Saw II

Starring: Donnie Wahlberg, Beverly Mitchell, Dina Meyer, Tobin Bell
Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Thriller
2005

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) has a new slew of victims, and this time, one of them is the son of a cop (Donnie Wahlberg) hot on Jigsaw's trail.

Review:

Tim: The original film was fiendishly diabolical and clever, and there was some concern over the quality of this film, living up to the original's lofty heights. Like most sequels, this one tries to be more ambitious yet decreases in quality. The original was great because of its simplicity. It was a very straightforward movie- this one is much more confusing, with a larger cast, complex backstories, and a few silly and stale developments.

The cast is a bit underwhelming. While the original had Cary Elwes and Danny Glover (even if their acting was terrible), it still lent sme credibility. Here, we have Donnie Wahlberg and that girl from "7th Heaven." There's a drop off there. While it is interesting to see a larger group of people caught in Jigsaw's schemes, it also loses some effectiveness. There was something far scarier when it was two people locked in one small room. By taking a large group and putting them in a big location, allowing them to wander around, this makes the sequel slightly less intense.

Just like the original, the victims trapped in the building are much more fascinating than the cops trying to track down the bad guy. However, even the victims don't die by as memorable means as the original. Elwes' decision at the end of the movie is one of the greatest horror movie moments in recent history. Here, there is no such impressionable scene. The closest comes in the pit of syringes. This is the most stark and memorable scene.

While this film is a drop in quality from the original, it is still a fairly good horror movie. However, this movie almost certainly sets up the second sequel to be a disastrous failure.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Saw, Scary Movie 4