‘Saw II’ encourages the horror genre with all the normal horror plus some
By Dustin Taylor
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Staff Writer
- Movie Review -
Bloody deaths, violent traps and a tedious overarching mystery, all the variables are in place and the formula has received a much-needed overhaul.
Written and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, “Saw II” takes all the elements that made 2004s “Saw” compelling and essentially raises the stakes.
Replacing the borderline comical performance delivered by Cary Elwes is a more inspired lead from Donnie Wahlberg as Detective Eric Mason.
Some old favorites are back including Tobin Bell as Jigsaw, a deranged, yet philosophically inclined mastermind, who has collected an ensemble of victims to slaughter themselves for our viewing pleasure.
Perhaps it hearkens back to the gladiatorial days, but there is just something inescapably magnetic about eight doomed strangers pitted against one another in a confined space.
“Saw II” still manages to elicit the occasional wince of sympathetic pain, though some of the thunder is stolen as an invisible toxic gas is employed to off the occasional hostage.
Still, the root of the “Saw” series does not lie in its masochistic game of cat and mouse, but in the morality play that develops as the “killer” works to enlighten his victims. As Jigsaw explains, “Those who do not appreciate life do not deserve life.” In this sense, “Saw II” falls into the same catagory as the classic “Se7en.”
Carefully timed clipshows insure that those who missed the original “Saw” will not be left in the dark, though the occasional throwback may be lost on those same viewers.
“Saw II” does not revolutionize the genre, but it certainly encourages growth.
In the end, the sequel delivers everything the tagline promises and more: “Oh yes, there will be blood.”
Well worth a rental and a must for any fan of the original, “Saw II” hits shelves Feb. 14.
The DVD will feature both the wide and full screen versions with an audio commentary with Bousman and actors Donnie Wahlberg and Beverley Mitchell. Filling out the bonus features are storyboards, a gallery of concept artwork and “Jigsaw’s Game,” a making-of featurette.
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