Tag: Saw II

The Jigsaw Files: Saw X (2023)

When the surprise is revealed at the end of David Fincher’s The Game, Michael Douglas’s character is reminded that he was drugged and left for dead in Mexico and all that he got was a lousy t-shirt (and a gigantic bill I might add). John Kramer aka Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) can relate in Saw X. And while he doesn’t get a t-shirt, he definitely gets some new games to engineer after his visit to our southern neighbor.

As many franchises do nowadays, this tenth installment of the nearly two decade old series doesn’t require knowledge of the entire canon. You really only need to remember Saw (2004) and its 2005 sequel (they remain the best two of the bunch). To jar those memories, Bell’s Kramer has terminal brain cancer. His civil engineering background allows him to concoct elaborate traps for victims. He doesn’t look at them that way because they’re generally terrible people who’ve wronged him or others. The patient known as Jigsaw doesn’t actually kill them as he gives them opportunities for escape and I suppose personal growth. As we’ve witnessed in nine pictures already, these candidates for redemption frequently fail their tests. One of Jigsaw’s would-be cases is Amanda (Shawnee Smith). She passed her exam back in the original and was revealed to be his apprentice in part II.

With those friendly reminders, Saw X takes place between the happenings of Saw and Saw II. John is freshly diagnosed and given months to live. An acquaintance from a cancer support group tips him to experimental therapy in Mexico run by Norwegian doctor Cecelia Pederson (Synnøve Macody Lund). The eventual surgery yields puzzling results and Jigsaw realizes that the Scandinavian surgeon and her conspirators need his unique form of tutelage. Let the games begin.

Among the flaws of many Saw entries after the second and third ones is they fell all over themselves trying to feature Bell’s Jigsaw in them (or at least his aura). Two of them (Saw VI, Saw 3D) were directed by Kevin Greutert and he returns here. I can understand the strained Jigsaw inclusions as he’s the most compelling character and other villains (or sadistic heroes depending on how you look at it) didn’t match up. Therefore it’s a relief that screenwriters Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger (who penned the inferior immediate predecessor Spiral) find a clever way to make him the star. These movies are dimly lit so the fact that Bell and Smith have aged a few years isn’t much of a distraction. The script also gives Bell the most screen time he’s probably ever had. That’s a plus. Yet Saw X is also quite leisurely paced at two hours. Stretching a Saw saga beyond 90 to 100 minutes is a test of endurance.

Stolberg and Goldfinger were also responsible for Jigsaw in 2017. I found it to be a mostly effective reboot. Saw X is similar in quality. Like Jigsaw, it ebbs somewhat in the third act. It takes a little too long to get where it’s going. We know John and Amanda will set their barbarous traps and that’s delivered occasionally in peak Saw fashion. The straightforward story is far less convoluted than other sequels with their overreliance on flashbacks to bring Bell into the proceedings.

Bell is front and center in this for good reason. He’s got loads of intestinal fortitude to carry forth his mission. So do his captors at one point… you’ll see. This is the tenth pic arriving 19 years after we first met the patient. It belongs in the top half in the rankings and I would diagnose it as a cut above everything after the third one (with the possible exception of Jigsaw).

Saw X Box Office Prediction

Nearly 20 years after the original was an unexpected box office hit, Saw X arrives on September 29th. It’s a back to basics affair with Tobin Bell returning as Jigsaw with the events taking place between 2004’s Saw and 2005’s Saw II. Kevin Greutert, who helmed 2009’s Saw VI and 2010’s Saw 3D, directs. Shawnee Smith returns to the series and other supporting players include Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, and Michael Beach.

The tenth entry was supposed to open right at Halloween on October 27th before Lionsgate announced its late September bump. X is out two and a half years after Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Chris Rock’s take on the franchise which set historic lows. COVID didn’t help, but Spiral did just that at the box office with a mere $8 million opening and $16 million eventual domestic gross. Prior to that, 2017’s Jigsaw managed a $16 million premiere and $38 million eventual take. That’s a far cry from the high point debut of Saw III in 2006 at $33 million.

Saw X will be lucky make half of that. I certainly don’t think it’ll fall under Spiral, but low to mid teens might be all it manages.

Saw X opening weekend prediction: $15.7 million

For my The Creator prediction, click here:

The Creator Box Office Prediction

For my PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie prediction, click here:

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie Box Office Prediction

For my Dumb Money prediction, click here:

Dumb Money Box Office Prediction

Ranking the Saw Movies

**Blogger’s Note (02/09/24): Updated through Saw X

As of this week, I have now completed my rewatch of the Saw franchise from the 2004 original through this year’s Spiral. Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen more grisly traps, body parts flying, endless flashbacks, and more tape recorders than a Radio Shack in the 1980s than I care to remember.

