Jigsaw BD + Screen Caps

THE MOVIE — 2.5/5

The Saw franchise has endured 14 years now with the latest release, Jigsaw, a movie that attempts to be somewhat of a reboot after it appears the series was getting stale; of course they had the added problem that their serial killer, John Kramer was dead… Now, I’m not the biggest fan of the Saw movies outside of the first one which I loved and they progressively went downhill with each additional sequel, Jigsaw, while not in the least awful, this entry still was rather bland with a mildly interesting story but milk toast characters once again.

Although apparently dead, it seems the Jigsaw killer is at it again. Five people, 3 men and 2 women, wake up in a dingy, dimly-lit, room with buckets bolted on their heads (with slits to see through) and necks chained to a wall that, after triggered, pulls them in right towards spinning saw blades with that familiar voice giving riddles on what they need to do to stay alive.

Meanwhile, those who disobey end up brutally killed and their bodies end up on the table of medical examiner Logan Nelson (MATT PASSMORE) and his assistant Eleanor Bonneville (HANNAH EMILY ANDERSON) and is investigated by Detectives Halloran (CALLUM KEITH RENNIE) and Hunt (CLE BENNETT). Together they try to piece together who is behind this newest game given Kramer had died 10 years ago and soon suspicion points to each one of them as being the newest Jigsaw Killer.

As I said, although the first Saw movie was great (mainly because it was a fine mixture of horror and thriller), the subsequent sequels quickly devolved into brutal and unentertaining torture porn. With Jigsaw I can at least say the filmmakers, under the direction of The Spierig Brothers (Predestination), attempted to go back to their routes focusing on the mystery angle rather than the devices, though even those were on the contrived side and still some nifty psychic powers on how the killer knows the things they do about the victims in a couple cases.

There’s not a whole lot to the movie without getting too spoilery and I can say is the performances are perfectly fine for the type of material they get to work with. Matt Passmore brings some of the charm that worked on The Glade series from a couple years back; Hannah Emily Anderson perhaps was the bright spot especially as a quiet yet fiery redhead; Callum Keith Rennie is the typical asshole cop you’ve seen before; and the rest of the victims “playing” Jigsaw’s game are blank slates and merely there to, ahem, “test” out his devices when they don’t play by the rules, which they often do not of course.

Jigsaw might not be great it is a tad better than the previous sequels and it was a fine way to do a soft-reboot of the franchise though I’m not sure I personally am interested in where this goes next. As it is, this is average.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.25/5

This release comes with a glossy slip cover and inside a redemption code for the Digital HD copy along with a standard DVD disc.

Audio Commentary – Producers Mark Burg, Oren Koules and Peter Block. Kind of a tradition with these releases, at the very least the producers provide a track and they chat about the process of this newest installment.

I Speak for the Dead: The Legacy of Jigsaw (1:21:56; HD) is an expansive 6-part documentary on the latest installment and taking a fresh approach to the franchise; features interviews with cast, producers, writers and directors and has some behind-the-scenes footage.

The Choice is Yours: Exploring the Props (6:27; HD) is a tour of the prop room for the film, a lot had to be remade as they were sold off after the last installment believing that was the final one in the series.

Previews – Leatherface, Friend Request, 31

VIDEO – 4.5/5

AUDIO – 4.5/5

OVERALL – 3.25/5

Overall, Jigsaw is an okay enough entry/soft reboot to the enduring franchise and while there wasn’t anything all that memorable, I can’t say I hated it and at the very least they balanced the thriller aspects that made the original so great with the blood and gore horror fans love. The Blu-ray offers up a good feature assortment toplined by a six-part featurette and excellent video/audio transfers.