Fat Jesus' Promoting Synergy Blog: Costas Mandylor

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Halloween Movie Month 2 [SAW IV]

Oh man, here we go with SAW IV! I don't think this should come as a surprise though. You must know by now that I love this series and avidly have watched, loved and if need be, criticize it. From my SAW III review I posted earlier you know I'm not a huge fan of it, but this movie on the other hand is a nice bounce back and has always been a favorite of mine. Lets see how the second trilogy starts off!

We open SAW IV with the autopsy of John Kramer aka Jigsaw (Tobin Bell). As the coroner is emptying the contents of him stomach he discovers a tape encased in wax. He calls the police and the tape is given to Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor). Allison Kerry's (Dina Meyer) body is found four days after her death in The Angel Trap. FBI agents Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Lindsay Perez (Athena Karkanis) are called to the scene where as Lt. Daniel Rigg (Lyriq Bent) is sent home. They believe that someone else put Kerry in the trap cause neither Kramer or Young (Shawnee Smith) could get her up there. Strahm also becomes suspicious of Rigg because he still believes that Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is alive. Later that night Rigg is abducted in his home. When he awakens he finds that he has 90 minutes to save Matthews and Hoffman. Rigg must learn "what it truly means to save a life" by choosing to save or let people die in traps around the city. Jigsaw is gone, but he is still pulling the strings. The real test is if Rigg can save himself, Matthews and Hoffman.

Oh man, this for me, is easily the most suspenseful of the series and I love it. Adding a "clock" into movie or shows can sometimes make the movie feel rushed, but I didn't get that feeling out of this. The plot for this one was a huge step-up for me and the way the executed it was perfect. The clock introduced in the early-going and then it running out near the end of it. Timing was perfect. The progression of the story-line in the SAW universe was great too. Nothing is left out from what happened in three, and it keeps the essence of what was set-up in the first trilogy as a whole. Acting is pretty goods and everyone is filling in their roles well at this point in the series. But Lyriq Bent as Lt. Rigg was just awesome throughout the whole thing to me. The traps and blood and gore in this movie were cool. Shame there were no huge noteworthy traps (aside from the ice blocks at the end). But what's gotta be my favorite part of this is the autopsy at the beginning. It looks, feels and sounds like you're watching a corpse get cut, sawed and pried open as Jigsaw's body is turned inside-out.

This is one of those movies that I can just straight-up watch because I know the series so well. But people could get confused if they just decide to up and watch SAW IV. It's got the kills, the traps, the story-line, etc. But I think this movie is more for those who (up to that point) had been entrenched by the first trilogy and really love it. It doesn't break new ground, but if you're a fan you adore it. So if you like 1-3, give this a shot. If you adore 1-3 like I do, this is a must watch.

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Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #1: Halloween II

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #2: The Devil's Rejects

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #3: Friday the 13th Part II

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #4: Scream 2

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #5: Evil Dead 2: Dead Before Dawn

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #6: Trick 'r Treat

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #7: Planet Terror

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #8: SAW III

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #9: The Cabin in the Woods

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #10: Barricade

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #11: The Collector

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #12: Hostel

Halloween Movie Month 2! Movie #13: Silent Hill

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Halloween Movie Month 2 [SAW III]

Bout time I got to a SAW movie. It's my personal favorite horror series and I ended last year's Halloween Month with SAW and SAW II. They are the two best in the series, but I still do love the seemingly never ending story (well until two years ago now) of Jigsaw and his troubled past. Not to mention all the blood, gore and twisted kills that I've come to love. But this is SAW III, can the murderous magic continue?

Coming off the end of SAW II, SAW III starts off with Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) in the bathroom (made famous in SAW) with his foot shackled to the wall. He grabs the toilet tank cover and breaks his ankle so he can escape. Six months pass from this seeming grisly scene, a SWAT team led by Lt. Rigg (Lyriq Bent) finds another Jigsaw crime scene. Detectives Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) and Allison Kerry (Dina Meyer) are also sent to the scene where we find out Jigsaw is back. We cut to a hospital where a depressed doctor, Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh), works. She is kidnapped and brought to Jon Kramer (Tobin Bell). He is now bedridden by cancer, and aided with a shock collar rigged with shotgun shells, she is told by Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) that she must keep him alive. Well she must keep him alive at least until Jeff (Angus Macfadyen) finishes his game. This is the last main part of this movie is following the journey of Jeff through his game. He has just lost his daughter in a car accident and is severely angry and vengeful. He must choose to save or kill various people involved in the ring of people involved with all aspects of his daughters death. Can Jeff learn to forgive, will Kramer survive till Jeff is done and will the detectives finally catch up to Jigsaw? SAW III answers all these questions and more.

This is one of the series' movies I can never really get into. I know a lot of people who love this movie, but every time I watch it I'm extremely conflicted. We'll start with what I like. The kills, at least two of them are two of the best in the series. The shotgun collar is the most mobile and one of the best in the series. Also the rack is one of the most slow and painful-looking traps of all the movies. Also the scenes involving Tobin Bell, arguably the best actor of the entire series, are great. They are in each movie in my opinion. Another thing I love about this movie, and the series, is the continuity between everything. This movie is no different and facets all around in this movie are tied into the first two and the rest of the series. Here's what I never liked about this. The bulk of the movie, Jeff's game, is full of traps that are mediocre and people I just don't care about. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have cared either way if all of them died off. Even Jeff seemed like a dick (so he played his part well), but I just didn't care. It made the movie drag for me. I know they couldn't have just had a movie where Kramer getting taken care of, but don't bore me with with a meh story about Jeff.

All in all this is nearly the worst in the series for me. I've never been a huge fan of three, but I am a fan of the series and this is still a must-see for SAW fans. Two great traps out of a movie-full just doesn't do it for me and as good as the Jigsaw/Kramer story is, the Jeff game really brought down the goodness of it. It made the movie feel long and I hate it when movies do that. Story-line is furthered and if you're a fan like me you wanna soak in all the information going forward. Three is what it is for me at this point, and if you're watching the series this is definitely one of the low-lights.