Of course, my reviews of this ennead was brought on by the release of Spiral, Chris Rock’s foray into a reboot. I was hopeful that it would stand as one of the bright spots in this dark group of bloody tales. It wasn’t to be. With each placement on this list, you will find my longer post.

Opinions are varied on the overall placement of the Saw pictures in terms of quality. There’s not much debate that the first is the best and it’s a sentiment I certainly share.

After that we see plenty of debate. I still maintain that the first three (in which Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw is alive though not well in health or mind) stand above anything that followed. There are ardent admirers of part 6, but I feel IV-VII represented a considerable dip in quality and the sixth is not immune to that criticism. 2017’s Jigsaw was more successful in rebooting the films than the recent Spiral, though it has plenty of flaws.

And with that, here are my rankings in the Saw cinematic universe:

10. Saw 3D (2010)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw 3D (2010)

9. Spiral (2021)

The Jigsaw Files: Spiral (2021)

8. Saw IV (2007)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw IV (2007)

7. Saw VI (2009)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw VI (2009)

6. Saw V (2008)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw V (2008)

5. Saw X (2023)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw X (2023)

4. Jigsaw (2017)

The Jigsaw Files: Jigsaw (2017)

3. Saw III (2006)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw III (2006)

2. Saw II (2005)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw II (2005)

1. Saw (2004)

https://toddmthatcher.com/2021/05/09/the-jigsaw-files-saw-2004/

The Jigsaw Files: Spiral (2021)

The choice that Lionsgate and Chris Rock (of all people) made to let the Saw franchise live and not die turns out to be a poor one with Spiral. Four years after Jigsaw managed to improve a bit on episodes IV-VII (which mostly felt like one long grim tale), the idea behind ninth installment Spiral (subtitled From the Book of Saw) at least turned some heads. In fact, the story behind its green lighting is far more unexpected and interesting than anything during its 93 minutes. Rock, one of the all-time great comedians, apparently had a chance meeting with a studio exec at a Brazilian wedding and pitched his take on a way to revive the series. The rest is history that will be mostly forgotten based on the weaker than expected box office returns. I bet camera footage of Rock’s pitch would be more satisfying and there would be a wedding reception and Brazil.

While this is the first Saw flick without Tobin Bell, we do have some regulars back. Darren Lynn Bousman (who made II-IV) returns to direct while Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger (Jigsaw writers) penned it. Rock is Detective Zeke Banks and he’s mostly hated by his fellow officers since he turned in a dirty cop years ago. His father (Samuel L. Jackson, who’s slowly but surely appearing in every franchise known to man) is a former Captain who’s revered by his peers. Max Minghella plays the eager rookie gumshoe tasked to work with the hesitant Zeke.

And there are, of course, Jigsaw type killings. Except this time Jigsaw is not mostly dead, but actually dead. There’s no Tobin Bell flashbacks. There are, however, still lots of flashbacks and some of them remind us of plot points that we literally saw about 15-20 minutes prior. A copycat killer is offing coworkers from Zeke’s precinct while reminding them of their workplace sins just before their brutal demises. This naturally involves the kind of traps we’ve grown accustomed to that slice skin and sever spinal cords. The first game begins with a tongue lashing to the nearly departed victim and ends with a tongue slashing.

If the whole idea of a brilliant comedian planting himself in a Saw like universe sounds like it might be weird… well, it is. Rock struggles with being believable in the role. His punch-ups to the screenplay aren’t hard to pick out as there’s mostly unfunny riffs on Forrest Gump and the time of day cheating habits of men vs. women. The bulk of the script veers back and forth between trying (I suppose) to make some statement on police corruption and just being a regular old Saw pic. It surprisingly fails on both fronts. And like every entry preceding it, there’s a twist ending. Some of them (especially in the original) packed a wallop. In Spiral, it’s a shrug inducing one that you can easily see coming.

Jigsaw was the first attempt to revitalize these twisted pictures. It was certainly no horror classic, but I admired moments of it. Spiral, despite the sharp talent involved, is a massive misfire.

