,When audiences think of long-running iconic horror film franchises, the ones that come to mind are Friday-The-13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and the Saw franchise. The latter has terrified audiences since it first burst onto the screen as a surprise hit in October 2004 with James Wan as director in his feature film debut. Despite receiving mixed reviews, the first Saw became a box office smash grossing nearly $100 million worldwide with it becoming one of the most profitable horror films since Scream along with spawning numerous torture porn style horror series such as Hostel and The Collector . The success of Saw spawned six sequels with none being able to match the quality of the first film with the series taking a temporary halt with the hugely disappointing finale titled Saw 7: The Final Chapter released in 2010. Fast-forward seven years after that films release, the Saw series see's a revival with the 2017 reboot Jigsaw. Designed as being a fresh reboot to kickstart the series once again, the new film carries a batch of brand new faces with Tobin Bell being the only returning actor from the previous films. While Jigsaw provides new traps for audiences to become both terrified and thrilled by, it leaves much to be desired in regards to its script. The 8th film in the series and reboot feels like an unnecessary attempt to extend a horror franchise, that's well past its glory days.
Picking up seven years after the Saw series previously ended with The Final Chapter, Jigsaw's story finds the police investigating a series of elaborate murders with the signature of the infamous Jigsaw killer (Played once again by Tobin Bell), who may or may not have been dead for over a decade. The plot for Jigsaw feels like an attempt to write the series out of one of its most consequential decisions made early on with the killing off of Tobin Bell's character at the end of Saw lll. It can be debated that the series never fully recovered from that decision as the further installments experienced a gradual decline in quality with the overall storyline for the series going off the rails essentially with other copycat killers filling in for Jigsaw. The new film attempts to rectify the mistakes of the past while filling its screenplay up with a fresh new batch of traps that random characters find themselves frantically getting out of if they want to survive. To fans of the Saw franchise, Jigsaw represents the same rules and tricks for the franchise with an overstuffing of excessive gore to compliment the brute nature of the deaths at the hands of the traps. The newest chapter doesn't do anything groundbreaking with its plot and feels like a typical generic sequel in the Saw franchise, that ditches the greenish lense in the background for a more brighter tone with many of the scenes taking place during daylight. The film knows whats expected of it from the fans and chooses to play it safe while attempting to breathe new life into the series once again. The end result is a pointless rehash of what's already been done with no new approach taken with the franchises concept. There's only so many times that one can watch Jigsaw terrorize and torture his victims before everything feels repetitive and less exciting. While the film has elements such as the franchises trademark torture tactics as well as the creativity behind the traps that fans of the series look forward to each new entry with great anticipation, Jigsaw continues to carry the series glowing flaw of its latter sequels with the violence and gore aspect of the films compensating for the lack of the suspense and mystery that the first Saw film possessed, which continues to makes it look like a far superior film in comparison to many of its follow-ups. The latest attempt to continue the Saw franchise feels more like a quick cash grab rather than a way to reinvent, as well as reboot the series for a new generation of audiences.
While the gruesome visuals of the Saw movies end up being the audiences main focus of attention, the performances from the main cast prove to be convincing enough in bringing both realism and believability to the story. The acting by the main cast is what one would expect from a Saw flick, which is standard work for a horror movie. The performances by Matt Passmore and Callum Keith Rennie as Logan Nelson and Detective Halloran manage to be effective with Passmore serving as the main protagonist of the story. He gives both an appealing and likable presence as a pathologist who becomes a suspect to police regarding the series of murders being linked to deceased Jigsaw killer, John Kramer. Callum Keith Rennie also manages to play his part well as the Detective, that's suspicious of both Logan and his associates activities in connection to the murders. Hannah Emily Anderson does well playing Logan's colleague Eleanor Bonneville, whose obsessed with the Jigsaw killings. Cle Bennett also makes the most of his performance as Detective Keith Hunt with Tobin Bell once again doing a fantastic job playing John Kramer. The guy is born to play the role of Jigsaw with his return being more than welcomed with it also helping with connecting the story to the previous seven entries. Other noteworthy performances include the group that becomes prey to Jigsaw's latest traps with Laura Vandervoort as Anna, Paul Braunstein as Ryan, Mandela Van Peebles as Mitch, Brittany Allen as Carly, and Josiah Black as Edgar Munsen. The overall cast for Jigsaw does as well as they're allowed to under the circumstances with the victims of the traps evoking genuine fear and terror with the rest of the cast turning out decent to serviceable work. Knowing that audiences are going in looking forward to the spectacle of the story, the actors take the opportunity to make the most of their roles and catch the audiences eye in between the films intense set-pieces. The cast for Jigsaw perform as well as one would expect them to from a Saw flick, which is to be fairly economical and realistic.
