Saw 3-D

The beloved Saw franchise finally met its anti-climatic demise with the release of its severely unsatisfying final installment, Saw 3-D.

Since the debut of the first film, Saw, in 2004, the series has been praised by horror fans for its originality, gore, and twisted sense of morality. The disappointment fans felt when it was announced that Saw 3-D would be the final film is nothing compared to the disappointment brought on by the actual film.

The film carries a dual plot line. On one hand, it picks up right where the last film left off with the late Jigsaw Killer's apprentice and ex-wife. However, the film focuses more on a new character, Bobby Dagen, a self-help guru who wrote a book about his struggle to survive one of Jigsaw's traps.

While detectives and cops are desperately searching for Jigsaw's apprentice, Bobby finds himself being subjected to another one of Jigsaw's games as punishment for dishonesty about his supposed experience with the killer.

First off, this is another film that did not need to be in 3-D. There were a few instances of blood and viscera coming towards the audience, but it wasn't nearly often enough to make a significant impact on the viewing experience. If you plan to see the film, save yourself a few bucks and watch it in 2-D.

Saw 3-Dalso had a certain air of humor that, honestly, wasn't entirely appropriate. It was as though, after seven films, the series had gained a weary sense of self awareness. The movie appeared to be making fun of itself in a lot of scenes, and it wasn't a good thing.

Part of what made Saw so great in the first place, was the film's serious sense of self-awareness. While it could be argued that this sense of self-awareness in Saw 3-D was, in fact, clever, I personally found it obnoxious.

On the plus side, the film made good on the gore. There was almost no CGI, so the effects had the gruesome feeling of older horror films. There were tons of blood and guts to go around, probably to make up for the fact that the traps were not nearly as ingenious as in previous installments.

The film could have been good, if it had had a satisfying conclusion to the franchise. The movie focused on the new character more than the true thread of the series: the apprentice and the ex-wife. It was as though the Director just didn't care anymore.

The point of the film was to tie up all of the loose ends, especially the fate of Dr. Gordon, from the first film. Yet, the summary about Dr. Gordon felt like an afterthought.

Overall, the movie isn't completely horrible. Of course, it's not really good either. If you want to see some hilarious over-the-top acting and sickening gore, or if you are a hardcore fan of the franchise, then I wouldn't stop you from going to see it. Just be prepared to endure the mangled corpse of a once unique and thought-provoking horror film. Game Over.