My previous posts on the Saw pics can be accessed here:

The Jigsaw Files: Saw (2004)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw II (2005)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw III (2006)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw IV (2007)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw V (2008)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw VI (2009)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw 3D (2010)

The Jigsaw Files: Jigsaw (2017)

The Jigsaw Files: Jigsaw (2017)

Parts IV-VII of the Saw experiences mostly felt like one long slog of a movie as the devious trappings torch was passed from Jigsaw (Tobin Bell, still seen in flashbacks) to Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor). The look of the films remained drab and cheap. By the time 3D technology was utilized in 2010 with the seventh edition, the series had worn out its welcome with audiences (though they were still profitable due to their minor budgets).

Lionsgate (despite titling the previous pic The Final Chapter) decided to reinvigorate the franchise seven years later with Jigsaw, which brings in new players while finding a way to keep Bell briefly onscreen. The Spierig Brothers join the fold to direct and there’s new screenwriters in Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger. Some things have not changed. From beyond the grave, John/Jigsaw still expects his subjects to talk and he ultimately expects them to die.

Taking place a decade after Kramer’s demise, it seems a copycat killer is among us. Detectives Halloran (Callum Keith Rennie) and Hunt (Cle Bennett) investigate as do forensic pathologists Logan (Matt Passmore) and Eleanor (Hannah Emily Anderson). Everyone but Hunt seems to be a suspect at different junctures. Logan’s backstory involves torture in the Middle East. Eleanor is more thrilled by Jigsaw’s past exploits than repelled by it. Halloran is a dirty cop. This constant game of who’s behind the mayhem coincides with a more familiar one taking place in an abandoned barn.

Jigsaw, or whoever is paying homage to him, toys with five unlucky players in the farmhouse setting. Their backstories, as we anticipate by now, involve their own nefarious activities that their captor seeks confessions to. Reading these plot points might lead you to believe there’s nothing much new in this reboot. You wouldn’t be far off. However, Jigsaw does manage to have more of a sense of humor about itself than what we’re used to. The behind the camera work from the Spierig Brothers exhibits a bit more energy than anything in the preceding four flicks.

On the other hand, the plot twists in the third act are rather eye rolling and that’s been an issue since the genuinely shocking one in the original. Let’s face it – every Saw sequel has tried to wow us in the last several minutes and only part 1 truly succeeded. The games deployed in Jigsaw are rather run of the mill as well.

Simply put, part VIII of the Saw saga is a small step up from its immediate precursors, but not a giant leap. Per usual, Jigaw’s faith in mankind still needs some work.

The Jigsaw Files will continue with Spiral (2021)…

My other Jigsaw Files can be accessed here:

The Jigsaw Files: Saw (2004)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw II (2005)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw III (2006)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw IV (2007)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw V (2008)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw VI (2009)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw 3D (2010)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw V (2008)

This is rather faint praise, but Saw V is an improvement over the cluttered experience that was Saw IV. We still get backstories that will seemingly never end. The loss of Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), even though he returns in flashbacks, finds screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan desperate to mine material. On the hand that isn’t severed, there’s some decent work by the supporting actors in the fifth edition. On the severed hand, our two leads carried over from the fourth edition are still a bore.

The Jigsaw Files keeps swinging along and here’s the first four if you didn’t catch them:

The Jigsaw Files: Saw (2004)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw II (2005)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw III (2006)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw IV (2007)

Saw V introduces its third director in David Hackl, who did production design and second unit work on episodes II-IV. Darren Lynn Bousman’s involvement in the series had seemingly ended but he is back behind the camera for the upcoming Spiral. Melton and Dunstan, who scripted the predecessor, are back.

It was at the conclusion of #4 that we learned Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) was Jigsaw’s second accomplice to his wicked games. He’s taken center stage now as the hero who brought down Jiggy while FBI Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) suspects foul play. Naturally the departed mastermind has thought of a way to make Strahm look like the new villain.

In the meantime, the living and deceased co-conspirators have a new test. They have selected five strangers, picked to live in a dimly lit dungeon, work together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite… and start getting real bloody. It’s up to them to figure out what they have in common while trying to maintain limb and life. Hint: the quintet probably have a criminal connection. This is where we find some decent performances from Julie Benz, Meagan Good and Greg Bryk as they try to avoid catastrophic countdowns. The whole subplot is a bit of a callback to Saw II and that’s not always a bad thing in this case.

Detective Hoffman’s backstory is a predictable one as to why he got mixed up with the non killing serial killer. This franchise seems hellbent on providing motivational recalls for all its offenders and at this point it’s mostly filler.

