Overkill yet bloody good sequel

Rating: 7/10 (31 October 2005)

SAW II (2005) **1/2 Donnie Wahlberg, Tobin Bell, Dina Meyer, Erik Knudsen, Shawnee Smith, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Tim Burd, Beverley Mitchell, Lyriq Bent, Tony Nappo. Somewhat disappointing sequel to the first SAW with basically more of the insane same from serial killer Jigsaw (the always creepy Bell) who this time cranks things up to the 8th power : he has abducted 8 strangers (including police detective Wahlberg's teenage son Knudsen) and placed them in a condemned building with a 2 hour time period to get out of their nerve gas inducing predicament as the game is a foot. Bloody good executions are only undermined by the headache inducing editing of Kevin Greuter, the mind-assaulting music by Charlie Clouser and the overkill directing by newbie Daniel Lynn Bousman (who collaborated with original film scribe Leigh Whannell on the screenplay) in the more-is-less style of bombastic film-making.