Saw III

Darren Lynn Bousman
2006

After viewing the first three Saw installments I've come to the conclusion that while these films aren't particularly good, they are definitely addictive. So far number three has proved best in the franchise, being on par or better than the first, and far superior to part two. The hokey cops are finally done away with for the most part, as they're either violently dispatched or shoved deep in the background. Crazy grandpa Jigsaw is still kicking around with his ex-junkie sidekick, and cooks up another overly elaborate plan involving a dedicated doctor and a revenge obsessed father. This being a Saw film there's a surefire twist ending (a little more far-fetched than usual) and a handful of nutty traps. Thankfully Tobin Bell gets to chew up the screen a little more, and is more involved in the action, receiving some frontier medicine in the form of a power-drill trephined skull. Gore aside, the most rewarding element here is the rocky sensei/pupil relationship between Amanda and Jigsaw, one in which the learning curve is severely hampered by an inoperable brain tumor. The ice-locker trap is a complete throwaway, but the pig-slop one - in which a man risks drowning beneath frapped pork bits - sufficiently makes up for it. Unlike the first two efforts this one seems far less sequel friendly, which is definitely making me interested in "SAW IV." I'm ready for another dose of cheap cinema crack.