“A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Friday the 13th,” and “Halloween” all reached their respective sixth installments with rapidly decreasing enthusiasm.
Jigsaw plays the horror franchise game differently, however.
“Saw VI,” directed by Kevin Greutert, blows you away, proving that it doesn’t have to be redundant and it can still be fresh and exciting.
A word of warning to those that see “Saw VI,” the ending will leave you eager to see “Saw VII” next year.
The traps in “Saw VI” not only lived up to the high bar that “Saw” traps have set in the past, but they had a new twist to them.
Before, traps would involve one to eight people, and everyone had a chance to survive, as long as they played by the rules.
This time around, we get a new kind of game, where the victims compete with one another. Some will die and others may live.
The main game follows William (Peter Outerbridge), who works at a health insurance company.
One of the people William denied coverage was Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) himself when he was seeking cancer treatment. Jigsaw feels William ultimately killed him.
It was William’s test to decide who lives and who dies in a series of traps. Jigsaw wanted to show him that his personal policies don’t necessarily match the policies of insurance companies.
The other point of the story was following Det. Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), who has just framed Det. Peter Strahm for being the next Jigsaw.
The scenes following Hoffman were incredibly suspenseful. They make you constantly wonder if the FBI agents know the truth about Hoffman when they talk to him.
“Saw VI” not only created a fresh story, but also revealed some elements of the series that were far overdue.
Finding out what was written on the letter to Amanda (Shawnee Smith) in “Saw III” was a relief and was also surprising.
That’s not to mention finding out what was in the box in “Saw V” that was given to Jigsaw’s ex-wife, Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), was amazing as well.
“Saw VI” created a new mystery of its own and leaves you wanting to see what happens in the next “Saw” movie.
