Jigsaw (2017) Review!!!

Synopsis – Bodies are turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one suspect: John Kramer, the man known as Jigsaw, who has been dead for ten years.

My Take – I am not by any means what people would call a gore geek or even the slightest fan of torture porn, but somehow with its shocking twists & intriguing psychological game scenarios, the Saw franchise has always been one of my biggest guilty pleasures when it comes to horror. It all started back in 2004 when director James Wan (The Conjuring, Fast & Furious 7) and writer Leigh Whannell (Insidious) burst onto the scene with an effective low-budget shocker that pitted two imprisoned strangers against each other in a deadly battle of survival. The film was surprise smash hit & kick started one of the most profitable horror properties of all time. For seven years, the famous and rather infamous horror franchise terrified audiences the world over with its brutal games of life and death and an enigmatic boogeyman for the ages in the form of series villain John Kramer, also known by the moniker The Jigsaw Killer once every Halloween, with each film built on the foundation of the previous film, literally deeming them as iterations of one another. However, what started out as a unique twist to the serial killer saga was only the start to a face cringing, spine tingling, sometimes nauseating series that hooked people in until around the disappointing seventh installment when it finally ended the story-line due to diminishing returns, along with the fact that supernatural scares of the Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring, and Insidious films were slowly & smartly becoming the preferred choice of the film going audience. But nothing in the horror genre stays dead for long, right? And seven years later, he is back! Directed by the Spierig Brothers, whose previous offerings include smart and enticing sci-fi thrillers like Daybreakers and Predestination, this violent retribution acts as both a sequel and reboot, which is smart given that many of its target audience of young adults may have been too young to see the original films.

So while it does continue the basic story–the ongoing legacy of The Jigsaw Killer–it doesn’t require any specific knowledge of the previous films (well maybe the 1^st), which, given how ridiculously complicated they got by the end, is not a bad thing. While this film isn’t close to being as competent as the best of its predecessors, it is certainly a return to form considering how weak the final three installments were and just good enough to remind us why we loved John Kramer’s twisted games. Ten years have passed since The Jigsaw Killer, also known as cancer-ridden and morality obsessed John Kramer (Tobin Bell), made himself known and subsequently died, back in Saw III. However, after a series of dead bodies begin to pop up around the city, it’s quite clear that a new “game” is afoot, sending the press, public and police into a state of panic. The story follows a group of not-so-innocent victims such as the levelheaded Anna (Laura Vandervoort), the loudmouthed Ryan (Paul Braunstein), the blandly competent Mitch (Mandela Van Peebles) and the squirrelly Carly (Brittany Allen), who are tested by a series of more-or-less deadly games. Meanwhile, Detective Halloran (Callum Keith Rennie) and Detective Hunt (Clé Bennett) enlist the help of medical examiners Logan (Matt Passmore) and Eleanor (Hannah Emily Anderson) to figure out if Jigsaw is really back from the dead, as all the evidence points to it. Like the victims, these characters also have dark pasts, and no one is as they seem. Let me be honest here, this film doesn’t turnaround the franchise by any means as it’s still messy with logical gaps and an iffy performance or two, but with the presence of two actual filmmakers for once behind the camera, the Spierig Brothers, this latest entry is far better and more cohesive than any film in the Saw series since the first two. The Spierig Brothers don’t feel like directors-for-hire, but rather actual film-lovers who make the effort to actually put craft into the film, rather than simply making straight-up torture porn. These is very much a Saw film through and through, as the Spierig Brothers are experienced genre filmmakers and know exactly how to get the franchise back on track, which could potentially start the ball rolling on a new series of films. Everything that made the first few films so popular is here: the games, the mystery, the twists, the voice of Jigsaw, and Billy the creepy puppet. The sequence of traps in a single location and a rapidly diminishing group of victims plays out much as it did in Saw II, while the unfolding mystery is refreshingly unpredictable for once. When it’s at its best, the film manages to capture the frenzied and manic energy of previous follow-ups, while also injecting just enough of a delightful “Whodunit?” mystery to keep the audience invested. I’d very favorably compare it to the earlier installments in the series in terms of entertainment value and creativity, though it has enough of an identity to be able to stand on its own. The film is also less aggressively unpleasant than some of the others, and comes close to making a winking connection between weirdo John Kramer acolytes and weirdo horror fans when one character is exposed as a frequent visitor to a Jigsaw fan site. But for all their interest in the dissection of human bodies, the Saw films resist any further kink. They’re nutty, but too insular to feel properly over-the-top or dangerous. It might not win over new audiences, but longtime series fans will surely find a lot to love about this latest installment. The Spierigs Brothers had previously stated that their take would be more “fun” than some of the earlier films, and it’s true that the level of sadism is dialed down a little.

