Gruesome ‘Saw VI’ kills with a satiric bite

By Roger Moore

McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Updated: October 27, 2009, 8:13 am /
Published: October 27, 2009, 12:30 am

Story tools:

“You have seen the errors in your policy,” Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) hisses in the latest “Saw” movie. And, kids, he’s hissing a pun at Big Insurance when he does, the profiteers who determine “who lives and who dies.”

SAW VI
Two stars (Out of four)
Starring Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Peter Outerbridge and Shawnee Smith. 93 minutes. Rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, and language. Opened Friday in area theaters.

As Jigsaw tortures the actuarial menace who sentenced him and other cancer patients to death, forcing Not-Evil-Just-Officious Will (Peter Outerbridge) to save or let die his Umbrella Insurance colleagues, Will is reminded that “your decisions [are] symbolized by the blood on your hands.”

You just don’t expect that from a “Saw” movie, do you? “But “Saw VI,” which begins by making two “predatory lenders” carve off hunks of their flesh, dump it on a scale and see which one can lose the most weight the quickest (the loser dies), is surfing the zeitgeist.

It’s still torture porn, more excruciating than scary. It’s still all about the elaborate and gory “games” the victims must win in order to survive Jigsaw’s test of character, redemption and humanity.

Body parts are lost, guts spill and sharp objects pierce to the sound of screams in the night. But this script, by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, has a more lyrical bent, and a more satiric bite, than any of the other “Saw” sequels.

An insurance company lawyer, a “sensationalist” reporter (Samantha Lemole), a lifelong smoker and assorted innocents are trapped in the latest underground murder maze.

There’s still this multimovie subplot, police intrigues about catching the man actually carrying out the long-dead Jigsaw’s will. The widow (Betsy Russell) is mixed up with the murderous cop (Costas Mandylor) covering his Jigsaw tracks.

And yes, there will be a “Saw VII” and it will be in 3-D. I can hardly wait.

Newsletters

Sign up now for daily and weekly newsletters from BuffaloNews.com and get quick links to the info you want delivered directly to your inbox.

Reader comments

There on this article.SHOW COMMENTS

Rate This Article

Reader comments are posted immediately and are not edited. Users can help promote good discourse by using the "Inappropriate" links to vote down comments that fall outside of our guidelines. Comments that exceed our moderation threshold are automatically hidden and reviewed by an editor. Comments should be on topic; respectful of other writers; not be libelous, obscene, threatening, abusive, or otherwise offensive; and generally be in good taste. Users who repeatedly violate these guidelines will be banned. Comments containing objectionable words are automatically blocked. Some comments may be re-published in The Buffalo News print edition.

Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment

Forgot your password?

What is MyBuffalo?
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.

sort comments: