Saw III

UK Release Date: 27 October 2006

Certification: 18
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Cast: Tobin Bell, Angus Macfadyen, Dina Meyer,  Shawnee Smith, Bahar Soomekh, Donnie Wahlberg

Rating: 22%

Review:

What a mess of a film. Several abandoned subplots, an incoherent story and a band of incredibly unlikeable characters. This is where I think the franchise will lose my interest. 

Other than a few scenes towards the beginning of the film that were slightly unsettling, Saw III isn't scary and a huge departure in quality from the first two. Saw III relies solely on gore in an attempt to scare/shock the audience. But when the traps appear unwinnable and so much blood is shown it becomes desensitised. 

Horror films often get a bad rep for having their characters making the worst possible decisions in important situations. I think that's unwarranted but it is certainly the case in Saw III. Jeff (Angus Macfadyen) is the most frustrating character in horror history, he's laughably stupid. Whilst other people are being subjected to Jigsaw's gruelling traps, he stands there and whines rather than deciding to do anything to help. Anytime Jeff is on screen you know you're in for a painful watch and a bumbling buffoon. 

The editing and transitioning is somehow even worse than the first two. The jump cuts make scenes difficult to follow. I don't understand why every film in this franchise decides to cut to a 30 second montage of previous events before it ends. 

In terms of the positives, I thought the operation scene was really well executed which sums up the state of the film. There's genuine tension involved. I also appreciated a greater delve into Adam's backstory and the events following Saw.