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many ways, "Saw 2" is the archetypal
sequel, attempting to top its predecessor simply
by subscribing to the 'more is more' philosophy.
Thus, instead of two men imprisoned in a room (as
was the case in the original), we now have six
people locked in a house filled with deadly traps,
a scenario whose chief purpose is obviously to
provide a higher body count and increased
opportunities for sadistic carnage. Whilst this
may elicit a cynical sigh from many viewers, the
surprising result is that "Saw 2" is
actually a marked improvement on the original,
mainly due to the fact that most of "Saw's"
unnecessary, dross and vacuous flashback-reliant
plotting has been stripped out and replaced with
gory action.
Although
"Saw 2" still has the same problems
which afflicted its predecessor, namely labouring
under the illusion of its own intelligence and
having the appearance of being edited by a chop
happy crack addict, here they are more easily
forgiven as the film is less pretentious and more
concerned with providing bloody, trashy
entertainment. After an amusingly tacked on
opening scene designed to reassure the viewer that
Jigsaw is indeed up to his old tricks, the plot
begins proper, following a burnt out detective
named Mason (Donnie Wahlberg, "Band
of Brothers").
On top of having problems with his delinquent son and a
career in freefall, Mason finds himself being
asked for by name at the crime scene of self-help
killer Jigsaw's latest victim in a cryptic message
written in blood. This leads Mason to Jigsaw
himself, and more importantly to a horrifying
discovery -- that his son, along with five
strangers, are trapped in a house with only two
hours to find an antidote before the poisonous gas
they are breathing brings them to a gruesome end.
Their only hope is to engage in a series of
fiendish and decidedly murderous games, while
Mason on the outside attempts to interrogate
Jigsaw, who it appears has other plans for all
concerned.
By bringing in the extra characters, most of who
are thinly disguised excuses for ironic death
scenes, writer Leigh Whannell (who also scripted
the original) gives the narrative a slasher film
mentality, which actually suits the set up quite
well and removes the uncomfortable need to spend
extended bouts of time exploring back-story.
Although the script still has the annoying habit
of relying far too much on flashbacks for
mock-complex exposition, at least this time around
the majority is brief or has some kind of direct
point, and there are considerably less scenes of
characters simply reminiscing on dull domestic
situations.
The main difference between the two films is that
in this sequel Jigsaw has a proper onscreen
presence, in a suspiciously "Se7en"-like
role of taunting the main character and gradually
ensnaring him in a nefarious scheme. Although most
of his dialogue is predictable cod-philosophy, and
his ultimate motivations somewhat suspect, Jigsaw
still makes for a fairly original and interesting
villain, and is a nice change from the usual
masked teenager troublers that tread the modern
horror genre.
Visually, the film is very similar to
"Saw", with director Darren Lynn Bousman
choosing to emulate James Wan's hyperactive
theatrics and neon tinted colour scheme.
Unfortunately, this means that a great deal of
potential tension is squandered, and the visceral
impact of several scenes are effectively
castrated. To be fair, Bousman does manage to rein
this in at times, allowing for some genuine
suspense, though the overall impression is still
that of a director in desperate need of valium.
In
terms of gore, "Saw 2" certainly
delivers, and there is a great deal of
unpleasantness onscreen, and though much of it
feels rather gratuitous, it helps to keep the
viewer interested. Whannell has a talent for
creating squirm inducing scenarios, and the film
contains some moments of inspired nastiness.
Unfortunately, most of these rely heavily on the
innate stupidity of the characters and their
complete inability to get to grips with the fact
that most of Jigsaw's instructions are based
around lame irony or weak puns. Still, this in
itself is entertaining in its own way, and very
much par for the course with the series.
The main problem with the film is the final act,
which has needless references to the original
"Saw", and a supposed twist ending which
has been clearly signposted throughout. As well as
being frustratingly obvious, the ending plot twist
smacks of the worst kind of cynicism, and serves
only to undermine the film's bleak theme of
hopelessness, leaving the viewer with a frustrated
feeling of being sold down the river.
Although the ending does undo much of the good
work which has gone before, "Saw 2"
remains a film which exceeds expectations, and
certainly stands above most modern genre efforts.
Full-blooded and fast paced, it offers genre fans
a solid slice of distinctly adult horror, and one
which, however clumsily, at least attempts to
employ cerebral as well as visceral shocks in its
brand of madness.
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