One of the most satisfying of the SAW movies. Cruel, ironic, puzzling, and intricate. I was concerned going in that this would be the beating of a dead horse but it was instead a song of triumph for the series. Heart Pounding, intoxicating, and sexy, this film is a worthy addition to an amazing series. The games and deaths felt deserved and purposeful but also fair and satisfying.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Jigsaw is back with five unsuspecting villains who need to work their way to confessing their crimes. Starting with chains leading them to saws, the first victim was unconscious and missed the rules thus "disqualifying" him. The rag tag team of misfits (brought together more by chance than common theme) meet a purse snatcher who is presented with an obvious solution to her poison problem but instead tries to leave the group hanging (ha). Acid in the blood frees the gang up but leaves them with three.
An attempt to leave through a "no exit" door costs one hapless male his leg as he must choose not to let the other two people left drown in grain. The nephew killing conman is sent into a blender of sorts which leaves us with a daring duo who come face to face with John himself. The gun fires backwards, taking out our child killer while the drunken male is left for dead. Flash forward to the future where Logan, our doting protege of Jigsaw is getting jiggy with Halloran, the man who let criminals roam free, like the one that killed Logan’s wife. A stunning twist with a fake death reminiscent of the first film, what an amazing ode. "I speak for the dead."
JIGSAW REWATCH
I knew this movie had a version of grain suffocation in it but it made more sense to me because they were being buried in grains, I didn’t know until A QUIET PLACE that you can sink in from the top which is somehow more terrifying and stressful. And, I love that Logan stood up for Eleanor, but he totally almost got her shot by Halloran and that was also stressful.
This movie did a really fun version of the whole time jump thing without making a big show about it like in SAW II. It was very clever to have this be one of (if not the first) Jigsaw trap and yet also still be the 8th movie in line. Bringing back Tobin Bell as Jigsaw, not so much as flashbacks, but presently because we didn’t know how long ago the game was being played and the cult of Jigsaw was making it seem like John Kramer was still alive out there. Really a fun film that I am still impressed with. Wish it had a few more familiar faces but we got a bit spoiled by that from SAW 3D.
