Saw 6 (2009)

How many times can you flog a dead donkey? SIX times apparently! The first Saw film was released in 2004, a shocking, gory, visceral horror that really made an impact on first viewing. Now here we are on number 6, just a few short years later. I have to be honest I stopped caring after the third instalment. When you first heard the serial killer Jigsaw's distorted voice say "Hello I want to play a game" you were taken on a really intense trip into what quickly became a new genre in horror, 'torture-porn'. Now if you haven't seen any of the films don't be alarmed, there is no actual nudity but there is a lot of torture, all in the name of cinema obviously. Saw jarred our senses with graphic scenes of mutilation and its ability to put the viewer into an impossible situation (could you really contemplate cutting off your own foot to save your life?). By the time Saw 6 arrived I really wondered if there would be anything to keep my attention or would it be a case of same shit different toilet?

To steal another cliché, familiarity breeds contempt. The film starts with two money lenders who prey on the weakness of others in a race against time and each other. They must cut off one pound of flesh in exchange for their lives, but only the first one to manage it will be spared. A hallmark of the Saw franchise and the Jigsaw killer's signature is to teach immoral characters the harshest lesson in order to make them see the error of their ways. The intro is so familiar it loses any impact it should have. When would a person cutting flesh from their own stomach seem utterly run of the mill? When you have seen it all lots of times before!

The immoral character in this film is an insurance company executive who makes his money denying peoples medical claims. He is thrown into a game that forms the centrepiece of the film. There is some plot going on involving a detective who is carrying on Jigsaw's work, some police who are trying to catch the killer and Jigsaw's ex wife. They are all blended together in the same formula as any of the other increasingly poor sequels. The effect is much like a soft porn film where there is some pointless dialogue you have to sit through before the 'action' starts.

Adding to the familiar feel is the direction and the sound track. Jagged camera work with fast zooms in and out accompanied by very real sounding screams, snaps and crunches were genuinely unnerving in the original. By the sixth time around it feels like watching a magician after he has explained the trick away. I have mentioned previously that it seems that most films these days are remakes or sequels with nothing new to say. Saw 6 is a prime example of this. It feels like an attempt to cash in on earlier success by just repeating the same idea with a slight update on the Jigsaw killer’s legacy.

If you are a big fan of the franchise this will probably be a welcome addition. Lots of it is told in flashback so it will fill some holes in the back story for the die-hard fans. For those who stopped caring long ago however there is nothing new here to warrant a viewing.

3/10