Armando Montano
This Halloween, a grisly and disturbing annual Halloween tradition is continuing with the sixth installment of the Saw film franchise. Saw VI opened in theaters on October 23, 2009 to a throng of secret fans ushering in a new year of blood, guts, and violence.
Concluding the second trilogy of the Saw films, Saw VI delves deeper into the wonton aggression caused by the Jigsaw Killer’s successor, Mark Hoffman, in a post-Jigsaw stand-off against the pursuing FBI and life’s transgressors. Saw VI emphasizes the current popular issue of government-regulated Healthcare by setting up a new game-trap for an executive of an insurance tycoon as the Jigsaw killer’s newest transgressor against life.
As it is now tradition amongst Saw sequels, Saw VI picks up where Saw V left off. Following the trail of the latest suspect of a Jigsaw accomplice, Lieutenant Hoffman moves secretly amongst the FBI task force in the pursuit of Jigsaw’s last reaches into society. As the FBI closes in on the final living suspect, a new game elsewhere begins focusing on William Easton, a health insurance executive. As he makes his way through the series of challenges, Easton, like others before him, is challenged by their distorted morals to either stick with their methods and die or change their errors and do what is necessary to survive. However, the game is not as random as it may appear and the victims themselves are there for purposes known only to Jigsaw.
Fans of the series will be delighted to see the return of Saw lore familiar Jill Tuck, Jigsaw’s ex-wife, returning for more than the cameo of the past films. The end of the reign of the original Jigsaw is definitely significant to the newest installment, alluding to the possible beginnings of a new Jigsaw impersonator/successor and vengeance in future installments.
As with all sequels, the response from the fans of the original tends to lessen with each continuation. Saw VI is somewhat different in that fans of the Saw series felt that Saw VI was an upturn from the last few sequels. Keep in mind it does not abandon the date it came with; Saw VI carries the same violent carnage fans come to expect. It is clear from this film that the fans of the series are supporting and favoring a continuation of the story year after year; it is also clear that the fans themselves are favoring a turn from the gritty and gruesome overtones of the first few films to a more refined and intricate tale. Few films have as many sequels as Saw does, let alone horror films that can turn up the ante. While the film cannot compare to other horror film classics as a standalone, the film does levy an important stage in the series transition from another jabbering sequel to a story with an end. This film contributes to a story as a chapter, leaving many viewers both die-hard and new to wonder how the story will continue for the upcoming years and ultimately how the story will end. Saw VI is 90 minutes long and rated R for grisly/bloody sequences of violence, torture and strong language.
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