JIGSAW
2017 | Dir. The Spierig Brothers | 92 Mintues
"I speak for the dead."
A decade following the death of Jigsaw, mangled corpses with cryptic clues are found across the city as a new game targeting an assortment of wrong-doers begins. A crooked detective directs his suspicions toward a pair of pathologists: one a mild-mannered Iraq War vet, the other a secret admirer of Jigsaw's work.
Directed by cult genre filmmakers The Spierig Brothers with a screenplay by Piranha 3D writers Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger, Jigsaw marks a fresh start for the Saw franchise seven years after the release of the awful Saw 3D. Looking a lot more polished, and with a bit more thought invested into its narrative and pacing, this new installment feels more like a complete cinematic experience compared to some of the series' lesser sequels, and it thematically adheres closer to the warped philosophy of the titular long-dead diabolical mastermind: rehabilitation of the wicked and delivery of brutal justice by forcing offenders to choose between various levels of self-sacrifice, some far more severe than others, or a spectacular over-the-top death. Jigsaw's plot beats will undoubtedly play out with familiarity to devotees of the infamous series, though they do not betray nor rely too heavily on established continuity. Regardless, fans watch these righteous gorefests for the traps and the plot twist, and this one delivers some pretty good ones on both fronts, despite the climatic revelations playing like a greatest hits compilation of previous Saw endings performed by a band with more resources.
From the film's opening foot chase leading to a rooftop where a criminal's hand explodes from gunfire, Jigsaw immediately establishes itself as a more conventional-looking horror movie than past installments, foregoing the exaggerated stylish lighting and excessively grimy set design, but without skimping on gore effects. While the picture undeniably loses some the series' uniquely putrid visual identity, the new gruesome death traps belong in the Saw canon without a doubt. Starting with the picture's instantly-memorable bucket head challenge and ending with its head-dividing laser collar trap, the set pieces are rather inspired and visually striking all around. Veteran series editor Kevin Greutert returns to the franchise with a steadier, more deliberate approach, and his satisfying climatic montage is accompanied by a superb reprisal of composer Charlie Clouser's rocking theme for the series.
It's a low bar to clear but, across the board, Jigsaw features much better performances from its cast than past Saw movies. Playing perhaps the most sympathetic main character ever featured in a Saw film, Matt Passmore is genuinely likeable as Logan, and he sells the twist of the pathologist's secret connection to Jigsaw with the right amount of gravitas. Callum Keith Rennie is believably despicable as Detective Halloran but charismatic enough to make his character fun to hate. The picture also stars features Laura Vandervoort, Paul Braunstein, Mandela Van Peebles, and Brittany Allen as the doomed players of this installment's central game; Hannah Emily Anderson as the attractive Jigsaw fan pathologist Eleanor Bonneville; Clé Bennett as perhaps the only good living cop in the series Detective Hunt; and Josiah Black as the pathetic-criminal-turned-Jigsaw-pawn Edgar Munsen. In what boils down to an extended cameo, Tobin Bell is always engaging as the iconic engineer of death, and he is reliably superb in his handful of scenes.
Jigsaw is a worthy long-gap follow-up to the highly-serialized Saw horror series, more consistent in relative quality to the first three films. The production value on display is impressive, the traps are creatively cruel, the quality of the acting is pleasantly above par for the franchise, and the trademark twist ending does as much as it can to justify the existence of this soft reboot. However, despite its efforts to appeal to a fresh audience, it is still difficult to recommend the picture to newcomers. For fans of the initial run of Saw movies though, this one is certainly worth a look.
BEST TRAP
- The Spiralizer is one of the wildest-looking trap designs of the series, and its payoff does not disappoint. It was absolutely winnable had Mitch just pulled the break instead of celebrating pre-maturely when Anna jammed the wheel to grant him those few precious seconds.
FRAGMENTS
- Reviving series tradition, Lionsgate hosted a blood drive to promote Jigsaw -- of note, the campaign featured several models from the LGBTQ community, in protest of the American Red Cross's refusal to accept blood from sexually active gay men adhering to FDA regulations
- It's a bit odd for a Saw movie to not open with the rusty red gears version of the Lionsgate studio logo that's been in use since Saw II, but the updated Twisted Pictures studio logo with a touch of blood is a nice revision that doesn't totally reinvent it
- I know Callum Keith Rennie best from his role as Leoben Conoy on Ronald D. Moore's brilliant reboot of Battlestar Galactica
- Clé Bennett would go on to play John Walker's strike force partner Lemar Hoskins on the Marvel Studios miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Laura Vandervoort is perhaps best known for her roles as Supergirl Kara Zor-El on The CW's Smallville
- Mandela Van Peebles bears a striking resemblance to his father actor/director Mario Van Peebles
- Eleanor's collection of recreated Jigsaw traps includes the original reverse bear trap from Saw and Saw 3D, the revolver key hole trap from Saw II, the angel trap from Saw III, the water cube trap from Saw V, and this film's Spiralizer
- The actor who plays drunk idiot teenage Ryan in a late-film flashback, coincidentally named Ryan Manning, is the spitting image of Ryan actor Paul Braunstein, excellent casting
SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
- Video: Dead Meat - Jigsaw (2017) KILL COUNT
