"Looking for a fun, demented, gruesome, shocking fix this Halloween season? Then you need a prescription for Saw II. It may be ultraviolent, but damn it’s a rush!"
Every Halloween, I usually partake in the latest October cash cows. By this, I mean the annual scary movies that are meant to scare up thrill-seeking audiences and American dollars. Months ago, I expected this to be the video game inspired Doom. However, it seems that The Rock couldn’t generate his usual entourage of admirers. Perhaps the lame-brained idea of making the film resemble a first-person shooter made people turn to their X-Box for enjoyment.
Little did I know that Lion’s Gate was planning a major opener for the Halloween season. The profit earned for their indie horror gem, Saw, provoked executives to quickly churn out what they are best at producing: a sequel. The production of Saw II was so speedy that I didn’t expect it to be in theaters so soon. Just in the nick of time, the sequel snatched $30 million on its opening weekend.
The big question: Is Saw II another trite sequel with money on its mind, or is it a worthy venture into the horror genre? The evil smile on my face and the feeling of fulfillment during the closing credits indicates the latter.
Saw II begins exactly where the last film left off. The Jigsaw Killer (Tobin Bell) is still at large after outsmarting the law in the first installment. In the beginning, he opens his bag of tricks on a police informant. The poor man wakes up in a room with a spring-loaded trap around his neck. It is full of spikes and ready to close in on his head like a sarcophagus. The catch to saving his own life? He must unlock the trap with a small key. Unfortunately the key is lodged behind his eyeball and can only be retrieved if the man digs into his eyeball with a scalpel. Yep...Jigsaw is back!
Eric (Donnie Wahlberg) is a cop intent on bringing Jigsaw down. Once Eric’s team captures Jigsaw, another obstacle is discovered. A group of victims are trapped in a dilapidated house rigged with booby traps and endurance tests. One of these people is Eric’s teenage son. Another is Amanda (Shawnee Smith), a previous victim of Jigsaw. With the clock ticking, the imprisoned victims use their survival skills to live. As Jigsaw proclaims, “Oh yes, there will be blood”.
I’ve read the general consensus on Saw II from the critics. Most of them dislike the sequel for its grotesque nature. The film relies on moments that cause the audience to cringe in pain. Instead of scaring us, the film makes us thank our lucky stars that we are comfortably sitting in theater seats and are not on the verge of dying in agonizing pain.
Saw II is indeed the result of violence making its mark on audiences. As of lately, flicks such as the Saw series and the Final Destination series take pride in creatively killing people. Not only do they invite us to partake in terror, but also snicker in amusement at the possibility that people can die in other ways than the standard knife in the back, or bullet through the head. In Saw II, one character goes diving for a key in a tub full of used syringes. Another character gets cut down at the knees when a set of stairs turns into a leg guillotine. This is a film that realizes gradual relaxation of censorship and the desensitization of violence that comes with it. Therefore, it is important to understand that some people (most likely younger people) will revel in grotesque death scenes, while others will shake their heads at the way violence is treated with a grain of salt.
That being said, I enjoyed Saw II. While extremely graphic beyond words, it still kept me glued to the screen for ninety minutes. I am even going so far to say that the sequel outdoes the original. I left the original Saw with a C-grade thanks to the piss poor performances from Cary Elwes and Danny Glover, and failure to offer character depth.
Most of the characters here are not explored in great detail, but the spotlight on Jigsaw makes it worthwhile. Instead of overplaying the creepy puppet on a tricycle that Jigsaw used as a mouthpiece in the original, he is captured in the flesh. We do not get to know Jigsaw. Instead we get to know a man named John. Tobin Bell takes Jigsaw to a different level by explaining his philosophy on life and his prior experiences that have inspired his grizzly tests.
Saw II is not for the whole family. In fact, it may not be for some horror fans. This is a flick that is unmerciful to its victims and ensures suffering. However, if you have a strong stomach and appreciate quality suspense, then Saw II is worth the admission. Director Darren Lynn Bousman makes his directorial debut with original Saw writer Leigh Whannell on board with the script. It seems to me that the original Saw suffered from a low budget and insufficient time to get proper performances out of the actors. This time around, it seems there is plenty of funding with the actors maintaining proper composure. With the exception of a freakishly aggressive Frankie G, everyone fits into his or her role. This is especially true for Wahlberg as a cop with skeletons in his closet.
Looking for a fun, demented, gruesome, shocking fix this Halloween season? Then you need a prescription for Saw II. It may be ultraviolent, but damn it’s a rush!
Questions? Comments? Just want to talk movies? Drop me a line at dodd@movieweb.com
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