I am, quite frankly, struggling somewhat to add more about Saw V. As stated, it is less jumbled (and a tad less perverse) than what preceded it. The scenes with the five new contestants on this Real Stomach-Churning World have an occasional sharp energy. The Hoffman/Strahm dynamic remains considerably duller. And the fifth entry is overwhelmingly average.

The Jigsaw Files will continue with Saw VI (2009)…

The Jigsaw Files: Saw III (2006)

It’s not brain surgery for fans of this franchise to view Saw III. Well, except, maybe when actual brain surgery is performed. I know I turned away when I saw it a decade and a half ago. Same goes for the rewatch. The third feature in the series is up as I recap the Saw sagas prior to the release of Spiral. If you didn’t catch my first two write-ups, they’re right bloody here:

The Jigsaw Files: Saw (2004)

The Jigsaw Files: Saw II (2005)

Saw III finds our criminal mastermind Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) in a reflective mode as his cancer is finally about to put a stop to his intricate games. He’s still got one up his hospital gowned sleeve and it’s for Jeff (Angus Macfayden), who’s mourning the death of his adolescent son three years earlier. Depressed and seeking revenge on the many people responsible for that demise, Jigsaw gives him the elaborate opportunity. This involves potential payback for witnesses, judicial personnel, and the driver who subjected Jeff to the loss.

In a Saw pic, we know that means torture devices that test their fate and test previous meals of moviegoers watching it. Jeff’s journeys are intercut with Jigsaw’s failing health in a makeshift hospital. As we learned at the conclusion of Saw II, he’s got a partner in crime with Amanda (Shawnee Smith). Lynn (Bahar Soomekh) is the surgeon brought in (kidnapped) to save his life. Of course, if she doesn’t, Amanda has built a contraption to immediately end the doctor’s life once Jigsaw’s expires. And let the games begin!

Darren Lynn Bousman returns as director for the second time and James Wan and Leigh Whannell are back for story credit. This would mark the final time that this trio would collectively have their hands in the franchise. And they sure go out of their way to tie the first three pictures together… logic be kinda damned! Donnie Wahlberg reprises his role as the detective from part 2 as does Dina Meyer. Even Whannell’s Adam from the original is seen in flashback form.

Saw III, to its credit, creates a more emotional situation for Jeff to find redemption. Unlike most of the lead characters in I and II, he’s not a horrible person. He’s just in a horrible situation due to tragedy and he actually makes some decent choices based on Jigsaw’s vile experiments. And I have to say, this is the first time in the franchise where Jigsaw’s trials of human behavior really seem too complicated for anyone to comply with. I mean that in the context of this grisly and implausible cinematic universe, but still…

By the third act, Saw III begins to fall all over itself in attempting to connect various loose ends. It all feels a bit much. There are many who think this is second only to the original in terms of quality. I would put it a notch behind #2 as well.

Find out how this series progresses or regresses when The Jigsaw Files returns with Saw IV (2007)…

The Jigsaw Files: Saw II (2005)

As we await the release of the ninth Saw franchise gorefest Spiral, my Jigsaw Files posts continue with Saw II. If you missed my first entry for the 2004 original, you can find it here:

The Jigsaw Files: Saw (2004)

When Saw was released in October of 2004, Lionsgate didn’t know they had a series that would continue into three separate decades. The opening weekend grosses changed that and a sequel was immediately commissioned. Not only that – the studio wanted it out fast in time for the 2005 Halloween box office. Darren Lynn Bousman, as luck would have it, already had a screenplay outside of the Saw universe that could serve as a template. Franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell was brought in to bring the script into this demented world. And Saw II was hurried into production to meet that all important drop date.

The rushed production schedule does not deter this from generally doing what a sequel needs to do. It builds upon its predecessor. It looks like more of a sophisticated final product (at $4 million, it nearly quadrupled the budget of part one). There’s a twist ending that legitimately manages to surprise. Most of all, Saw II (even more than Saw) sets the formula for those that followed.

Whether that’s a good thing likely depends on your stomach for this type of material. Like many horror follow-ups, part II is bloodier and more sadistic. Picking up from the shocking ending of Saw when we learn who Jigsaw is, this puts a lot more meat on the bones of its central antagonist. We learn more about John Kramer (Tobin Bell) and his cancer diagnosis that causes him to develop these games of survival. Or as he describes it… “testing the fabric of human nature.” In John/Jigsaw’s world, he’s allowing his potential victims a chance to appreciate their lives and give them a second chance. A lot of them don’t see it that way.

