Jigsaw-2017

Director The Spierig Brothers

Starring Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell

Scott’s Review #739

Reviewed April 9, 2018

Grade: C-

As a fan of the horror genre, and specifically of the Saw film franchise, which debuted in brutal form in 2004 and was directed by James Wan, I am sad to say that it has sadly become a lesser version of what was once clever writing mixed with astounding, tortuous kills.

Jigsaw is the eighth installment in a series that has now run out of steam. It is simply riding on the coattails of what was once its glory days.

The 2017 film can only be appreciated by die-hard fans of the series; it will be unsuccessful in attracting new fans.

Admittedly, Jigsaw does begin significantly as the viewer is thrust into the midst of a compelling rooftop police chase that results in a fleeing criminal, Edgar Munsen, being shot by detectives.

Unknown if events are connected, the action shifts to a remote barn where (in typical Saw fashion) five individuals are held captive, each with a noose around their neck.

Throughout the film, we get backstories-stories of each victim as well as a connecting story of a pathologist, Logan Nelson (Matt Passmore), his sister, and the possibility that John Kramer has either returned from the grave or a copycat killer is on the loose, emulating his shenanigans.

The basic premise and tone of 2017’s Jigsaw are similar to those of the preceding seven installments. However, this version seems a bit watered down and glossy by comparison.

My recurring thought throughout the feature was a reminiscence of a horror version of a network episodic drama- think CBS’s Criminal Minds or the like. This is not a compliment.

The camera style is of a slick production with nary a raw or authentic moment- incredibly produced with good-looking people in peril.

Fans of the previous Saw films will undoubtedly expect the now-familiar twist towards the end of the film- a clever story turn to make one character revealed to be not what they appear to be or even in cahoots with the serial killer, “Jigsaw” (John Kramer).

This quality does surface in Jigsaw, but the surprise is so lame and inexplicable that it is hardly worth mentioning.  Suffice it to say the expected resurfacing of Kramer is an absolute sham. Instead, we are fed a less-than-satisfying riddle of one character faking his death and another sequence occurring ten years earlier.

This twist might be worth its salt if better written, but the reasoning seems thrown together without much thought to staying true to the characters or history.

Other familiar elements in Jigsaw abound, so a fan of Saw, Saw II, or Saw III will undoubtedly find tidbits that will satisfy them.

The film is like a trip to McDonald’s or a neighborhood burger joint- one will more or less get what is expected.

As the barn victims are given choices via a tape-recorded message by a sinister John Kramer voice, each is given a test and must ultimately confess their sins. As fans know, Saw victims are far from innocent and always harbor a neatly tucked away secret.

Such horrific acts like a haggard young mother smothering her screaming baby and framing her husband for the deed or a thief stealing a woman’s wallet and causing her to die when her asthma medicine is missing were thought of by the writers.

Another character once sold a motorcycle with a faulty brake line to an innocent man who later crashed and was killed. These aspects are the fun in a film like Jigsaw in that the tortures the victims endure have elements of “serves him or her right”.

Another solid point about Jigsaw is the kills, which is what fans of the Saw franchise have come to know and love.

In this one, we delightfully witness a victim’s leg severed, another impaled with needles, and yet another gleefully attempting to shoot one of the other victims trapped in the barn to allow her freedom, only to realize the gun is rigged to shoot herself instead.

These are fun moments that make Jigsaw less than all bad.

Having created the eighth version of a once great franchise that introduced the world to the term “torture horror”, by 2017 has grown ultimately stale and tired with a few glimpses of former glory created in the familiarity aspects.

All great things must end, and the Saw series has more than crumbled from its former days of glory.