Not as good as Saw, but it does have its moments

Rating: 6/10 (28 October 2006)

It was about an hour after the screening of Saw II when myself and two friends were sitting around a small bar table drinking already a ridiculous amount of alcohol when I asked the question. "What was the last third installment of a horror movie that was any good?" No sooner did the question flow off my intoxicated tongue when the music in the bar stopped playing, all patrons and workers froze in their tracks and crickets could be heard from the field across the road. My friends sat there stunned like a Gibson in squad car headlights.
So we started rambling off films each one met with uproarious laughter or headshaking acknowledgement. The Exorcist III, Friday the 13th (in 3-D no less), Jaws III, Poltergeist III, Halloween III. No, no, no, no, no. Oh the hours that have been wasted watching such trash (although, we all admitted that if any of these flicks showed up on our telly late at night, we would probably sit transfixed through the end credits).
Granted, not all was bad. Nightmare on Elm Street : Dream Warriors was alright. Alien III was also given a passing grade. But in all, we agreed how hard it is to maintain the same levels of fright, awe and excitement three times over.
That brings me to Saw III, the latest installment of the very popular franchise that follows the infamous Jigsaw killer as he puts his prey through some of the most elaborate killing challenges ever put on screen.
Saw III starts where the last Saw left off (note therefore that it is of great value that you have seen the first two films if you want to be able to follow the bouncing ball). Without giving too much away, there is a darkened bathroom, a police detective chained to the wall and a saw. Think you know what's coming? You're wrong.
The opening sequence of Saw III sets the tone for the rest of the film. It is gory. It is loud. It is graphic and it will make you wonder if you would have the same passion to do whatever it takes to release yourself from your shackles.
Barely able to take a breath from the opening, we are on an express train of squirm. As we watch through squinted eyes, a man is tortured with flesh piercing chains (take that Hellraiser) and a woman gets a breast reduction with a contraption so elaborate, Einstein himself wouldn't have been able to make it if you spotted him the supplies and blueprints.
It was after this flesh ripping horror that I finally got a chance to dip into my popcorn vat for some air. While I sucked the salt and butter off the popped kernels, we get reintroduced to the Jigsaw killer (once again played by Tobin Bell). We are reminded of the frailness of his physical state and the reliance he started in Saw II with Amanda (Shawnee Smith). Jigsaw is dying, and there is an hour of film run time left.
The movie then shifts gears and follows two separate story lines. One has the father of son who was killed when hit by a car being given the Jigsaw opportunity to save himself or exact vengeance upon those involved with his sons death and the trial for the accused driver.
The second story line follows a doctor named Lynn (Bahar Soomekh) who has been kidnapped by Amanda and outfitted with a contraption that if Jigsaw's heart was to stop, her head with also cease to remain on her shoulders. The movie then shutters back and forth between the two unlucky participants in the Jigsaw game of terror leading to an ending that will bring all parties together and will seriously (SPOILER ALERT!) affect how Saw IV might evolve.
Saw III did something that the first two only hinted at. It brings the blood and violence level to new highs. Where Saw and Saw II had more implied guts and gore, Saw III goes for the jugular. Throats are slit, people are ripped to shreds and actors are shot and covered in pig entrails. Joy oh joy oh joy! By the time we get to an unlucky man who is literally twist to death, we have seen enough bones and blood that I wondered how the movie escaped the dreaded NC-17 rating.
Horror films should be enjoyed without expectations, so as I normally do in my horror reviews, I will leave most of the details of the plot and death to be experienced by the paying customer.
But what I can report is that for those of you who have been disappointed time and time again by the rehashed installments of horror franchises, Saw III sits on the side of Nightmare on Elm Street : Dream Warriors and Scream III. It is a worthy approach to continuing the story of our favorite characters while providing us with all the red soaked gunk that we pay to see every Halloween.
www.robertsreviews.com