'Saw' cuts sequel stereotype

By John Schulter

Do you want to play a game?

That’s the question that plagued the original Saw film and escalated not to a simple game, but to a horrific and psychological depiction of sheer horror and imagination. Jigsaw is back for Saw III with even more repulsive and dreadful tricks in the hopes of bringing his absurd destiny of delivering justice to people who in his eyes abuse the right to live.

John Cramer, known as the evil Jigsaw, (Tobin Bell, Saw and Saw II) is back in Saw III as he lies in his potential deathbed. His only hope is to force an expert surgeon (Bahar Soomekh) to perform an operation on a malignant brain tumor. Jigsaw is back to his old tricks once again as he sets up the ultimate game with his life on the line. He creates a psychological maze for a man named Jeff (Angus MacFadyen, Braveheart), who must try to overcome his rage against the people who were involved in the tragic death of his son. While this is happening, the doctor is performing the surgery with the assistance of Jigsaw’s apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith, Saw I and Saw II). Together the two must watch Jeff’s journey as they perform the lifesaving miracle that will give Jigsaw immortality.
From start to finish, this movie has something for everyone. It is packed with lots of gore and effects, some of which are unnecessary, but this is a Saw film. It was filmed like a typical thriller, with plenty of fast-paced shots.

Tobin Bell’s performance of Jigsaw was truly eerie and frightful. He conveyed the thought that he was one of the most horrifying serial killers ever conceived. Of course, the plot was the movie’s strong point as is true with the previous Saw films. It turns from an ordinary horror film into a psychological masterpiece that keeps you on the edge of your seat with all the twists and turns. Also, the death traps were truly ingenious in design and sickness.

Jigsaw unleashes his most sinister traps created to convey his points. The only minor problem with the film was the amount of flashbacks. The explanatory inserts and flashbacks make the film somewhat hard to keep up with. It often jumps from one time period to another quickly and doesn’t give you a chance to understand the situation fully.

However, some of these flashbacks do advance the story and answer some unsolved
questions that hound the series. The original Saw was much more organized and clean-cut.

All in all, this is a great film that really gets viewers thinking. The man who is lusting for revenge could be any one of us, which gives the film a truly ingenious concept. It implies a fact about human nature: the egotistical tendencies of humans. The film points out that people are born with egotistical desires that outweigh the benefit of society.

Saw III focuses on this philosophy in a way that has never been done before in cinema. All of these people in the movie have the desire to live longer and quench their thirst for revenge even through the consequence of killing another. Jigsaw has the desire to live longer to hurt more people, which he thinks is beneficial toward society. However, what he doesn’t realize is that by tormenting the people in the film, he is submitting to his egotistical desire to live and make people suffer more in an attempt to teach them.

All of the characters desire to resume their lives and are apologetic toward the people they hurt. But it’s all a falsity in an attempt to preserve their own lives. As shown in the film, Jigsaw initially had a beautiful life and woman that were stripped away from him. Now he wants people to suffer and to learn from their mistakes. In the end, the egotistical dilemma these characters face come to a gruesome conclusion that will have you mesmerized.