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Last Halloween, the horror film “Saw” surprised audiences with its harsh violence and unflinching look at gruesome situations. While the film had flaws like inane dialogue and poor acting, it became a success and made over $50 million. Considering the film cost a little over $1 million, a sequel was inevitable. This Halloween, audiences around the United States can treat themselves to a viewing of “Saw II.”
The film finds the Jigsaw killer from the original on the prowl again, this time putting eight people in a locked house, which is filled with deadly nerve gas. They are asked by Jigsaw to perform various tasks to earn antidotes, but, unfortunately, all of these tasks are actually traps. All the while, Detective Eric Matthews, played by Donnie Wahlberg, is forced to watch, as one of the eight victims is his son.
The plot essentially follows the same lines as the original film. Instead of the two characters locked in one room, facing what looks like inevitable death, we are presented with eight characters locked in a house. This creates a problem, as the film does not have enough time to flesh out each character as thoroughly as the original did. The only thing we really discover about the characters is that each one is irrational, and, for the most part, stupid. I cannot count how many times one of the eight said something along the lines of “I’ve gotta get outta here” and then preceded to die because of some stupid decision.
The film also treads on territory that the original did not, as one by one the characters are killed off. This is the standard cookie-cutter plot for a thriller and – to the surprise of no one – this does not create thrills. It is a paint-by-numbers storyline, where one minor character gets killed, then the next minor character, followed by the next minor character. Countless films have used this typical mold, but the most recent one that comes to mind is 2002′s Sly Stallone dud “Eye See You,” which was so bad it went direct-to-video in the United States.
“Saw II” is not all bad, though. It does provide a little bit of violence and a couple of scenes that will make the audience cringe. Besides those few moments, the film offers nothing. Writer and director Darren Lynn Bousman, a relative unknown until this movie, brings nothing new to the table at all. He takes away what those who enjoyed about the original film loved so much. The ambiguity and mystery that surrounded the killer in the original film is completely gone, as well as the element of surprise.
“Saw II” has its moments, albeit few. Very few. Saw II is strictly made up of violence and deaths where college students can turn around to other college students and say “Man, that is messed up!” If you enjoy that, then this film is definitely for you. However, if you want to care about characters being killed rather than the method in which they are killed, then definitely avoid this vacuous film.
