Jigsaw

Arriving seven years after the previous installment, 2010’s Saw 3D, Jigsaw stands as a more-of-the-same followup that seems to have emerged directly from a template for the series – with the movie bafflingly ignoring the new, promising direction offered by the previous picture’s conclusion and instead delivering an almost total franchise reboot. The narrative follows several strangers as they awaken within an old farmhouse that’s been rigged with a series of deadly traps, with the movie also detailing the exploits of a grizzled detective (Callum Keith Rennie’s Halloran) and his ongoing efforts at tracking down the victims (and the perpetrator). It’s clear immediately that filmmakers Michael and Peter Spierig aren’t interested in exploring new territory either stylistically or thematically, as Jigsaw, virtually from the word go, feels like a lazy and rushed-to-screens followup that’s almost entirely devoid of memorable, stand-out moments. (There is one kill towards the end of the film involving lasers that stands as a notable exception.) It’s a testament, then, to the series’ inherently compelling atmosphere that Jigsaw never quite becomes the disaster one might’ve feared, with the movie, in spite of its one-dimensional characters and by-the-numbers traps, benefiting substantially from its sporadic emphasis on better-than-expected elements (including a very welcome return appearance by one of the franchise’s most familiar faces). The surprisingly strong final stretch, buoyed by a fairly unexpected twist, ensures that the whole thing ends on a somewhat positive note, and it’s impossible not to wish that, should there be another installment, the producers take things in a more overtly innovative direction (or, at the very least, revert to the promise of Saw 3D‘s finale).

**1/2 out of ****