Jigsaw

Director(s) - The Spierig Brothers (Undead, Daybreakers)
Starring - Matt Passmore (Lethal Weapon, Son of the Mask), Tobin Bell (Manson Family Vacation, Saw), and Callum Keith Rennie (Smallville, The Butterfly Effect)
Release Date - 2017
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Make America bleed again"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     The last ten years or so has saw the rise of several horror franchises that are just as popular as some of the classics.  Films like Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Insidious, and Saw are modern series that show no signs of slowing down with new films being released every couple of years.  The Saw series is one that seems to be the more popular of the ones mentioned above.  The series first broke ground in 2004 and was releasing almost yearly until 2010 when it stopped.  Silence fell on the Saw series until 2017 when the series was rebooted with Jigsaw hitting theaters.  This was one of the films that was released theatrically this year that I really wanted to check out but life got the best of me.  When news broke of the film's physical release I reached out and was able to grab a review copy.  Glad I did.

     The film picks up 10 years after the death of John Kramer (Bell) aka the Jigsaw Killer and a new series of murders has sprung up using his same tactics.  The police start to suspect that there is a copycat killer on the loose and suspect that the medical examiner's assistant may be the culprit.  As the police investigate their lead they find themselves neck deep in Jigsaw's trap and the real killer is not who they thought.

   

     The Saw series was on of those franchises that started out with a bang but the repetitiveness of it make the series run stale.  Fans were very open to the first several installments but as the films progressed they found themselves just not caring.  Jigsaw comes in just 7 years after the last Saw film hit theaters and just enough time has passed to where fans might actually care again.  I went into this one very optimistic and enjoyed it for the most part.  The acting in this one is solid.  No one outshines the other and everyone was on the same page.  The characters are very clichéd especially in the Saw series but the cast did the best they could with what they had to work with.  The story for this one is a more updated version of what we got with the original series.  The traps are fun for what they are and the story's twist can be seen from a mile away.  With that being said, it still has the same tone and atmosphere of the original series which is still fun for what it is.  Finally, the film is just as bloody as any of the other films in the series.  The practical effects and traps are fantastic to look at.  I was really impressed by how much practical effects was pumped into the film.  However, the film makes use of computer generated images and effects which stick out like a sore thumb.  I have no idea why they included this mess in the film.  Overall, Jigsaw is a fun watch that would be a blast to see in a theater with horror nerds.  Sadly, it doesn't really have replay value.  Fans of the series need to check it out but if you were one of the few that didn't like the Saw series then this one is going to be more of the same.