A Review by Phil Calabro
2005, Lions Gate Films, Dir. Darren Lynn Bousman - Starring Donnie Wahlberg, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Dina Meyer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Beverly Mitchell, Erik Knudsen, Tim Burd, Lyriq Bent, Noam Jenkins, Tony Nappo, Linette Robinson
I can't deny the filthy charm that exists in 'Saw 2'. I watch as eight unsuspecting victims wake up in a mouse trap of a mansion, not realizing that within a two hour time block, they'll have torn each other apart. The idea, even for a sequel, is just as genuine as it was before. Leigh Whannell, who acted and wrote the original installment, hung onto the franchise and co-wrote the screenplay with director Bousman, presenting a sequel with the same grunginess with a different perspective on Jigsaw's death traps. Instead of keeping the psycho an elusive figure, the audience is in full view of Jigsaw throughout the movie. This provides a double feature of tension - we watch as eight new victims wander through an ensnarled house, as well as watch our clown-guised killer mentally battle a worried police chief. 'Saw 2' is as fresh as the blood it spills, and jump starts the franchise into another potential third volume.
Det. Eric Matthews (Wahlberg) has a startling rise out of his latest case - a man with his head crushed by a metal death mask, with clues around the room taunting the detective. As the trademark skin insignia shows, this has been the work of the evil Jigsaw killer again. A clue sends him and his SWAT crew to his hideout, located in an abandoned steel factory, where Jigsaw - better known as cancer patient John Kramer (Bell) - surprises his crew with a video feed of eight new victims locked inside one of his hideouts. But the detective is stunned - his own son (Knudsen) is locked inside with the other seven. As the eight people breathe in a deadly toxin, they must find respective anecdotes around the house in two hours before they bleed through every pore in their body, but traps await them along the way. Meanwhile, Eric tries his hardest to get the facts out of Jigsaw.
I guess it's supposed to be a tradition to hire bad or washed-up actors for the 'Saw' franchises from now on. Donnie Wahlberg, Marky Mark's older brother, holds an intense face for about an hour, and screams a lot. His role is essential, but it doesn't span much. Shawnee Smith, who stars again as head-trap Amanda from the original, follows along in the same spirit as before - a terrorized junkie who knows Jigsaw's game already, and doesn't want to mess around. She along with the others struggle to find away out, even if she has to dig through a pool of infected syringes (Editor's Note: Ouch.) just to find an anecdote. Of course, the winning performance here is from Tobin Bell, whose creaking voice and grim demeanor only personify if true envy of people living their lives normally. Bell gives new face to the clown dummy that Jigsaw uses, and only deepens his character with every little trap he sets. After seeing the first, I went into 'Saw 2' with one expectation: don't expect anything.
Don't buy the tagline that there's more blood in this feature, because the rate is about the same as 'Saw'. Of course, that isn't to say that there's nothing particularly grisly about it, because traps go further each time around. From the syringe pool to burning alive, you wonder if any of his victims really do deserve to live - how can anyone be so oblivious to crawl into an old oven just to get an anecdote? Did you ever think there might still be a gas tank underneath? Well now, I better not ruin anything for you. Either way, I can assure that the ending not only entertains an audience, but also assures for a third volume to the series. It is an unexpected, unparalleled shock for the viewer, as it was for me - and this is from Mr. Twist-Hater himself. Take it from me!
'Saw 2' is a fine sequel, and didn't let me down. It's a movie that plot holes are required to be ignored, that entrails pour out like fountains, that idiotic characters are meant to be violated within. Hollywood should back off, because 'Saw' is a one-of-a-kind horror that can't be duplicated. Sorry, Eli Roth, but 'Hostel' doesn't look like it will do.