The films directing by The Spierig Brothers proves to be standard work when looking at the overall franchise. The Brothers know what audiences look for when going to watch a Saw film, and don't disappoint in the brutality department. Their work surprises on a technical level with them giving the film a more sharper and bigger budget feel to it compared to the previous entries with the films opening car chase scene with the Police, being a prime example that ends on a rooftop. The directors also abandon the green color palette of the first seven efforts and give the newest entry a more modern approach, that makes it feel more cleaned up and fresh visually with bright cinematography. The films sequences involving the newer traps are well-thought out and executed with the creativity that went into plotting these intense set-pieces throughout the series remaining intact. One of the newest traps include the group chosen by Jigsaw wearing heavy metal bucket masks attached to chains being pulled towards a wall with whirring chain saw blades. Another includes a group being pulled to the ceiling with chains attached around their necks, as well as one of the group members being captured by their ankles with a cable and lowered into a large funnel-web metal device armed with a rotating blade that ultimately chews up the individual with blood splashing everywhere. While these sequences can be both intensely gruesome and brutal to watch, they stay true to the franchises signature trademark of providing horrifically graphic deaths for deeply-flawed individuals being forced to see the error of their ways. When it comes to the violent nature of the series, Jigsaw doesn't manage to skip a beat with the Spierig Brothers finding newer and creative ways to traumatize the fans. The film is given the steady yet quick pace that the previous Saw sequels have become accustomed to with the newest entry spawning a running time of roughly 92 minutes. The editing also consists of flashbacks which inform the audience on the past events surrounding the newest victims of Jigsaw's traps, as well as the traditional quick cut and slow-motion shots that accompany the series intense moments. In terms of the films directing and overall technical look, Jigsaw looks and feels very much like an continuation of the Saw franchise with it fitting in appropriately with the others along with looking stronger in quality in regards to cinematography. The film looks like the studio added a little more money to the budget to make the series look and feel fresh, while going more high-tech with the films consequential set-pieces involving the traps. There's even one instance where a character is being threatened and ultimately killed with electronic laser beams, signifying that the kills are becoming more advanced technologically speaking. On that front, the Spierig Brothers don't disappoint but their work still doesn't compare to the masterful buildup of suspense that James Wan crafted with the atmosphere of the first Saw nor prove to be as skillful of filmmakers in regards to storytelling.
