HYSTY’S HORROR HOUSE // Jigsaw

Nov 02, 2017 / WORDS Tim Byrnes, Staff Writer / Dumb fun

After seven films of dwindling quality, it looked like the Saw franchise was over, even subtitling the seventh one The Final Chapter. Well, like a parent threatening to turn the car around if the kids keep acting up, it was an empty promise. Now, the series’ antagonist returns after a seven year break in Jigsaw.

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Jigsaw follows the same premise as every other film in the franchise. A group of victims, each with secrets of their own, are forced into an elaborate series of deadly tasks, testing their morals and pain threshold. However, Jigsaw—aka John Kramer (Tobin Bell)—has been dead for several years. As the bodies pile up, Detectives Hallowran (Callum Keith Rennie) and Hunt (Cle Bennett) enlist the help of medical examiners Logan (Matt Passmore) and Eleanor (Hannah Emily Anderson) to rescue the new victims, and find out if Jigsaw has really risen from the grave.

From L to R: Mandela Van Peebles as “Mitch,” Laura Vandervoort as “Anna,” Paul Braunstein as “Ryan,” Brittany Allen as “Carly,” and Bucket Head.

The first film in the series, made by Australian filmmakers James Wan and Leigh Whannell, was an interesting and thrilling film. For this reboot, the torch has been passed to fellow Australian filmmakers The Speirig Brothers (note: I did wonder if the Aussie backgrounds inspired the Ned-Kelly-esque helmets the victims wear in their first appearance). The pair has horror chops, including cult gems Undead and Predestination, the latter a surprising and twisting time-travel thriller. For Jigsaw, the brothers feel more like temp workers, but they at least have some fun.

Sure, the acting is bad and the story dumb, especially in a scene involving choosing the right syringe, but the film isn’t boring. The directors do inject some thrills, with some gore and revelations inducing gasps. Rather than trotting out another film for the paycheque, The Speirig Brothers have fun with what they’ve been given. Jigsaw isn’t a bold reinvention, but is dumb fun, which is better than the other films.