Not one of the best examples of the genre, but a bearable conclusion to the series for fans

Rating: 5/10 (30 October 2006)

Most people who go to see Saw III will already know what they are letting themselves in for. A continuous helping of stylised gore, violence and torture where the only tongue in check will be one that is literally chained there in a macabre and psychotic trip that needs no justification other than an audience demand for video-nasty type scenes with the slightest pretence of psychological storyline to justify prolonged physical and mental cruelty that makes the Nazis look uninventive.
The moral dilemmas seem pretentious in the extreme - a lovely doctor is forced to save a monster's life or be killed herself. A man bereaved of his son in a car accident has to 'forgive' all those vaguely involved to win his own redemption.
As standard fare, Saw III delivers - no more and no less than Saw II (or The Hills Have Eyes or The Devil's Rejects and so on). Deranged serial killer, Jigsaw, devises complex games for his victims, often involving self-mutilation. Clues are left on cassette recorders, and the captives follow instructions to try and win a reprieve. Saw III reprises some of the themes and loose ends from the previous two movies, but stands up equally well on its own. Sadly, after so many films of this ilk have been made (particularly ones with the sophistication of say Hostel or Audition), Saw III loses much of its shock value and is little more than a late night gore-fest to wind up the series. The overuse of loud and jangling sound effects from the very beginning is distracting and unnecessarily sensationalist and I found myself weary within the first three minutes. You might want to concentrate hard as several lives are being tortured at once and separately, but all is joined up at the end by the bedridden mastermind (and if you were half asleep or drunk, he goes over the 'answer' more than once, slowly). This flesh ripping feast should not be attempted on a full stomach. Anyone tired of happy-slapping will doubtless get inspiration.