‘Jigsaw’ sets the same old traps and brings nothing new
Jack Murphy
Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, “Jigsaw” is the eighth film in the ‘Saw’ franchise. “Jigsaw” takes place many years after the death of the Jigsaw Killer, John Kramer. However, four people wake up in a room chained to a wall and are now stuck in one of the Jigsaw Killer’s games. The police detectives played by Callum Keith Rennie and Shaquan Lewis have to figure out if this is a copycat killer or if the Jigsaw Killer has returned from the grave. Overall, my thoughts on the ‘Saw’ series in general are that the first one is a very good psychological, low budget horror movie, while all of the sequels lost the identity of the first movie, and focused more on the traps and the excessive gore. However, this movie caught my interest because I thought that there must have been a really good script to revive this franchise and that this movie would be a unique take and addition to the ‘Saw’ franchise. To my disappointment, “Jigsaw” is just the same as the rest of the ‘Saw’ sequels.
The positives of “Jigsaw” are that the movie is well shot, and the lighting is good. The acting is passable, if that’s a positive or a negative. Some of the traps are creative, the one standing out being the laser collar. The final positive I can give this movie is the twist at the end. I won’t spoil it, but I did not see it coming and it made the story more interesting for me in the long run, which transitions to my problems with the movie.
If there were a definition of the word ‘meh’, it would be this movie. Nothing, except the ending, is surprising as it just follows the generic formula that is a ‘Saw’ movie. This movie is not going to blow anyone away, as audiences and fans of these movies have seen it seven times before. It’s not going to scare anyone, unless grotesque gore is scary to you. No ones going to care about the characters as they are just bodies to be killed, not people.
After seven years, I hoped that there would’ve been a creative spark of life for this franchise, but “Jigsaw” is nothing more then the same. That being said, I’m not a massive fan of these movies. I don’t hate these movies, as this review would say otherwise. I think they’re fine movies. They have an audience and I respect that, and this movie will appeal to the fans of the rest of the ‘Saw’ movies. However, if you’re a fan of these movies and you’re hoping for something different, this movie is not that.
Grade: C-