DOES SAW VI REALLY IMPROVE ON ITS FLAWS AND GORE?

The gore can’t be heightened any further, but this grisly revenge sequel improves when it comes to its characters, script, development, direction and confusion. Saw VI keeps you on the edge of your seat, but is also well-acted, riveting and even more entertaining.

Agent Strahm is now dead, and FBI agents are drawing closer to detective Mark Hoffman who has come out as the successor to the Jigsaw killer’s legacy. Meanwhile, a corrupt insurance executive finds himself in another game set by Jigsaw.

Director: Kevin Greutert
Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Peter Outerbridge, Betsy Russell, Shawnee Smith, Mark Rolston, Athena Karkanis, Devon Bostick
Writer: Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan
Release Date (Australia): 22 October 2009
Runtime: 90 minutes/1h 30m
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Language: English

R (for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, and language)

Due to its improvement on characters, script, development, sub-themes and direction, in addition to a brilliant new range of grisly traps, Saw VI is easily the best of the Saw sequels so far. Thank you director Kevin Greutert, for coming along and making a really good Saw movie, and thank you to screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan for listening to the criticisms and writing a fresh story that improves its the predecessors.

Peter Outerbridge plays a greedy business owner who controls a corrupt health insurance company, who is thrusted into a series of games set by the Jigsaw killer that challenge his corrupt decisions and involve a bunch of kills. Meanwhile, FBI agents are drawing closer to Mark Hoffman, the successor to Jigsaw’s legacy, as the culprit. Both stories playing out at the same time are engaging, suspenseful and balanced together perfectly. We get to feel the pressure on detective Hoffman’s back as agents Dan Erickson and Lindsey Perez (yes, she returns) uncover more and more evidence. The ‘voice recognition’ scene being one of the best scenes in the movie.

If you’re a Saw fan and you just want to see people being brutally tortured and killed in sadistic traps/situations, Saw VI features some of the most clever and memorable traps in the series so far, including the shotgun carousel, pound of flesh competition and the acid room. But this time, they’re all very thematic and interesting to watch because no matter what, someone has to die in them. What this greedy business man does for work is he basically decides who lives and who dies from their terminal illnesses, and he’s kind of forced to do the exact same in these games. There’s plenty of moments featuring explicit blood, gore and torture that’ll have you either wincing or wriggling around in your seat.

A big logical problem with the traps however, is the fact that they all go against John Kramer’s moral value, because he is firm in his belief that “everyone deserves a chance” when it comes to life and death. Even though he’s responsible for murdering and torturing people, the dude’s got a moral code. Other than that, the hardcore fans will adore Saw VI. The direction, acting, cinematography and effects are all extremely commendable. And what’s probably most important, it’s entertaining as hell.

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