14 DAY TRIAL // “Once you see death up close, then you know what the value of life is.” Jigsaw says, clearly one of the most prolific killers in the history of cinema, even after death, in the trailer for the sixth “Saw” movie that premiered just hours ago. 2009 marks, as fans know, the sixth year when the annual Halloween slot is filled with the gorefest and twisted plots that have become trademark for the franchise centered on the Jigsaw killer, the always-inventive John Kramer. Yet, 2009 also brings a surprise, as “Saw VI” has actually managed to move a step forward, as impossible as that might sound.
Critics agree it’s hard to stick to the same winning formula after so many years, yet this is one franchise that does so without disappointing. Sure, it’s not what one might call a very friendly franchise for those who are new to it – in fact, it’s anything but that –, but, as far as diehard fans are concerned, “Saw” continues to roll big. Whereas some claimed, prior to the release of the latest installment, that a reboot was in order (with detective Hoffman as the obvious replacement for John), it’s become clear now that writers Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton have everything in check, having already worked on the franchise in the past.
Even more surprising is that “Saw VI” manages to stick to and expand the successful Jigsaw myth without resorting to oft-absurd plot twists and surprises like in the previous films. Amazingly enough, it does so by giving the killer even more screentime than he got when he was still alive (which literally makes him one of the baddest slashers of all times, fans believe) and shifting the focus a bit from the contraptions and torture scenes to the moral aspect of the film. They say “Saw” is the father of all horror / torture movies: if so, “Saw VI” would be one that even Michael Moore would enjoy because, when it comes to taking on the leeches in the American system, there’s no better man for the job than Jigsaw.
This time, the chief victims who are being taught important lessons in life and preservation are not mere people who have committed the capital sin of taking their life for granted. They represent, instead, bottom feeders of the most despicable kind, loaners and execs and hotshots from an insurance company, the kind that get to thrive on other people’s misery. Given this, it’s no wonder then that perhaps the most powerful scene in the movie doesn’t show a single droplet of blood, as it relies solely on John (played as always with icy perfection by Tobin Bell) and a powerful discourse on how “[expletive]ing insurance companies” control the healthcare system and decide who dies and who lives.
Of course, that’s not to say that fans who’ve come to appreciate, throughout the years, the highly tense moments in “Saw,” will be disappointed. Quite on the contrary, as there are at least two scenes that will have them on their toes, as the main victim learns an important lesson in life at the expense of others’: there’s a big difference between who should live and who will live. Besides, “Saw VI” also offers confirmation in the sense that, where the Jigsaw killer is concerned, there can be only one. Clearly, Hoffman, with his propensity for cruelty and inability to tell the difference between plain murder and teaching a lesson, will never be able to fill his shoes.
“Saw VI” opened internationally on October 23, will reach Hungary and Russia on the 29th of the same month, and will end its run in Portugal, where it opens on January 7. It is rated R for sequences of violence and torture, and strong language.
