Good Gory Movie Fare

Rating: 8/10 (13 February 2006)

I must say that Saw II did not disappoint. For those of you not familiar with the original Saw, it was about a serial killer who puts victims in situations where they kill themselves in their efforts to get out. It was a masterful movie, a taut, tense, psychological thriller, with a sense-jarring, rug-out-from-under-you, sixth sense type ending.
It was also unrestrictedly gory, and what was good about it was that the gore added to the tenseness of the story, instead of distracting you from it. I was afraid that the sequel would still be okay as a story, but nowhere near the original's impact.
I was not disappointed. Saw II avoids most pitfalls of sequels, such as following the same basic storyline, the same sorts of stunts, and just making it bloodier and more action filled. The original Saw was made up of mostly flashbacks with calls back to the present time, where the main story was. It was a very creative way to tell a story, and the second one told it in a creative way also. Of course, it is a sequel, so it is not as good, but the filmmakers did not, to their credit, attempt to make it more bloody, or more action-filled. The traps Jigsaw (the main bad guy) sets for his patients are more creative, but not to the point of trying to completely outdo the original. The filmmakers have a clear understanding that, as a sequel, they cannot hope to overshoot the original, no matter how hard they try, so they do not try too hard like so many people do. All in a all a wonderful story, though it is not for the weak of stomach, as it is filled with gore. Another thing I liked about the sequel was that the ending was also sixth sensish. Here's some advice to those of you who have yet to see one or both of them: Don't preoccupy yourself with trying to figure out the story. Ride the whole thing with the characters, and let the realizations come to you as they come to them. You will enjoy the storyline much more if you immerse yourself in what they are feeling instead of analytically analyzing every detail to figure out the plot twist. Go see Saw II, and if you haven't seen the first, go see the first, and then the second. I definitely suggest seeing the first one first, because the effect of the ending in the second one is all the more enhanced if you see the first beforehand. These are two wonderful masterpieces of gore-film-making, while still effectively focusing on proper character development, a rarity in most Hollywood horror flicks. These are definitely not films to miss if you are a movie fan, and especially if you're a gore/horror fan.