Too much gore not enough fright.

Rating: 5/10 (29 October 2006)

Hellooooooo "GORE ADDICTS", somehow, SAW III is not gruesome or terrifying enough for me, personally. It is evident that there is a lack of the macabre and nail-biting tension that is so apparent in the opening scenes of the previous two installments of the Saw franchise. Especially with regards to the first Saw, where the budget was smaller and the gore effects were less animated. In Saw III, the gore is definitely top notch, and that is where it seems this franchise has gone astray. Relying too much on the blood and not enough on the true frightening of the audience this Saw never truly frightens, but always disgusts.
Beginning where the last Saw, Saw II, left off, Jigsaw is still on his deathbed, since he has been dying throughout the entire franchise. He must stay alive long enough to see his very last test subject through a series of tests and torture machines, before he can say goodbye. Unfortunately, I was never actually frightened, truly scared, like I was in the first two. I never thought to myself, what would I do in this situation, how would I deal with this. The only thing to really think about during Saw III is when are you going to turn away from the screen out of sheer disgust and not fright. Dealing with Jigsaw's underling, and her uncontrolled anger issues, towards herself and her newly acquired victims, Saw III indulges in pure torture for the sake of it.
Bringing a reasonable story, not as tight as the first, but still entertaining to say the least, Saw III does not leave much to be desired. One really does need to see the first two parts of the franchise, to really enjoy this one, and to enjoy the first two even more. Hopefully the Saw franchise will not go out with this as their last film, and will redeem themselves in a fourth installment.