Saw VII. I refuse to call it Saw 3D. When this hype is over, it will always be the 7th film.
Let me address that there are two kinds of fans. There are spectators and hard core fans. One is no better than the other. They just have two different approaches.
For spectators of the Saw films, those who go once a year, maybe watch the previous film again on cable before they do, I could see where this would be gratifying but not as satisfying. This film was for the hard core fans.
For the hard core, like me, it’s complicated. I’ve been studying the films for the whole of October, wringing my hands while I wait for the last installment. Yeah, the gore was great. And I’m over the 3D epidemic. In this film, there were only a few payoffs to really be had, but so few that it will not disappoint me to own the DVD. I won’t miss them.
To me there are three distinct points in the film, the first being the traps. There are many moments, like in Saw V, where I saw no connection of the victims in the traps to Jigsaw. Except for Bobby’s game (Sean Patrick Flannery) which is the main plot, there was too little Jigsaw to really satisfy me. Sure, the victims had their evils, but it was more like a gore fest. A last hurrah of fan service to use up all the plans they had left. It makes me think that creating traps must have been the best job to have! There were gems that could have stood on their own as final traps, had the series been continued. So, a third of the way through the movie, I was bored with traps and ready for the much anticipated leaked spoiler of Dr. Gordon.
Next, Detective Hoffman has been justified. Through Saw V and VI, I’ve been really critical of Hoffman’s character. He’s out of place in the House of Jigsaw. And John/Jigsaw knows it. But he’s been around since the beginning and finally his role smacked me right in the face. He’s Jigsaw’s junkyard dog. You need someone not afraid to go on a prison shanking spree to get what you need done. There are questions about his motivation that were not answered for me. We know why Jigsaw selected him, but every film he just goes more and more crazy, and finally has it out for the last one standing…that he knows about. Was he just about making the legacy his own? Was he just going to kill everyone and skip town like a felon? His end game is never clear, then he finally comes face to face with Jill. How about a trap, just for old time’s sake?
This brings me to the end which made me very, very happy. For the spectators, I’m sure the irony was awesome and somewhat head slapping. For the hard core, it was divine justice. That dangling plot point all the way from the first movie, and nodded at clear through Saw V, had its satisfying conclusion. I cheered at the end. People stared.
This brings to light every other question that didn’t get answered. Am I happy having to draw my own conclusions? I’m gonna have to be, because adding anything more after an ending like that will just spoil all the hard work up to now. I may not feel the loss until Halloween 2011, when I will no longer see the Twisted Pictures logo. So this is it. The game is really over.
Saw VII. I refuse to call it Saw 3D. When this hype is over, it will always be the 7th film.
