The Saw franchise finally sputters to a halt in this derivative, grisly and emotionless conclusion. The seventh and alleged final film in the long-running franchise, Saw 3D raises the body and gore count to 11, thanks to plenty of squirm-inducing kills and horrific survival puzzles. If you like the grisly torture porn for which Saw is renowned, you’re going to love the latest addition. Everyone else, however, should steer clear.
If you’ve missed out on the previous six Saw entries, here is the overarching formula: Jigsaw, a psychopathic but philosophical serial killer, places victims in difficult survival puzzles. These puzzles act as excuses to kill characters in “cool” ways. Though Jigsaw is dead in Saw 3D, these puzzles (and, thus, the grisly executions) are more frequent than ever. Unfortunately, the writers focused on crafting diverse and shocking kills over developing an interesting plot.
The first of several subpar story lines involves evil cop Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), Jigsaw’s protege on the hunt for Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), Jigsaw’s ex-wife. Meanwhile, in the highly derivative and requisite detective thread, internal affairs officer Matt Gibson (Chad Donella) tries to catch Hoffman. The third story line involves an author, Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery), who has written a series of self-help books based on his fictional experience with Jigsaw.
The first film was the best of the series because it had relatable, empathetic characters. Saw 3D misses the mark on this completely. The extra dimension is used to great effect, but if you know you don’t like 3D, this won’t change your mind. Director Kevin Greutert draws decent performances from the C- and D-list cast. His shots are passable, though this clearly isn’t high art. If an eighth Saw is ever is released, let’s hope they find some way to shore up the narrative flaws. On second thought, let’s just hope there isn’t an eighth film.
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