Worthy sequel that narrowly falls short of its predecessor

Rating: 7/10 (7 September 2006)

Exasperated with people taking life for granted, the cancer riddled sadistic killer, Jigsaw, is back for a second bout of intricately engineered games of death, designed to make his victims prove they are worthy of existence.
Saw, released in 2004, achieved cult status through its innovative approach to the horror/serial killer genre. A cleverly worked script with twists and turns overcame some dodgy acting and turned Saw into a triumph. The inevitable sequel builds on the premise of the first by introducing ever more elaborate schemes for the victims to die, in Jigsaws twisted little games. Half the fun is trying to figure out how the next trap can possibly outdo the previous one in terms of violence and 'look through your fingers in disgust'. Yet each time the deaths get ever more depraved.
The tag line says it all. If you can't handle the blood then stay the hell away. This is not one for the faint hearted. I deny anyone to watch this film without feeling tense and uneasy. It's chilling atmosphere sends a wave of foreboding and fear flooding through your veins as you expect something horrible round every corner. In terms of pure fright Saw actually fails to deliver many jumps and jolts, purely because you are generally expecting the worst. But in terms of sustained grimace and horror for what the characters are going through, Saw lets your blood boil, forgetting about the off switch.
Unfortunately Saw is let down by some painfully poor acting which seems to have been unceremoniously accredited to the horror genre. Part of the reason the original was so highly regarded was the gritty interaction of its two main characters working with and against each other in their desperate situation. With a larger cast its successor loses all notions of character development and portrays a group of impossibly dumb individuals and, therefore, a very unbelievable bunch of idiots.
Although it loses the original impact of its predecessor, Saw II is a commendable but significantly weaker sequel. It still manages to blow the majority of modern horror films out of the water, delivering some of the most memorable and haunting sequences of recent memory. However, it isn't a patch on 'The Decent' when it comes to the terror department.