Movie Scum

As I sat to watch Saw 3D, I was worried that having not seen the last installment, the series’ reliance on retcons and alternate looks at previous events would prove challenging to keep up with. While finishing part six after the fact helped fill in some of the backstory, it had little bearing on my opinion of the allegedly final Saw film which was very disconnected from the previous entries. Even a brand new viewer to the series would have little difficulty understanding the plot yet be baffled by the shoddy quality in this hugely subpar installment in the Jigsaw saga. Even with the return of director Kevin Greutert and writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, 3D feels more like a straight to DVD, half assed sequel than a legitmate follow up to a major theatrical series. Mostly gone is the intricate weaving of past events into a new narrative featuring Jigsaw’s traps to emphasize the preciousness of life. Of course, there is a B-side story of Bobby, a so-called survivor of one...

I hope that a possible explanation for the vastly inferior Saw V was due to effort being withheld on that film to more finely hone this installment. The chasm of quality in the middle film between IV and VI is so abrupt from the previous efforts that on some level it almost has to be intentional. Writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are able to effectively right the Saw ship here with a topical story that is not only brutal in its violence (moreso than some of the later sequels) but one that furthers the deepening mythology surrounding Jigsaw (John Kramer), his apprentices, his wife, and the sordid tale between them all. Taking over directing duties now is former Saw editor Kevin Greutert who helps the writing duo create a tale that is solid not only in its Jigsaw-ery but also on the games side of the story as well. As we meet a new (to us) character William Easton, his fate seems undoubtedly sealed as he is not only a slimy health insurance executive but also a slimy executi...

Back in the late 1990s when the original Star Wars trilogy was being rereleased, the jackhole movie reviewer from my local newspaper (Dan Neman in case you were wondering) wrote that Empire Strikes Back is an incomplete, and thus horrible, movie because it lacks a defined beginning or ending and just sort of exists without a purpose. Some of us thinking- and movie-enjoying folks would say “You’re a douche and it’s the middle part of a trilogy.” While I cannot defend that review (really, who the hell hates ESB?), I will pilfer its essence as I thought of that review after watching Saw V. Here is a movie that adds nothing to films in general or the Saw series specifically, it is just the very definition of a movie without a point. Starting just where we left the surviving characters from the last go around, Agent Strahm finds himself in a precarious situation by the hand of Jigsaw’s emergent successor, Detective Hoffman. Hoffman’s intentions were for everyone to die (which they mos...

Saw IV marks a turning point in the series, not only in the narrative sense but also behind the scenes; it is a changing of the guard if you will. Director Darren Lynn Bousman from Part II and III remains but gone is co-writer of the first three, Leigh Whannell, replaced by those Feast boys Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton. I would imagine they were simultaneously happy and scared shitless to be taking over the writing duties but fortunately, they rise to the occasion as the fourth installment comes off much better than it should have considering the mess of a story that they inherited. With Jigsaw “out of the picture” at the end of the last movie, Dunston and Melton come up with a very interesting way of keeping him in the thick of the events but yet moving along to branch out in new, more twisted directions. The target here is Sgt. Rigg, played by Lyriq Bent, who after learning of the good guy death from the last film (writing these reviews without spoilers is a pain in the ass!...

Surprisingly, I have not yet become ‘Saw’-ed out as quickly as I tired when watching the Nightmare on Elm Street series. With another quick turnaround of a year from the release of the previous film, Saw III manages to further expand both the backstories of Jigsaw and his accomplice Amanda but also to delve further into human actions and emotions to be put on trial in a maniacal kind of way. After beginning with a quick check-in of Donnie Wahlberg from the end of the second, part three moves onto Jeff’s test to exact revenge (or not) on those involved with his son’s tragic death. If you recall, one of my chief complaints with part two was the lack of characterization of the house inmates, likely due to their number but also the other story line with Wahlberg. As the sad, bitter Jeff is the central part of his portion of the movie, we are treated to not only a wonderful performance by Angus Macfadyen but also to a character that we grow to understand even if his blind thirst for re...

In Scream 2, film geek Randy and his friends discuss the baffling properties of sucktacular sequels and how they all but destroyed the horror genre. It’s funny that such a statement is made in one of those very films (in my opinion at least), but even though sequels in general are easy to dismiss, especially ones that are written, produced, and released in less than a year, Saw II is one of those follow-ups that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its big brother and in some cases tower over it. It goes without saying that if you did not like the original film, you will not find much of interest here but Saw II is made in the framework of good sequels that build upon the first’s successes without being an outright carbon copy. Instead of just two random guys shackled in a filthy bathroom, one of the stories here is of eight random people trapped in a house full of dangerous cons, deadly traps, and even more deadly nerve gas. One of these eight is the son of the crooked Detective M...

Six years later, it is quite remarkable that a movie like Saw could lead to one of the most prolific horror franchises of modern times. What started out in humble beginnings with a script hammered out by beginners, sold through a short excerpt of the feature, and a budget the size of most summer film’s catering department, Saw was able to make horror films distinct again even if that would lead to the danger of what some call “torture porn.” In anticipation of the latest and allegedly final installment opening this week, I decided to go back and revisit the Saw series as some of these films I have seen only once and in some cases many years ago. If anything can be said about the series (again, going from my hazy recollection), the basic premise of each of the films is similar but the plots have been totally different. At the opening here, we meet Adam and Dr. Gordon who are chained by the leg in a dingy, industrial bathroom with only a fleeting idea of how they got there and an o...