SAW 3D (2010)

So I went out to the theatre last night, and guess what I saw? Yeah, Saw 3D or Saw 7. Regardless it promises to be the final chapter in the long-running movie series and one can only hope so. How is Saw 3D a film of the fantastic? Just go with it.

This time around, Jigsaw finds a man pretending to have survived the Jigsaw killer. He gives motivational speeches to fellow and far worse off survivors. He must be punished. And boy is he ever. Is there a point in discussing what happens? Trap after trap, we get to see a neck cave in, eyes gouged, a man hanged, and woman broiled to death. Oh and the scene with the skinheads early on offers quite a grossout for the gore hounds.

So Saw 7 or Saw 3D is not the worst movie I've ever seen, but then only one film can hold that title. The film is periodically entertaining and it's over-the-top silliness only helps it at the point it's reached. I get it. The SAW films are here only because fans want gore and to hear Jigsaw say "I want to play a game!" Every October they demand Jigsaw by selling out theatres and giving each installment, at the very least, a strong opening weekend at the box office. Now, Saw 3D promises to be the final chapter in the Saw series, but is it really? Remember Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter? How about Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare? Remember how Micheal Myers was most assuredly dead at the conclusion of Halloween 2? Basically, these franchises survived their own promised finish. They outlasted their own demise. Saw 3D is left far more open than any of these films and to boot, has a decent enough box office total to woo executives into pinching our pockets to ensure Jigsaw lives for another movie. We'll be seeing a new Saw film probably in October 2011 and if not, it won't be more than a few years before we are again subjected to this mediocre series of films. TWO STARS OUT OF FIVE.