Welcome to the new age of horror thrillers!

Rating: 7/10 (13 November 2005)

Welome to the new age of horror thrillers! "Saw" and "Saw II" have surely set a new trend and style of horror/thrillers. No more brainless muscles/skins running from killers with weapons - here comes you psychological game of survival.
I just watched "Saw II" even though the trailers told me not to. In the movie trailer of "Saw II", I saw "Scream 3", "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" or...you got the idea - one of those several-mixed-gender-and-race-characters-getting-killed-one-by-one Hollywood horror films ever since the early 90's. But I was terribly wrong.
The trailer is NOT the movie. "Saw II" is one of the rare squeal that allows you to further relate to the previous film AND further appreciate the both. "Saw II" carries on most of the "Saw" spirit and definitely adds more spices of horror. It successfully brought itself into a great horror film without destroying the suspense-based reputation of "Saw."
The squeal started where "Saw" was ended. In "Saw II", the infamous "artist" Jigsaw is continuing his work for the people who, in his opinion, do not appreciate life - "Those who do not appreciate life do not deserve life." The great rawness in the opening scene will refresh your memory with Jigsaw's personal-tailored "games", carefully-selected players, and most of all, his twisted torture that makes people voluntarily lose blood and/or self in order to win back their lives...
The plot was mostly very smooth and well-developed, yet with some commercialized, so-so moments. To avoid spoilers, I will not describe the scenes. There are some stomach-turning-popcorn-dropping horror moments, and they were not done by the disgusting deaths, but the terrifying struggle for not dying. Again, the great rawness that "Saw" brought to us a year ago skillfully lived on through the squeal.
The squeal also ended where "Saw" started...Few twists around the last 30mins+, the ending will surely make you jaw drop like Jagsaw's victims.
Overall, "Saw II" is made 75% for the "Saw" fans and 25% to keep the new and/or general audiences and the box office satisfied, which is an excellent proportion for any squeal, especially horror thrillers. This movie kept you thinking during and after watching it. Let's cross our fingers and hope that the "Saw" series would never become "Scream", or the "Nightmare" series. Hope the producers either preserve the quality, or know when to stop.
Definitely worth watching.
T