Lovers of spectacle and gore know that one of the best places to find both is the Saw series. Ever since its first movie in 2004, audiences have been cringing at the sight of people cutting off their own limbs, jumping into pits of syringes and dying in elaborate, gory traps. Saw 3D is the latest and claims to be the last of the series and it doesn’t disappoint.
The plot follows on from its predecessors, following the legacy of Jigsaw and his apprentices as they seek to punish those who waste the precious gift of life by bringing them to the brink of death. The movie follows directly from Saw 6 where Jigsaw’s widow tried to kill his current successor, a former detective. She then turns herself into the cops to exchange protection for information on the deadly maniac. This plot is less confusing if the other six Saw movies have already been seen.
A secondary plot follows one of the survivors of one of the deadly traps, as he sells motivational material based on his experience digging hooks into his own pectorals and hoisting himself to a ceiling. He visits with other Jigsaw survivors, giving lectures and help to those traumatized from their deadly ordeals, until he himself, as well as his wife and publicity team are captured by Jigsaw, where it is revealed things are not what they seem.
Saw is one of the few horror movies that can actually get credit for having a decent plot. Since most horror movies consider it character development if the people who die actually have names, Saw actually stands head, shoulders and torso above the competition. Then, just for good measure, it puts a giant hacksaw through the same torso just for the gore.
Saw 3D‘s traps are made even more gory thanks to the fantastic 3D effects the movie employed. Normally 3D movies are just regular movies with a 3D filter on, so the 3D is pretty much useless. However, Saw 3D takes yet another hacksaw to that idea. Watching this movie, the audience actually ducks flying pieces of bone and intestine as it flies off screen. The 3D is really worth the extra cost for this movie.
One trap in particular was especially gruesome, as two men had to play a modified tug-of-war with a pair of buzz saws or kill the woman suspended above them with a third, all done in a crowd of hundreds of people. Not only is the scene intense as the men fight over who gets to die, but also the 3D makes the spill of innards of the unlucky loser that much more rewarding.
Saw 3D is rated R for, you guessed it, extreme gore. Also there’s some language, but can you really blame them?