But fans shouldn’t go away too disappointed on that front; there’s still plenty of limb-lopping, flesh-melting, and head-splitting. Earlier installments, while never particularly scary, created a palpable sense of tactile terror from their gruesome games. The Spierigs Brothers give us gore aplenty, but nothing that can compare to a pit of hypodermic needles or the unflinching brutality of hacking off one’s own foot. The film opens with a stomach-churning horror involving the usual cast of fodder. Junkies, deviants, and corporate assholes worthy of their predicament turn on each other before big fuck-off chains drag them to their doom. The rest of the cast fill their slaughterhouse slots appropriately. Whether they make it out or not is less interesting than the mystery surrounding the cult of Kramer. A horror film often has many brain-dead characters begging to be chainsaw fodder. Fortunately, the Saw films continue to choose players who have a little more complexity and skills than many of the Spring Break teens favored. I also love the mystery that surrounds the film with the question if Jigsaw has somehow come back from the dead. As many of you know, Saw films are all about the ability to throw that last wrench into the gears to blow your mind. All of the characters did something awful and they weren’t able to admit to the fact that they did it. The idea of having to confess was also genius. Indeed, one of the undeniable pleasures of this franchise has always been the intricate connection between the soon-to-be-victims’ mundane crimes, and the very sick, very complex traps that Jigsaw and his protégés especially designed for them. To get free from their traps, victims had to overcome the one specific default that led them to hurt other people. According to Kramer’s weird logic, this was an opportunity for his victims to exorcise their demons and repent. Here, this amusing non-equivalence between crime and punishment is almost absent, with the traps only superficially related to the sins of his prisoners. This is all the more jarring as the film repeatedly references what might be Kramer’s most famous device, the reverse bear trap. Despite my experience with predicting endings, this one got me. The questions I asked were on the right path, but they were able to drop enough interfering factors to throw me off the trail. However, the film is not without some major issues. The most noticeable being that it replicates one of the major faults that plagued the previous few installments- pacing and structure. The film is just too darned manic and tightly wound for its own good, and it does rob a lot of the atmosphere. I also felt that the film really didn’t do enough plot-wise to justify such a long gap and explain the status of Cary Elwes‘s Lawrence Gordon nor does it mention Jigsaw’s previous apprentices, Amanda Young and Mark Hoffman. I am a bit worried about the new apprentice taking over. He or She’s character arc doesn’t seem to be going to be that interesting. Sure, Costas Mandylor‘s Mark Hoffman may not have been the most fleshed out character but he had presence, while this new person doesn’t seem to have that, only time will tell if he/she is good or not but I can’t help but feel worried. The performances here are solid but hardly spectacular. Callum Keith Rennie, Matt Passmore, Clé Bennett, Hannah Emily Anderson, Laura Vandervoort, Paul Braunstein, Mandela Van Peebles and Brittany Allen are likeable considering the type of the film this is. Tobin Bell is brilliant in his brief appearance. Through his quiet contempt-filled whispers, Bell still sells every mad thought that constructs his insanity. Like the original series, I had hoped for a proper ending, but then this film showed up. While I did enjoy it, I am worried that the way this film ends sets up the potential for a new series to start. Sure, this means more Saw goodness, but it also means the potential to dilute this film into another run of the mill series that will become a product of lazy productions. Hopefully that won’t happen, but these days’ series are the prize most companies seek, right. On the whole, ‘Jigsaw’ is a grisly, deviously twisted and squirm-inducing film which despite its clunky issues manages to be entertaining & miles better than the terrible Saw 3D. Let the games begin.