DVD Review: Saw II
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::Movie review
The problem with most slasher films is the sense of inevitability. The killer, no matter how mindless, always seems to be one step ahead of the characters and will proceed to murder them mercilessly. There is no opportunity for escape - except for one (un)lucky survivor who only lives through it so that she can explain the rules to everyone in the sequel.
What immediately appealed to me about the first Saw was that the fate of the characters was no inevitable. The killer explains exactly what the victims need to do to survive his traps and the rest is up to them. Saw was raw and visceral and despite some over-zealous acting, it was surprisingly creepy and effective.
The sequel was announced within days of the original's theatrical release. With no script or story, we were promised that Saw would be back. What eventually became Saw II started out as another film altogether. After reading the script, producers realized that it was very "Saw-ish" and brought original Saw scribe Leigh Whannell on board to help polish Darren Lynn Bousman's script and adapt it into the Saw universe.
The result is a story that is a little more complex than the original Saw, but equally fiendish. Saw II opens with a grisly death that announces to the police that the serial killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is back.
This time, Jigsaw has his devious sights set on Detective Eric Mathews (Donnie Wahlberg). He has kidnapped Mathews son and locked him in a house with 7 other people. The trap is that the house is sealed airtight and a nerve gas is slowly filtering in. The doors to the house will, it is explained, automatically open in three hours. Unfortunately, the gas will reach toxic levels and kill everyone in 2 hours.
There is a means to escape, but it involves solving puzzles tailored to the personalities (or rather, weaknesses) of each victim, for which the prize is antidotes to the poison. Among the group of victims is Amanda (Shawnee Smith), who Saw fans will recall is a survivor from the first film. Amanda knows the stakes and tries to warn the others not to act foolishly, but of course, they foolishly won't listen to her.
What makes the Saw films so nasty is how effectively they prey upon human nature. When trapped in room with a locked door and you find a key, are you really going to pay attention to the attached note that tells you not to unlock the door? Of course not. And the result is predictable disastrous (and messy).
The weakness of Saw II is the same deficiency of almost any ensemble horror film in that the victims are not well developed. With its small cast, the original Saw had plenty of time to focus on the characters, and this helped to increase the tension as they were herded toward their fates. Some of the characters in Saw II do very little except for scream and then die.
Even so, the psychology of their predicament seems plausible. The tight timeframe and viciousness of the traps puts everyone so much on edge that their abilities for rational thought quickly diminish. They grasp at every ounce of hope with little regard for the consequences - such as when Addison (Emmanuelle Vaugier) sees a syringe with antidote suspended in a Plexiglas box. She plunges her hands into the box without a second thought, and is immediately trapped by a clever razor trap that slices her wrists and leaves her with the option of slowly bleeding to death, or cutting off her hands to get out. Ironically, just behind the box is a key that would have safely opened it - if only she would have taken the time to look.
There are other moments, too, that are horrifying and yet seem perfectly expected of characters who have become nearly insane with panic. At one point the victims are confronted with a pit filled with syringes. Buried in a pit is a key. When given 2 minutes to find the key and unlock a door, the muscle bound drug pushing bully Xavier (Franky G) chooses to throw Amanda into the pit rather than risk himself.
Fans of the original film will recall that it ended with a twist. Saw II also includes a tragically clever twist that will make you want to watch the film again to see if it cheats (at the time of this review, I haven't done this, so I don't know).
I can't honestly say that I enjoyed Saw II, because "enjoy" isn't really an appropriate word. The Saw franchise is disturbing and horrifying and there is a visceral and masochistic pleasure to be had by watching these films, but it really can't be called enjoyment. I also can't offer a blanket recommendation, because regardless of any technical merits of these types of films, there are people who just flat-out won't want to see them.
::Video
The production values of Saw II are clearly much improved over the original, and this carries over to the DVD as well. Although still rather gritty and dark, the tone seems much more planned, than simply the fortuitous accident of a small budget. I didn't notice any real flaws in the image or the transfer.
::Audio
Oddly enough, I actually thought the sound was a little bit more effective in the original film than in this sequel, but the margin is very small. The 5.1 EX track is very good and very lively.
::Special Features
First out of the Special Features gate is a feature length commentary track by director/co-writer Darren Lynn Bousman, Donnie Wahlberg and Beverly Mitchell. Although not the most informative track I've ever heard, Bousman does make a few comments that suggest Saw II will, like its predecessor, have an uncut release sometime in the future.
Next are a series of short featurettes: Jigsaw's Game is 3 minutes of pure EPK fluff. The Traps of Jigsaw is actually separated into 4 parts that each explores some of the specific (and nasty) traps set out for the main characters. Bits and Pieces: The Props of Jigsaw fills in the gaps with a quick look at some of Jigsaw's other handyworks.
A storyboard comparison section shows several key scenes from the film and the storyboard pre-visualizations.
Wrapping things up are a series of trailers and a dedication to producer Gregg Hoffman.
::Bottom Line
The Saw franchise has many critics, and to be fair, these are not great works of art. For horror fans, however, Saw II is an effective twist on the genre and it only makes sense to review these films for what they are, rather than try to hold them up to standards they aren't even trying to achieve. I didn't Saw II quite as much as the first – simply for the fact that the first film had originality going for it - but it is far more effective than most entries in this genre.
| Movie |  |
3 / 5 |
| Video | |
3 / 5 |
| Audio | |
4 / 5 |
| Extras | |
3 / 5 |
| Family Friendly | 0 / 5 | |
| Saw II is no more family friendly than the first film. Keep the kids away. I mean it! | ||
| Overall | |
3 / 5 |
- Robert Wurth, ©2005
::Technical Specs
Studio:
Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Year of Theatrical Release:
2005
Disc Format:
1 single-sided, Dual Layer
Image Format:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:
1.78:1
Region Encoding:
1 (North America)
Sound Format:
Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, Dolby Digital 2.0 (pro logic)
Running Time:
100 minutes
Director:
James Wan
Stars:
Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Tobin Bell, Leigh Whannell, Dina Meyer, Monica Potter
MPAA Rating:
R
Disc Supplements:
- Commentary with James Wan and Leigh Whannell
- Sawed Off featurette
- Music video
- Trailers and TV spots
