I like bone chilling movies. For me Saw VI is something more. It is worse than Saw, better than Saw II and Saw III, and is similar to Saw IV. It is the amazing continuation of Saw V which left too many storylines in a state of fluctuation for a fifth installment. Saw VI contains more blood and guts and human gravy than most horror films and does so with style and pizzazz.
Costas Mandylor in Saw III and Saw IV made me sick to my stomach. He seemed to be the worst actor within a hundred miles of the set. His very presence dismayed many Saw fans who craved for a better villain. The character is a perfect fit for the series in writing but the individual actor’s execution of the lines and the murderer’s demeanor utterly failed. I am pleased to rescind my criticism as a recently plumped up Costas Mandylor impresses and acts the hell out of the part of Agent Hoffman. His facial expressions seem more genuine, and his enjoyment of carnage and stoicism throughout the most harrowing scenes is impressive.
The storyline continues fluidly from the death/orchestrated murder of Agent Strahm to Agent Hoffman’s use of the dead agent’s fingerprints as evidence of his alleged murderous streak. In an immediate surprise Agent Perez is brought back as a central character who suspects her partner Agent Strahm has been framed and used as a patsy. The agents seem to have a desire to vindicate Strahm and do everything within their power to decode the voice on the recent "Jigsaw" tapes and to date the fingerprints of Agent Strahm. Unfortunately for the late agent, his body is nothing more than a few frozen fingers and a decayed carcass of dilapidated cartilage and un-dissolved bone.
The show opens with a bang so to speak. Two insurance agents are in a race to excise the most flesh from their bodies in order to survive the game. Surprisingly one lives and tells Agent Hoffman that she learned nothing from the game other than feeling pain and suffering. Her opponent seemed like an early favorite being extremely obese and having more flesh to spare than the thin and attractive black female. Nonetheless he gave up light weight fat, albeit loads of it, while she sacrificed and entire arm to survive. This exposes Agent Hoffman’s cravings for unnecessary vengeance, which we already had unveiled in the previous Saw episodes.
The major game begins when the writer of a health/life insurance code (the same man who denied Jigsaw and so many others who had paid their premiums) refuses coverage to customers during their most challenging times, is kidnapped and presented with a vicious game. He is given four challenges. For passing each challenge one of his shackles is removed. His entire department of wolves, money-grubbers and "thieves" are put on trial. The majority are killed including four of six in a game of musical chairs a la Russian roulette. That game is the most creative and astonishing the writers have yet to contrive. It blows my mind how in your face sickening it is. Virtually every behind the scenes twist and turn is revealed via flashback, and the storyline beautifully comes together at every turn. Just when the insurance guru found himself in the middle of two cages, one with his sister (a sensationalist journalist hounding Jigsaw’s wife for "selfish" personal gain) and the remaining family of a man denied coverage by Umbrella Insurance, he is put on trial yet agan. The son whose father was denied access to coverage committed a murder, an eye for an eye, a life for a life, only the audience can see the obvious difference in the magnitude and circumstances of each death. The irony of passing the tests and surviving only to wind up killed in cold blood is against the Jigsaw standard.
Agent Hoffman is discovered by three FBI agents as the Jigsaw accomplice. In a moment of panic he strikes them all dead with his knife. Apparently Hoffman knows very little about fingerprints and voice decoding. This is puzzling considering his rank and rapid career rise. An FBI agent who is a notorious serial murderer knows nothing about how to protect himself from being caught? Baffling as this may seem, it adds suspense and surprises until he slaughtered them all easily.
Ultimately, Agent Hoffman plants Strahm’s fingerprints at the mini FBI base and burns the building with the dead agents to protect his secrets. The instant he arrives at the zoo headquarters to watch the end of the game he is assaulted and bonded by Jigsaw’s wife. She straps him into an electric chair and places a bear trap mask around his head with the intention of eliminating his very existence. He somehow partially escapes but suffers a terrible, gaping facial wound and screams with blood gushing everywhere as Saw VI comes to a screeching halt.
The concept here is that insurance companies are maligned and will kill people to save money. It is almost like watching a government propaganda video for idiots who absorb lies like sponges. Politics, and dirty politics aside, this version of the series is incredible in every way. The traps are more brutal, more people are spared but accidentally, and justice is served to those dispensing it with god-complexes. Jigsaw’s determination to purge his disciples makes sense but is a surprising twist that makes the movie more complex. There are layers on top of layers in this franchise. As a lover of horror films as a child I always wished for more Halloweens and finally that wish was granted. The same applied to Phantasm and to other horror cult classics. Saw now has six installments and has room for more. It is almost a mainstream pop culture phenomenon and continues to deliver. Here is hoping that next year will bring another dramatic episode because Halloween, nay, Helloween would not be the same without it.
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