The biggest issue with the film lies within it's writing. The script by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger continues many of the themes the series has touched upon over the course of it's eight film arc ranging from sin to punishment, revenge, justice, redemption, vigilantes, and corrupt police officials. What the script does well is keep intact the questioning audiences have on whether the character of John Kramer (Jigsaw), is a villain or not given that his reasoning for torturing people is to make them see the error of their ways and appreciate the second chance they receive if they're lucky enough to survive his deadly game. Whereas this aspect of the script for Jigsaw stays true to the consistent mythology of the Saw franchise, the overall work doesn't advance nor take the franchise in any new direction with it just offering fans more of the same with the films biggest reveal being that Jigsaw is back in the form of another copycat who was groomed by Kramer feeling repetitive. Instead of breaking newer ground with the story, the film attempts to blend as another pointless sequel in a series that should've ended after three films. The characters outside of Tobin Bell's are presented as being one-dimensional with the audience not becoming connected with any of the ones stuck in the latters deadly game of survival. The main characters are mostly cardboard and generic with their main purpose being to push the film towards the next major trap with the occasional plot twist regarding a specific character being unveiled as an apprentice of Jigsaw in an effort to throw the audience off. Jigsaw reintroduces many of the same plot twists and devices that audiences have already seen before with a new copycat killer introduced, who feels that it's their calling to continue Jigsaw's legacy. The audience is treated to main characters such as Logan and Eleanor, who are suspected of being involved in the recent killings committed in the same style as the Jigsaw killings a decade prior, reminding audiences of the first film in which Cary Elwe's character Dr. Gordon is suspected of being behind the Jigsaw murders by police. The audience is also given questionable authorative figures such as Detective Halloran who feels similar to characters from earlier entries in the Saw series meshed together. The way that John Kramer is resurrected in the story is handled in a way that allows his character to have a recurring role in future sequels through flashbacks, while keeping the timeline of Saw lll through present intact. It serves as being the filmmakers best attempt at rectifying the mistake of killing off Tobin Bell's character without breaking the series continuity. For those who've followed the entire Saw franchise up to Jigsaw, they'll find that there's nothing shown or introduced that hasn't been seen or done before by past filmmakers with the series clearly running out of fresh ideas and just recycling the old formula of a new copycat killer emerging in a shocking plot reveal in which their characters were a former prisoner of Kramer's, who survived his series of deadly traps, and was trained in an apprenticeship to continue his work. This plot twist has been done before repeatedly throughout the series to the point where it's no longer thrilling nor shocking. One simply just finds themselves questioning if that's all the series has left in terms of delivering new tricks to the audience. While the writing for Jigsaw isn't terrible, its settles for being just average with the script as a whole being a culmination of subplots and plot devices utilized from previous entries.
One of the main reasons why the first Saw film still works as effectively as it does is the unpredictability behind its plot. The audience didn't know what to expect and were left at the edge of their seat as the story slowly unfolded with numerous twists and turns nobody saw coming. The original film felt fresh and set a standard that none of the sequels since have been able match. The difference between Jigsaw and a horror reboot like 2018's Halloween for example is although the latter included many of the elements from the previous Halloween sequels that made them appealing to audiences, it managed to take its story and both continue as well as reintroduce the characters for a new generation of horror fans. While some aspects of that film felt familiar to fans of the long-standing horror franchise, it surprised with new twists and turns regarding both the story as well as the returning characters. Jigsaw offers audiences more of the same without much attempt to bring something new to the table in regards to both the story and characters. For fans of the series, the newest installment offers them more of the same and doesn't dare to take much risks in the story department. Jigsaw is a sequel/reboot that carried with it much promise as well as potential in regards to reinventing the franchise for a new generation of horror fans, but instead decides to play it safe by offering up microwaved leftovers in hopes that it can taste as delicious as being freshly cooked the first time it was made. Jigsaw is a culmination of all the elements that Saw fans have come to love about the franchise, which is pertaining more to the torturous nature of the series rather than bringing back the fear of the unknown that the first film played on exceptionally well. While Jigsaw is certainly better than any of the Saw sequels post Saw lll, it plays more like a greatest hits album moreso than adding its own note. The film is reasonably entertaining on its own right as both a horror movie and as an installment of the franchise, but the greatest letdown is the fact that the filmmakers didn't utilize the opportunity they had to tread new ground rather than revisit old and tired ideas. There's no plot twist in the film that will shock audiences the way the end twist of the first Saw delivered nor leave a similar kind of impact. Here is more of the same and that's a shame given the promise the film carried. Here's hoping that Chris Rocks upcoming yet questionable reboot of the franchise will find a way to make everything feel exciting and new again rather than just looking good visually, but lacking the substance that made the series a hit in the first place. Only the most loyal and die hard of Saw fans will appreciate the latest chapter as it works essentially as a love letter to them with everyone else being left cold story wise. Given the enduring legacy that the first Saw has had in both film and horror genre, the newest film should've been much more than just passable horror entertainment . As much creativity that the filming team behind Jigsaw put into making the torture scenes more fresh and innovative, it's a shame that same kind of effort doesn't get put into the plot and characters.
Final Verdict: Fans of the Saw franchise will find a reasonable amount of satisfaction out of watching Jigsaw as it offers much of what they've come to love about the series in terms of the violence and gore, while remaining relatively shallow in the writing department.
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