bed. With the help of his weird little apprentice, Amanda, he kidnaps a female brain surgeon who is - thanks largely to a bomb collar linked to the nutter's heart monitor - persuaded to help keep him alive.
The game involves a father, Jeff, who is consumed by anger and remorse after the death of his young son in a road accident. Jeff is presented with a witness who failed to come forward, the judge who gave the driver a lenient sentence and finally, the driver himself. In each case Jeff can choose whether to let them die - and just so we're clear, being chained up naked and doused in water in a giant freezer is as nice as it gets - or make some personal sacrifice in order to save them.
As well as this new story, there are a number of flashbacks - some of which we could probably have done without - to Saw II and the vastly superior Saw I. There is the now familiar twist in the tale, but don't get too excited, it doesn't come close to the finale in either of the previous films.
Who's in it?
Tobin Bell (creepy), Shawnee Smith (oddball), Angus Macfadyen (troubled), Bahar Soomekh (handy with a power drill)
As an example.
Burn your dead son's toys or let the judge who sentenced his killer to a few months in jail drown in rotting pig innards? Not a dilemma most people have to deal with so no wonder Jeff has to scratch his head for minute. That's not the most gruesome 'game' and we haven't even got to the emergency brain surgery using a power drill and a circular saw. Apparently some people have required hospital treatment after watching this film.
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
No way. But with a 'yuck factor' to rival anything else in the genre, Saw III is sure to make a few post-pub DVD collections.
What the others say
"It requires a stretch of the imagination too far, but there's still plenty of gore and tricksy murders here." Kim Newman, Empire.
"It's sick and slick but also - incredibly - rather dull. It doesn't help that it's a movie without a hero (Danny Glover and Donnie Wahlberg long gone); the vacuum ineffectively filled by Jigsaw moralising about torture as a form of salvation. Is he on the CIA payroll?" Jamie Russell, Total Film.
So is it any good?
It is. If you like gross-out gore-fests you can't ask for much more than Saw III. Scary it's not, but it is a genuine stomach-churner. Anyone who kept their lunch down during the unedited version of Hostel will enjoy this blood-splattering, bone crunching, head-drilling romp.
Saw I had genuine menace and an excellent twist, Saw II had a clever story that kept the audience guessing. Saw III doesn't bother with any of that, but instead we're invited to watch a series of macabre sketches, in which victims are tortured to death courtesy of a series of increasingly nasty contraptions.
From having your ribcage torn out to getting your arms and legs twisted off, there is no nice way to go in Saw III. And despite what the tacked-on attempt at a surprise ending might suggest, there is no moral lesson here either.
Excellent pre-boozer entertainment, poor choice for a first date.
7/10