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Jigsaw / John (Tobin Bell) returns for the 3rd installment of the Saw Trilogy as bedridden cancer patient now in the brink of death. He needs to stay alive until his newest victim Jeff (Agnus Macfayden), a father mourning for the loss of his 8 year old son completes his game wherein he meets people who contributed to the death of his son and he is made to choose to forgive and save them or watch them die slowly and painfully. His protégée, Amanda (Shawnee Smith), the junkie he saved in the previous sequel, continues his torture legacy and kidnaps Dr. Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomkh) so he can ensure he stays alive to see Jeff finish his game and receive punishment fir committing adultory. Amanda designs an intricate collar bomb that will explode the moment John flatlines or she walks to far from the man. Unfortunately, Jigsaw/John takes fancy of Lynn which angers Amanda after giving him her loyalty.
Considering the development of movies of this genre, one would be surprised at the dullness of the
production. It is neither terrifying nor thrilling.
For horror, it relies a lot on gore and blood spills and how much one can stomach as it merely moves from one torture scene to the next interspersed with a weak story line. Although this sequel ties all loose ends of the previous two; it is a little confusing as it tries to take an in-depth look at the relationship of John and Amanda; masters and protégée, love, father and daughter and wallows in detailing subplots of other characters in the present and previous films. The script is flat and bland while the production design completes the entire mood of scenes – rusty, gloomy and dark. Cinematography and editing are decent and tight and the scoring is substantially chilling.
It is surprising how one person can champion values such as forgiveness, faithfulness and
appreciation of one's life be so violent, cold blooded and sadistic at the same time.
Can a noble intention such as teaching a person forgiveness or matrimonial faithfulness justify the mutilation of a wrongdoer? Society most of the time applauds vigilantes and rude heroes who use force and violence to punish the corrupt, the immoral and the abusive. At some point we cry "death by lethal injection or gas chamber" -- probably these are "more humane" and less gruesome than the devises and contraptions of Jigsaw -- but doesn't it follow the same principle? Hate the sin and love the sinner is a very basic Christian value that needs to be emphasized these days, vis-à-vis we give importance to the conversion of the heart and soul and rectification of attitude as oppose to judgment and punishment of an offender. After all, didn't we commit a mistake or fault at some point in our lives? The movie fails to bring its underlying philosophy and concentrated on spilling liters of blood, body parts and other vomit-inducing elements and is definitely not suitable for young and sensitive audience.
(Date Reviewed: 19 January 2007)
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