His sights are set on corrupt detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) here. Jigsaw orchestrates the abduction of eight strangers in a dim dungeon to toy with. This includes the detective’s teen son (Erik Knudsen). The seven others are all of a criminal mind. The unexpected addition is Amanda (Shawnee Smith), who we glimpsed in Saw and was a survivor of Jigsaw’s tests (she even appreciated his unconventional method of getting her off smack).

Jigsaw is captured early in the film. It doesn’t take long to figure out that this is on purpose and he holds court with Detective Matthews as he tries to save his estranged boy. According to the ailing prisoner, the detective only needs to follow his instructions step by step. Unfortunately, the new character on the block’s temper prevents that from happening. I’m not sure if Bousman and Whannell wanted us to root for Wahlberg’s character. Probably not. If by any chance they did, that’s a failure because we don’t mind Jiggy gettin’ the best of him.

Saw II truly begins the parade of gross out gags and creative deaths that have marked the series. The most squirm inducing involves needing to find a key. In this situation, the key is the needle and the haystack happens to be needles. By the time we reach our climax, a time shifting revelation manages to fool us. It’s not as effective as Jigsaw rising from that disgusting washroom floor in Saw, but it’s pretty good stuff.

I give the filmmakers due credit with the first sequel. This was made to make a release date and it did so without seeming like a rip-off of its source material. Far from it.

The Jigsaw Files will continue with Saw III (2006)…

Spiral Box Office Prediction

The Saw franchise is back in theaters on May 14 and it hopes to take a solid financial cut of box office grosses. Spiral (subtitled From the Book of Saw) is the ninth installment of the slasher series that began in 2004 and it definitely looks different (although not in every way). There’s more star power than we have seen before in the reboot with Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson leading the way. Other costars include Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols. This looks to be the first Saw pic without stalwart Tobin Bell (aka Jigsaw). Lionsgate did bring back a regular in the director’s chair with Darren Lynn Bousman, who made parts II-IV. That’s likely not an accident as that trio posted the biggest domestic grosses of the bunch.

Another shift is in the release strategy as this is the first Saw entry not premiering in October. That wasn’t always the case. Originally slated for October 2020, it was actually pushed up to May of last year. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic changed that plan. The reported $20 million production budget is actually listed as the highest thus far. Even with continued theatrical capacity limits, Spiral should have no trouble turning a profit.

The high mark opening weekend for the franchise is almost surely out of reach. Saw III holds that record with $33.6 million. A better question might be whether it gets the lowest start of the nine. That mark is held by 2009’s Saw VI at $14.1 million. Spiral, as just announced this week, is getting some competition trying to attract a similar audience. The Netflix zombie flick Army of the Dead from director Zack Snyder snagged deals with certain chains to put it on around 800 screens (my prediction for that one is coming soon).

Spiral will open on far more screens and should have no trouble debuting in first place (as five of the previous eight have done). I’m thinking this probably ends up in the range of its processor Jigsaw, which made $16.6 out of the gate.

Spiral opening weekend prediction: $16.1 million

For my Those Who Wish Me Dead prediction, click here:

Those Who Wish Me Dead Box Office Prediction

For my Army of the Dead prediction, click here:

Army of the Dead Box Office Prediction

For my Profile prediction, click here:

Profile Box Office Prediction

Jigsaw Box Office Prediction

For seven years in gruesome clockwork fashion every October, the Saw franchise unleashed a new entry that began in 2004 and ended in 2010. After seven years of dormancy, it’s back next weekend with Jigsaw. The Lionsgate release comes from directors Michael and Peter Spierig with Tobin Bell returning as the title character and a cast of relative unknowns.

In 2004, the first Saw pic impressed critics and audiences alike and quickly turned into a sleeper hit. Sequels II-V all subsequently posted low 30s openings before installment VI stopped the gravy train with a $14.1 million debut and $27 million overall gross (all series lows). The seventh pic, Saw 3D in 2010, bounced back a bit with a $22 million debut and $45 million total.

After such a lengthy break, will sequelitis sink in? The answer is probably yes. We have seen these significant layoffs in the genre hurt titles such as Scream 4 and Blair Witch. Additionally, the teens that frequent these pics may not have as much familiarity with the franchise due to the hiatus.

I’ll predict Jigsaw barely manages to avoid a series low premiere with a debut in the $14-$16 million range.

Jigsaw opening weekend prediction: $14.8 million

For my Suburbicon prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2017/10/18/suburbicon-box-office-prediction/

For my Thank You for Your Service prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2017/10/18/thank-you-for-your-service-box-office-prediction/