Finally on his deathbed, Jigsaw and his sexy, psychotic sidekick set up one last round of sadistic games to test, torture and terminate another round of unappreciative subjects. Also they’ve captured a doctor who’s life literally depends on keeping our cancerous killer ticking to see it to it’s fruition.

Saw III threw me a little. Early into it I really felt it was going to be a big disappointment. Everything was right in line with I and II, but at the same time something had changed. Little did I know that was part of the point, and by the time the credits rolled I’d been won over once again. Of course, brutal and squeam-inducing violence is the main course, served with a side of suspense with a slight twist for dessert.

This movie is filled with the same cringe-worthy, sadistic traps, challenges, and the like to make it hard for anyone to feel they didn’t get their money’s worth. We all know there will be hordes of haters just dying to jump on the blood-drenched bandwagon and pretend they had this one all figured out before they even sat down in the theater.

There will be others who genuinely dislike this one for reasons other than misdirected conformity, for example, it’s complex as hell. Instead of a minor plot point turned into a huge shocker ending, this one’s got a major plot point that’s not really meant to be so much of a surprise as a “damn, that’s pretty cool.” It is pretty cool, too. You won’t expect it to end as it does, but this one’s definitely relying on the twist much less than the previous films.

It’s really hard to even talk about, it’s very much like a Shakespearean tragedy crossed with a torture/horror film. Say what you want about it, this one really wrapped up the trilogy neatly and left us with a disturbed but weirdly satisfied feeling. That’s another thing that some people won’t like about this movie, the ending isn’t what we want, but at the same time it’s impossible not to appreciate. By it’s very nature it causes conflict within us, and some people can’t abide that at all.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie and felt it was very fitting. While it did make me cringe, it never reached the level of suspense and tension that the previous two maintained. I felt less connected to the victims and more so to Amanda and Jigsaw, which is a common problem in sequels and really detracts from the scariness of a horror film. I didn’t feel that was the fault of the filmmakers, just that they’re more important to the viewer at this point.

Speaking of Amanda, Shawnee Smith was absolutely great. Her good looks and ultra-girlie voice are so perfect for the anger and anguish of the role, the conflict of who she is and how she is really is mesmerizing.

At the very least, there’s some seriously grisly goings-on going on in Saw III, a movie like this really has something for any horror fan.

9 out of 10 really gruesome headache remedies

I’ll start off by saying this is the weakest of the threee movies in the Saw franchise, but it’s still a strong horror movie and better than 90% of the horror movies that are coming out these days.

When this one got started, I was afraid it was going to be a letdown. It almost feels like a typical slasher film… well, with the Saw-style killings of course. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll know what I mean when you see it. Then again, maybe I’m the only one who feels that way. I don’t know.

Fortunately, it starts to come out of that rather quickly. This movie gives us a lot more backstory than the previous films. Sometimes that’s good. Sometimes that’s bad. For instance, I thought one of the flashback sequences took away from the great ending of Saw II, while others give us more insight into how the traps where set up in the first two films.

Like The Horrorist said, due to the way the movie was written, the audience winds up empathizing more with Jigsaw and Amanda than you do their victims. And like MTV-Kills said, the traps did seem a lot less personalized. It’s like they were thinking “Hey, this would be a really cool way to kill someone,” instead of thinking, “Now this kill really suits the victim.” Now that being said, the gore was amped up bigtime in this one. You gorehounds will not be disappointed.

The ending isn’t that big of a shock, but it isn’t supposed to be. I’m glad they didn’t try to “top” the ending in the first movie with the endings of the two sequels.

I know it seems like I did a lot of complaining, but this really is a solid flick. It really needs to be the last installment in the franchise, but I somehow doubt it will be. Prequel anyone?

I give it 8 out of 10 brain surgeries that brought back memories for yours truly

I am in slight agreement with the Horrorist. Saw III certainly didn't disappoint, and it would be an honorable way to end the franchise, but it felt a bit thrown together at parts.

I was entertained, but the traps seemed a bit less personalized to the individuals. Though they certainly didn't lack the sickness that we've all come to know and love in this series.
Shawnee Smith truly shined in this movie as well. In my opinion, she was beautiful. She WAS Amanda.

Oh yes... there will be haters, but I give this one 7 out of 10 times that "You'd be suprised at what tools can save a life..."

While this isn't the best in the franchise (I still feel Saw II holds that honor), Saw III is a terrific sequel which honors the conventions of the series as a whole and delivers top notch performances from Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith.

What I found interesting (and I tread softly here because I have no desire to ruin any of this this films many surprises) is the notion that Jigsaw overestimated the impact he has had on people, which could (within the parameters of his twisted philosphy) be construed as a psychological defeat. Of all the films , I felt this one defintiely humanized John Kramer the most and it registered with a bit more resonance than a lot of franchise films have in the past.

That said, the spectacle is still the show here, and coming off of the unrated dvd I can honestly say gorehounds with an eye for plot need look no further thatn this morbid little masterpiece.

I have to hand it to this series. Considering that I really disliked the original Saw, I've been genuinely surprised by the quality of the sequels. This is the only instance I can remember where the succeeding films easily topped the first in my opinion.

Eight out of Ten perfectly acceptable reasons to beat the living shit out of Shawnee Smith.

I must go against popular opinion in the fact that I was not impressed at all with Saw III. I mean when the whole premise is that you are punishing a man for grieving his son. I mean yes he did it in excess and it did lead to more of an obsession but that is no reason to bring the guy in to "test" him.

On top of that what was with the whole brain surgery thing and Jigsaw is concious spewing his long drawn out speeches mere moments after blood squirting out of his cranium after a piece of his skull removed.

On top of that anyone still scared of a decripit man on his deathbed giving his sililoquies deserves to die anyway. With parts 4-6 in the headlights seems this is the first saga of this century regardless of how far from the original it leads.