I made a mistake by watching "Jigsaw". Not because it was a bad film but because I had only watched one film in the franchise prior to seeing it- "Saw II". My initial reaction to "Jigsaw" was relatively positive - I thought it did exactly what was promised: a gory, tense and twisted horror just in time for Halloween. However, during the two weeks since I watched the eighth instalment, I have watched films 1-4 and I now know what franchise fatigue feels like: I was bored of the series during film #3. So for "Jigsaw" (and all those who worked on the film), it was a great decision for me to watch it without being familiar with the series as this review is going to be much more positive than it would be if I had seen all 7 of the films that came before it; Every "Saw" film is tediously similar, every twist is so outlandish and unbelievable and there's only one well developed character across the series...Jigsaw himself, John Kramer. 

There are two parallel stories coinciding during "Jigsaw" - one surrounding 5 new victims being tortured during Jigsaw's games and the other involving detectives trying to figure out what is going on...so basically the same set up as most "Saw" films. When seeing a film in this franchise, audiences are paying to see humans get violently tortured and "Jigsaw" delivers. The games start off pretty horrendously with the first round; Each victim is chained by their necks and is being pulled towards a row of spinning blades; All they have to do is give some blood and they will move on to the next round. It was discomforting to see each character rest a body part against the blades as they certainly looked sharp and dangerous. Round 2 saw the characters move to a new room where Jigsaw targeted Carly (Brittany Allen)- she had to pick from three syringes to cure herself from a poisonous substance that was injected into her earlier; One syringe was a dud, one the cure and one a toxic acid. To pressure Carly to pick quicker, all of the characters are raised via their chains and risk strangling to death if she isn't quick. Carly ultimately is unable to make a decision so Ryan (Paul Braunstein) takes it upon himself to inject all 3 into her. Carly's death is quite graphic and gruesome. This decision by Ryan also reveals his true character. The next round consists are Ryan brutally losing his leg, Mitch (Mandela Van Peebles) getting blended and Anna (Laura Vandervoort) sliding by relatively unscathed. Anna almost escapes but is soon captured by a 'PigFace' where she awakes opposite Ryan, unknowingly shoots herself and consequently destroying the key so Ryan is left to die in that room. From that summary, it should be clear that "Jigsaw" includes lots of gory, graphic and gruesome deaths that are unsettling to watch but will definitely satisfy fans of the series. The twisted serial killer may have took a 7 year break but the violence definitely hasn't been toned down for his return. 

It's bloody and cruel but is "Jigsaw" scary? It definitely belongs in the horror genre because of the horrific visuals alone but to most audiences, I think this is light on what is known as 'scary' these days. Billy the Puppet still makes a creepy appearance but that's the eeriest this film gets. Everything else is upfront violence and gore. There's a sense of tension and dread whenever the characters are playing the games but I don't think it's the kind of feat that will keep viewers up at night. The special effects makeup is done really well, everything is convincingly disgusting so praise should go to the team in the SFX department. I think praise should also go to the directors, stunt team and anybody else who worked on executing the torture games- they all looked impressive and were seamlessly achieved. The only scene I wasn't too impressed by was when Anna and Mitch were in the sand pit and the weapons were landing in places that were all too convenient. This was the one moment where the team seemed to blink as they would have to be very lucky people for a blade to land a centimetre away from their nose. 

One issue I have found with all of the "Saw" films is that they all lack character development, except for when it comes to John Kramer. In every film, John Kramer gets a little more development each time which builds to a fleshed out character- almost like puzzle pieces form a jigsaw. For a first-timer to the "Saw" series, it's easy to assume from "Jigsaw" that John Kramer is a renowned psychopath serial killer. I actually think this instalment (excluding 5-7) probably adds to Kramer the least other than revealing one of his unseen games from many years ago. Another convention of every "Saw" film is that the victims aren't so innocent. For example, Carly stole a purse from a woman who had an asthma attack chasing after her...but her inhaler was in the purse which meant she died; Ryan doesn't get a detailed story like everyone else but he admits he is an all-round bad person; Mitch sold a knowingly broken motorbike to Kramer's nephew/grandson which lead to his death; Anna was driven mad by her baby crying so killed it but covered it up by placing the body next to her sleeping husband and blamed him for suffocating the child. I mentioned this in my review for "Murder on the Orient Express" but it's hard to get behind characters who are bad people. However, I think "Jigsaw" (and the franchise) is quite clever as it leads the audience to care for these characters right up until their death- I spent most of the film liking Anna and was routing for her but once her backstory was revealed, I did not feel the same way. "Jigsaw" could almost be making a commentary on how you never really know somebody and poses the debate as to whether these people were victims after all...

