CheesyBy John DeSando, "It's Movie Time," "Cinema Classics," and "On the Marquee
Almost everyone paying a 3D price to see Saw #7 (Saw 3D) knows that the admission includes cheesy sets, wrong-color red, non-sequitur scenes, screaming babes, and a hero who goes through a series of gruesome tests to save someone he loves, usually to no avail. The new element is body parts hurtling out to where you are, a perk that wears not well and not long.
Murderer Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) survivors convene in support group to work out their legacy of trauma at the hands of the master. The leader of the group, Bobby (Sean Patrick Flanery), has allegedly survived Jigsaw but brings baggage that will ensure the bloody enjoyment of the blood-thirsty audiences. It may be a warning that this iteration pays no real respect to the other six Saws by having Bell appear only briefly.
Saw 3D seems to reprise most of the creative torture motifs of the previous six installments (although I am no expert because seeing any one a second time would be akin to the torture on the screen). Yet, I am moved by the dramatic possibilities of Dantean punishments, whereby the subject painfully dies according to alleged sins. For instance, a publicist is dispatched with three pointed rods through her vocal chords and mouth, with the hero yelling in frustration that she should have "shut the f___ up" while he tries to save her. Hint: the more she screams the less likely she is to survive, so not screaming would be a distinct advantage. Difficult for a PR type.
Need I say more about the melodramatics and less-than-actors?equity acting, neither a priority when your purpose is to out Jackass Jackass 3D. However it could be a strategy to have a lower order "B film" for the nostalgic effect.
Nothing else in the film merits mentioning?it's all pretext for torture, dismemberment, and death--- subjects that grow old very quickly. I'm betting this is not the final chapter, and when the next one comes, I'll pass the responsibility for reviewing to my partner. This is enough torture for a year.
John DeSando co-hosts It's Movie Time, Cinema Classics, and On the Marquee for WCBE 90.5. The shows can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain