Saw II (2005) ***

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2009)

Good sequel to the first SAW features more of a slowly dying Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) and lets us see a little deeper into what makes him tick and why he plays his elaborate games of torture. This time he focuses on a group of eight misguided derelict victims, all imprisoned inside an isolated house rigged with deadly traps as obstacles, while they try to fight their way out before a toxic gas gradually kills them. Donnie Wahlberg gives a strong emotional performance as a wayward cop who's targeted as an unwilling pawn in the game while his kidnapped teenage son's life hangs in the balance.
*** out of ****