Yes there was BLOOD!! BRILLIANT!!

Rating: 9/10 (30 October 2005)

Be still my heart, this series is GETTING BETTER!! And an even bigger rarity is that people seem to agree!! Now it seems to me that the original SAW which was drop dead brilliant got harpooned by reviewers on here for the most part. Now the second installment comes out and is faring much better with the crowds it seems which is awesome and completely worthy!!! Where to begin with this incredible sequel. First off new, and very young director Darren Lynn Bousman does an incredible job of capturing exactly the original setting, feel and emotions of the original. The world of SAW is so dark, twisted, gritty...it's like being in the mind of the Jigsaw killer. Bousman does that flawlessly and still brings over the sheer brilliant twisted mind that existed in the original. A real life criminologist could spend years examining "The Jigsaw Killer" as his motives and crimes are so real. The cast in this sequel has improved 10 times over. The shoddy rather campy acting of the original has been left behind by some real strong performances starting with Donnie Wahlberg as the detective being pointed out by the killer, and also fighting to save the life of his troubled son who has been kidnapped by the Jigsaw killer. Dina Meyer returns as the detective in charge of the Jigsaw case, and I can't honestly say I remember her performance in the original but she was good in her small role. The rest of the cast was the captives and this is really where SAW II becomes original compared to the first one. The first one focused on two main victims and a handful of lesser ones whereas in this one you have six or seven captives in a house where the game resides.
I still think SAW II made some errors, as they did in the original. First of all I think there was something lost when they did more than just a couple victims. There was something eerie and downright terrifying and claustrophobic about only have two victims trapped in a small room. Although each character trapped had a very specific personality trait and they all had their own ways of showing terror, I think there was too many. It also leaves the door open for the question...WHY?? Why did the Jigsaw killer take all those people when all he needed was the detective's son?? Sure they all had a connection and it made for some wicked death scenes but they were unnecessary. Right off the bat we have the capture of the Jigsaw Killer, he is unveiled so to speak whereas in the original he was a total mystery. Any time you unveil a mysterious character you're going to leave behind a certain feeling with the audience and I think that happened a little bit here BUT....Tobin Bell, who did play in the first film, is a deadly awesome killer. He spends the whole film bound to a wheelchair and yet is still frightening, maniacal, and evil. Everything is part of his game and you really get caught up in it.
With the minor plot holes, and a few odd choices you have what's left which is still one of the best horror films ever made hands down, and what is turning out to be one of the best horror franchises. The deaths in the film is gory and there is LOADS of blood. It was fun sitting in the theater listening to everyone gasp at the same things every time. This guy is beyond sick and twisted and the ideas they came up with for the traps and the "game" is indeed still original and horrifying. The pit of needles!! OH MAN!! The hand trap that in order to remove your hands, it would...well...remove your hands. Shot in the eye, bat to the head, poisonous gas that causes blood to vomit from the mouths of it's victims and all the while The Jigsaw killer insists "I've never killed anyone." Brilliant!!! They even managed to tack on ANOTHER surprise ending although I'm still not sure I particularly am fond of it, KUDOS to them for doing another fantastic ending that keeps you guessing. On top of all this they did something I think is a sequel absolute MUST!! Not many do it though. They brought back three members of the previous film ANNNND brought the film full circle BACK TO the room where the original victims were held and tortured...OH IT GAVE ME SHIVERS to see that cold sterile room again!! Ladies and gentlemen, you must see this film and most of all you must see the original and then this one...any horror fans will relish in this unique intelligent horrifying film. I compared the first to Seven which is no small feat considering I believe Seven to be the greatest psychological horror ever made. I continue to see the comparisons in this follow up which was even better than the original for once!! It's a trip to hell in a game that seemingly can't be won and if you do win...well it could still be a loss. This could possibly be the first horror sequel to be better than it's original. Go see this film RIGHT NOW!! 9/10