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Who would have thought that after the surprise success of James Wan's Saw that we would get, as of early 2010, five sequels. What's even more compelling is to think that the first Saw was a Hitchcockian suspense thriller built more to tickle the brain than shed blood. Each sequel - beginning with Saw II - has left the original's relatively tame violence behind only to capitalize on Hollywood's renewed fixation with gag-inducing gore & violence. Nevertheless, the Saw films have always been conceptual brain-teasers and Kevin Greutert's Saw VI, while still unremittingly gruesome (what did you expect?) is no different.
It's amazing to think that the first Saw film - shot for a measly $1.5 million, released way back in the Fall of 2004, and originally meant to be a straight-to-DVD flick - would spawn some of the horror genre's most financially profitable sequels. Thus, a franchise was born and what remained of the first movie has pretty much gone by the wayside at this point. More importantly however, is that each film has moved the series forward instead of relegating them to surmounting past glories. The same can be said of Saw VI.
A lot of the previous sequels’ problems have been done away with. As much as Saw V has grown on me with repeat viewings it is still easily the worst film in the franchise. It's a pandering, poorly paced, and meaningless slice of the Saw pie that seemed to strike many (myself included) as made purely to squeeze one more sequel out of the declining series. Let's face it, ever since Saw III there was never any real reason to keep churning out sequels other than Lionsgate not wanting to sacrifice the money they figured they could make by keeping it going. I still believe to this day that Saw III was always meant to close out the series, but the money machine that is Saw was something the producers couldn't let go of. As much as I truly love Saw IV, even I can admit that it wasn't quite up to snuff with the movie's that came before it. Something was missing. I guess with Jigsaw no longer being alive (he is now relegated to flashbacks) it took away from a lot of the appeal of the movies. It also doesn't help that original creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell only have executive producer credits after the third film. In other words, they have very little to do with the franchise at this point.
As for Saw VI, I'm relieved to say that it is much better than V and probably one of the best sequels thus far. VI brought more story into the equation and gave us characters that we really do want to see survive. Peter Outerbridge (as slimey insurance agent William Easton) is a character that most of us can immediately identify; an insurance agent only out to grease the palms of his financers, as well as his own. The policy he's created, which is also the focal point of his "game," comes down to one equation; the healthy receiving coverage and the sick being denied it. This subplot plays out later in the film but those revelations are something I won't spoil for the reader. And as much as we hate William at first, we start to see that throughout his ordeal he has a newfound appreciation for the value of a human life.
I loved that the one being tested, William, and the subsequent people he must save are co-workers of his who are shown to lack any semblance of conscience, much like their boss. The way our economy is backsliding due to these same types of people should really ring true for viewers. At times the concept can be a bit too preachy and over-the-top, but it was nice to see a Saw film include a bit of social commentary to go along with its blood & guts.
Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) has also returned along with a more cynical point-of-view after law enforcement agents begin to get closer and closer to discovering his ties with John Kramer aka Jigsaw. As much as I like the character, Mandylor's performance was too subdued throughout and really didn't mesh with the Saw IV & V Hoffman. I don't think he spoke more than 10 sentences during the film. He was massively underused and his mannerisms seemed so unnatural for the character. Then again, Hoffman is probably quite the nervous wreck after all signs point to him as the second Jigsaw accomplice. As far as co-stars are concerned, the flashbacks involving Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) are very much welcomed and we find that he had ties to the abovementioned insurance agent that, again, is so crucial to the plot that I won't give it away here. Mark Rolston also returns as the likeable Special Agent Erickson. There are a few surprise returns as well, but none that (this is getting redundant) I will reveal to you.
VI as a whole feels so much more rewarding, informative, and thought-out as opposed to the rather mundane V. There's a lot going on and tons of flashbacks to give reference to new revelations. Kevin Greutert, as director, is also a huge improvement over Saw V director David Hackl. Greutert manages to squeeze out a number of good performances from the cast, sets up some truly amazing visual sequences, and keeps this feeling much more like the previous Saw's through trademark visual aesthetic than Hackl did. As much as I miss Bousman helming the sequels, I will freely admit to Greutert doing a bang-up job regardless.
As far as labeling this Blu-ray a director's cut, I can't say it offers up anything more than lengthened death scenes. I'm sure those familiar with the theatrical cut will notice some of these differences, but something tells me that the rated print wasn't cut down very much at all. With that said, it's amazing what the Saw films are getting away with now as VI certainly doesn't hold back. For the initiated, Greutuert has seen fit to add in slightly more back-story as well as a lengthened ending sequence that hits much harder than the theatrical print's.
All in all, Saw VI is much better than it has any right to be. As the sixth film in a waning franchise, it's much better than the previous sequel and is in many ways better than my personal favorite, Saw IV. Greutert focused much of his time on creating compelling subplots, interesting characters, and memorable traps that really make this a Saw film worth watching. I hear he's taken Hackl's place as the director of VII and, if so, I'm even more pumped to see what he's able to do with the 3D effect reported to be used in said sequel. In conclusion, Saw VI corrects many of the flaws of past entries while also earning it a place among the upper-echelon of the series. I give Lionsgate credit; they beat the horse to death but somehow have managed to revive it.
9/10
