Third installment of Saw franchise anything but dull

October 30, 2006 —

Horror films are like Ferris wheels. While enjoyable for the first few spins, the more times it goes around the better the chance you're going to get nauseous and want to get off.

With that in mind, I had all but convinced myself that Saw III was going to be a bust, figuring the series would resort to the over-the-top gore and gratuitous nudity that seem to characterize other fading horror franchises.

Instead, what I found was another entertaining flick that maintained the twists, turns, and creativity that made its predecessors so popular. And while not without its flaws - it did occasionally utilize the aforementioned nudity and gore - fans of the series should agree it was worth the (short) wait.

Anyone familiar with the other movies will recognize the basic plot structure. A bed-ridden Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) kidnaps a doctor (Bahar Soomekh) and forces her to keep him alive by strapping an explosive collar to her neck that will detonate if his heart monitor flatlines.

Meanwhile, Jeff (played by Angus Macfadyen of Braveheart fame) wanders around a slaughterhouse being told that he can finally seek revenge on the drunk driver who killed his son if he can make it through the typical maze of puzzles and traps made popular in the first two installments.

Ultimately, if Jeff can make it out before Jigsaw succumbs to his brain tumor, then both he and the doctor go free.

What makes all this worthwhile is that the movie can still pull off its surprise ending despite everyone in the theater trying to figure it out. The film takes about a half-dozen turns within the last 10 minutes which, while a little hard to follow at first, all seem to fit nicely into place, leaving you with a satisfied grin on your face and shaking your head because you can't believe the series managed to trick you again. Like college, it only seems worth it after it's all done.

Better yet, the film frequently ties back in with the original, sort of filling in the necessary blanks and answering key questions left as a result of a movie that jumped right into the middle of the plot without any buildup. We see Jigsaw and Amanda preparing the scene and going through the set up in the room the first movie takes place in.

Of course, the film does have its flaws. The gore is far more present in this installment and probably to an unnecessary degree. One five-minute segment featuring rotting pig carcasses is both avoidable and disgusting. The previous movies were scary for what they didn't show. This one not only shows it to you but hits you over the head with it.

A second flaw is the underdevelopment of the characters. With only four main players (two of whom we already know) you'd think development wouldn't be an issue. But the movie is so concerned with grossing you out that it doesn't take the time to develop a stronger back-story that would have made the ending of the film even better.

Macfadyen's character, in particular, misses the boat completely. After the movie is done, it's almost impossible to think of a single interesting thing he did or said. He mostly just walks around screaming and mumbling. You could almost hear him asking, "What's my motivation?"

Despite these things, the movie is still better than most of the other horror films out there and does the Saw series justice. My only hope is that everyone involved with the franchise quits while they're ahead and walks away. If not, what's going to be left at the bottom of this Ferris wheel could be a lot more disgusting than anything that has to do with pig carcasses.