Getting Jigsawwy with it...

Rating: 5/10 (16 December 2006)

Jigsaw and his female accomplice Amanda, two sadistic serial killers with WAY too much free time on their hands, return in this third  and definitely not last  installment of the successful "Saw" franchise. It's just more of the same, really, only a lot grosser, as director Darren Lynn Bousman treats us to extended images of an open brain surgery as well as a wide variety of other stomach-churning scenes. "Saw III" is a really extreme and sick film, better not to be seen immediately after dinner, and a vast improvement over the mediocre second entry but still lacking far too many elements to be labeled as good horror. The script's main problem is that, exactly like with the first two, it tries to be overly complex and intelligent even though it totally doesn't fit the overall tone of the film. John "Jigsaw" Cramer developed into some kind of wise prophet with his endless speeches about the value of life and remission, but he's really just a pathetic old man who can't swallow he's terminally ill and the rest of his surroundings are not! Most people in this situation go into therapy or join internet forums, but instead John lethally punishes the people that too easily take their lives for granted. But according to him he's not a murderer! No, no...he even despises murderers. He simply "tests" people. Yeah right. Amanda, a former junkie whose eyes were opened by Jigsaw, assists the bed-ridden lunatic in his new diabolical plan centering on a female doctor who doesn't treat her patients tactful enough and a man who's confronted with the people that were responsible for his son's death. She needs to keep Cramer alive otherwise her head is blown up and he has to find the power to pardon the people who ruined his life or he'll die himself. The surprise & shock effect of the fist film have completely vanished, so you're not very impressed anymore whenever a character threatens to get killed by some type of inventively fabricated device. And there are plenty of those, for example one girl has to reach into a jar filled with acid to find a key that'll get the bomb-collar of her neck and one poor sucker is tied to a floor and flooded with pig-intestines! Gross!! Otherwise, "Saw III" is a rather lackluster film. It's roughly edited and very, very dark. Not talking in terms of atmosphere here, but just...dark! Lightbulbs apparently weren't included in Bouseman's filming budget and thus many scenes are just shot in the dark. For some reason, the character of Amanda (played by Shawnee Smith) also suffers from completely pointless flashbacks. It's an admirable attempt of our director to try and connect the three films together, but his intentions are too ambitious and his style too hyperactive. The tremendous amounts of graphic violence and blood was more than good enough for me. Oh yes, there WILL be blood.