Not Mind-Blowing, But Quite Good By Sequel Standards

Rating: 7/10 (3 November 2006)

Jigsaw and Amanda kidnap a doctor to keep Jigsaw alive while a man who lost his son to a drunk driver must survive a handful of tests.
This film was not the greatest horror film I've seen. It certainly didn't leave me the way "Saw" left me. But as the third film in the series, hastily written, it was actually pretty good. The traps were decent (though less creative than before) and the story takes an interesting new direction. Best of all, flashbacks that help fill in the gaps from the first two films (many of us figured out how Jigsaw remained motionless so long in the first film, but now it's no longer a debate).
Some critics said the film had gadgets that were too high-tech or too reliant on medical knowledge. I disagree. They showed how devoted Amanda was and I find it plausible she spent countless hours perfecting the devices and studying anatomy (one scene makes it clear she has a solid knowledge of pharmaceuticals).
Others have said the film was gory. I say it was not gory enough! For me, the most disturbing scene was in the first five minutes. Later scenes that could have been incredibly bloody (a woman's rib cage being pulled forcibly open, for example) took the camera off the action or made the scene too dark to really enjoy. The generation of horror fans today grew up with Mortal Kombat... they can handle body parts getting ripped off. Give them what they want. (Not to mention the growing influence of Asian horror film gross-outs like "Imprint".)
The pigs in the grinder... delightfully perfect.
I also thought the plot was incredibly contingent. For it to work out perfectly, everything would have to happen exactly as it did with the right people living and dying and certain people being out of their homes long enough to rig things. (The Mysties are saying "it's just a show, you should really just relax" and they're right... but it saddens me to see such intelligent film makers leave these danglers.)
I'm not sure why the father of the drunk driver was targeted. Unlike past victims, his "crime" (wanting revenge on his son's killer) wasn't even really that bad. Very natural, in fact.
The visuals as usual are good, and the film is both dark and filmed through a blue tint to give a more sterile feel. Sterile as in isolated.
I feel there's so much more to say, but I'm drawing a blank. But really, if you liked the first two films you have no excuse to miss this one. It really clamps down the series.