4 out of 5

Director: Kevin Greutert

Well holy banana crampons.  Saw VI definitely suffers from the over-indulgences of the series, but it’s also the first in the entire run that focused on an almost sympathetic ‘contestant’ (only uttering one ‘F— YOU’ at the start of things, which seems to be the go-to response for people trapped in a Jigsaw puzzle) and managed to tighten its many strings to a truly frenetic last few minutes.  Sure, this is from the bag of expected Saw tricks, but the technique (quick visual review of all related film moments) also shows how much of an individual identity director Kevin Greutert gave his first entry, highlighting some of the relative ‘risks’ he took (in comparison to the series) in actually using some different color filters and varying the cinematography effectively from trap to trap and office scene to office scene.  also shows how much of an individual identity director Kevin Greutert gave his first entry, actually using some different color filters and varying the cinematography effectively from scene scene.  It’s indicative of more of an effort and belief in the material vs. the “follow the Saw playbook” themes and styles of Saw II and V.   The timeliness of the plot – Jigsaw takes on insurance companies – is a little grating, as I’m not big on taking politics with my horror, but at the same time, regardless of the economic climate in ’09 when this was realized, agencies like that tackled by our ‘villain’ in the film have been the subject of the average man’s scrutiny since they’ve existed, so though I get it was meant to be topical, this really could’ve happened whenever… though, to flip-flop again, the reality base does inevitably draw attention to the blurry “What is evil?” line, ignorance of which is somewhat required for these flicks to work.  But I digress, because that’s too much thought for a Saw film.  And anyhow, this all sits atop scripters Melton’s and Dunstan’s continual evolution of the characters and Jigsaw’s work, piecing together how/if it will be carried on post its creator’s death.  In the meantime, through all of its tape-recordery flashbackery, their entries in the series have set up a nice stable of side characters who come into their own, and inhabit one or two extra personality traits than your regular horror stand-in.  Betsy Russell (Jill, Jiggy’s wife) and Costas Mandylor (Hoffman) are stiff with their presentations, but its all that’s required to sell it, and they don’t OVER do it (ahem Agent Strahm Saw V).  Which is what has made the longevity of this series fun, despite its missteps – a willingness to mix genre tropes with a longer running story (even if it all seems to take place within the same selected timeframe that we keep revisiting) and maintaining a line that, for the most part, respects the need to present something worth our time, but is also willing to take the plunge and grind people into bones and blood to satisfy our sick genre cravings.  Saw VI is by no means the best thing ever, but it’s definitely a surprising and dedicated accomplishment, and one that should make series followers happy.