The other story that is going on during "Jigsaw" isn't nearly as interesting and every time the film deters back to it, not only does it give audiences a time to pause and reflect on the horrific images they just saw but it also gives them a time to zone out. One issue with the "Saw" films is that if the audience are already aware of what is going on, they aren't going to be interested in the detectives uncovering the mystery. Of course it was intriguing to find out how Jigsaw was alive or who was orchestrating the games but it just felt like an obvious ploy to bring the franchise back to make some more money. Usually when they make an instalment titled "The Final Chapter", it's the end..clearly not with this series. As the film reached its climax and the suspects were becoming more prominent as to who was the new Jigsaw killer, it was a clever choice to have one of the nurses, Eleanor (Hannah Emily Anderson) a Jigsaw super-fan who had a whole studio dedicated to her favourite traps and games; I actually think it's quite realistic to think that this killer would get a cult following of people who appreciated his twisted mind. On the hand, this was a way too obvious red-herring and completely erased Eleanor as a suspect.

So, what's the twist? who is the new Jigsaw? Well, it is revealed that the person underneath the Pig mask who captured Anna was John Kramer himself. I couldn't quite get my head around this at first as Kramer was supposedly dead so the writers had to have a good reason for how he was still alive. However, as Logan (Matt Passmore) and Eleanor invaded the farm where the game was taking place, it is abandoned with no sign of the characters the audience have been following for the entirety of the film. It turns out that the two parallel stories were occurring on two different timelines- the 'game' was in the past, one of Kramer's first and the story involving the detectives took place during present day. This is where things get complicated; Logan is yet another of Jigsaw's prodigies (that twist is getting boring "Saw" team!) and he has been replicating the same game with a similar set of victims (who the audience never actually meet). There's then a ridiculous final 10 minutes where Logan puts himself and Detective Halloran (Callum Keith Rennie) into the game- I didn't really understand and certainly don't remember why Logan did this and what his reasonings were for choosing Halloran as a player. At the time, this was only my second experience of a "Saw" twist so I was quite impressed as I did not see it coming. However, prodigies and playing with the timeline are common twists within the franchise so I think for longtime "Saw" fans, it may be easy to work out.

The acting was ok across the board- there have been far worse performances in this franchise. I don't know how helpful this film will be in getting these actors their next job but they certainly do themselves justice. I wouldn't be surprised to see these faces in future, low budget horrors as they have all shown that they can convincingly express fear. However, in the wider horror genre, I have seen far superior performances to this; The actors do what is required of them but never go any further. Tobin Bell is as good as ever in his few scenes- this didn't seem like a paycheque gig for Bell and it seemed like he was more than willing to return to the series. However, I'm not as keen on Matt Passmore who is the new Jigsaw- what worked well with Bell, on top of his performance, was that he had quite a creepy look. Passmore looks like an everyday man and definitely doesn't express signs of a serial killer. If Passmore is going to be the face of these films going forward, I think this revival will not last much longer. Future prediction- Logan's first prodigy is going to be super-fan, Eleanor.

Out of the "Saw" films I have seen, "Jigsaw" is one of the strongest. If you're not already a fan of this franchise after the 7 previous films, this will not win you over; However, fans of the series should be satisfied by the traps, gore and the return of Kramer. Keen fans will likely see the twist coming as it is in-line with previous revelations. However, if you felt satisfied and/or a slight sense of fatigue by the end of "Saw: The Final Chapter", it may be wise to leave this book closed as "Jigsaw" adds nothing new and therefore isn't mandatory viewing. I'm not too sure why they decided to revive this series but the writers and directors were successful in creating another puzzle piece that fits nicely into the bigger picture of the series; It's an obvious cash-grab but at least it's relatively entertaining.