Dreary and boring kids' "horror" movie

Rating: 4/10 (25 May 2007)

Well, after the disappointment of Saw 2, most people (myself included) figured that the only way this series could go was up, so you can imagine my surprise after seeing Saw III and finding out that it's actually worse! None of these films are very well written, and this dreary third instalment is no different as we're given an unimaginative central plot line that is nigh on impossible to care about, along with the usual amount of swearing, crying and sweaty people looking frightened in rooms that are often so dark that you can't see what's going on. Director Darren Lynn Bousman seems to have got it into his head that flashy editing equals good storytelling, but that is a ridiculous assumption, as all the editing does is make it hard to see what's happening - and that means that all the effort put into the film where the gore and "inventive" traps are concerned is ultimately wasted as you can never really appreciate it while you're squinting at the screen trying to make out what's happening. This all happens mostly in complete darkness as well, don't forget.
The plot line is of the 'highly convenient' variety, as despite being bed-ridden with terminal cancer, Jigsaw has somehow managed to find a man who hates a lot of people for murdering his son. Naturally he wants to play 'a game' with him, and so he's bunged him into some grotty place along with all the people he hates, and they're all hooked up to grisly traps - the idea being that he has to forgive to win the game...etc etc. Meanwhile, Jigsaw has got the doctor in to help him with his cancer - the catch being that if he dies, her head blows up. Believe it or not, this plot gets even more convenient once we get to the final twist. I actually feel quite insulted that the writers of this twaddle actually thought that people would buy into it - there is no reason to care about absolutely anything in this film! The film gets messier still when the director tries to tie all three films together with a series of boring and distracting flash backs where Jigsaw's assistant 'Amanda' remembers stuff they've done together. All in all, Saw III is a load of crap and I'm struggling to come up with anything good to say about it - and that's not usually something that happens when a film is as gory as this one. The kids might like it, but serious horror fans will need to look elsewhere for their thrills.