Against all odds, and in the face of everything that is good and right, there are six Saw movies. Six.
SIX.
Though the budgets continue to rise and the profits continue to fall, the Saw franchise is showing no signs of stopping. (There's another one in the works as we speak.)
Saw VI, the latest chapter in the hideously gory series, hit theaters in October of last year, and was recently released on DVD.
Now, before I go on, let me just say that I understand that the Saw franchise caters to a very specific audience, and makes no apologies for doing so. The people who watch (and enjoy) the movies can (and want to) sit through roughly an hour and a half of what is most accurately described as “torture porn.” (Other movies falling under this genre include the Hostel movies, Wolf Creek and From Justin to Kelly) This particular group falls under a type which is prone to loyalty when it comes to film, and so probably is responsible for the majority of the DVD sales of the Saw flicks. The Saw movies are, in a way, like the Star Wars movies, or the Lord of the Rings series. For certain people, once those DVDs came out, there was nothing stopping them. Even the fans who were disappointed when Episode I came out in theaters still bought the DVD, out of sheer dutifulness (basically for the same reason I will buy the final Harry Potter movies once they're released, even if I am appalled by what I see in the theater).
That being said, nothing I have to say about this movie is going to sway anyone one way or the other. And so, here we go.
Before sitting through the atrocious 90 minutes that is Saw VI, I had only ever seen one of its predecessors, the first. It was generally watchable, apart from the short but frequent stretches during which I had to cover my eyes, or they involuntarily closed due to the retching. Lucky for me — and — all you other Saw fans, this DVD pack includes the first one, so you can see just where it all began (though, if my previous statement about DVD sales is accurate, this inclusion is probably unnecessary).
Like the movie that started it all, Saw VI isn’t just poor writing and hideous visuals — the acting is pretty atrocious as well. But unsurprisingly, when you consider a series like Saw. Once you’ve rolled around to the fifth, maybe even fourth installment, you’ll notice a tired quality to the actors. No, it’s not just because their characters are exhausted from being tortured and mind-fucked, but because it’s hard to not feel weary once you really acknowledge what you’re taking part in.
It can’t really be held against them — they know as well as we do that no one of consequence — that is to say, no one who could potentially see their performance and pull them into a role of actual substance — is going to see this movie, at least not unless under the influence of work or drugs.
DVD Bonus Features
For all you who are dying to know all the secrets and twists behind the horror that is Saw, here's a list of the extra goodies:
Saw disc extras:
“Sawed Off”: Inside Sneak Peek at the Making of Saw
Trailers and TV Spots
Both the rated and unrated versions of the Fear Factory music video “Bite the Hand That Bleeds You,” as well as the making of the unrated version and a Poster Gallery.
Saw VI disc extras:
Optional audio commentary with Producer Mark Burg and Executive Producers Peter Block and Jason Constantine, or with Director Kevin Greutert and Writers Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton.
“The Traps of Saw VI”
“Jigsaw Revealed”
“A Killer Maze—Making SAW: GAME OVER”
...and Music Videos: “Your Soul Is Mine” by Mushroomhead; “In Ashes They Shall Reap” by Hatebreed; “Ghost in the Mirror” by MMF; “Genocide/Saw VI Remix” by Suicide Silence.
"Saw VI" is on sale January 26, 2010 and is rated NR. Horror. Directed by Kevin Greutert. Written by Marcus Dunstan, Patrick Melton. Starring Costas Mandylor, Tobin Bell, Mark Rolston, Betsy Russell, Shawnee Smith.
