By Steve Newton Three-and-a-half months ago Jigsaw, the eighth entry in the Saw torture-porn franchise, was released. Not too surprisingly it was a mostly mediocre affair, although it included one memorable scene near the end where a guy's head got sliced lengthwise into several pieces by a barrage of high-tech laser scalpels. Lasting moments are also rare in … Continue reading Silly Winchester proves a weak platform for Helen Mirren’s horror debut
Tag: Jigsaw
Jigsaw’s killer twist takes torture porn up a notch
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 27, 2017 By Steve Newton Back in October of 2010, after six straight years of hugely successful Saw films coming out on the Friday before Halloween, the seventh and "final" entry in the series, Saw 3D, was released. It made money--eventually raking in $136-million worldwide on a $17-million budget--but also garnered the worst … Continue reading Jigsaw’s killer twist takes torture porn up a notch
“Saw Six is the sixth Saw I’ve seen”: my original reviews of every Saw movie, 2004-2010 & 2017
By Steve Newton As most in-the-know horror-movie freaks are no doubt aware, the latest entry in the Saw franchise, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, opens this Friday (May 14). As the designated horror reviewer for Vancouver weekly the Georgia Straight since the early '80s, it was my journalistic duty to cover all the Saw … Continue reading “Saw Six is the sixth Saw I’ve seen”: my original reviews of every Saw movie, 2004-2010 & 2017
Horror review: Saw 3D
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 1, 2010 Saw 3D is the seventh Saw I’ve seen, and maybe the sickest—which is exactly what I said about Saw VI. They’ve also been calling Saw 3D “the final Saw” in the trailers, but I’m sure that’ll depend on box-office profits. Jason Voorhees’s fourth outing was titled Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, but that didn’t … Continue reading Horror review: Saw 3D
Horror review: Saw VI
Saw VI is the sixth Saw I’ve seen, and maybe the sickest. In the opening scene, a man and a woman are held captive with devices strapped to their heads that can screw bolts into their skulls. They’re told that only one of them will live, the survivor being the person who dumps the most … Continue reading Horror review: Saw VI
Horror review: Saw V
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 27, 2008 The fifth installment of the Saw franchise doesn’t waste any time getting to the torture-porn aspect the series is known for. The opening scene sees a muscular, bare-chested man—a vicious killer released from prison on a technicality—find justice via the old pit-and-the-pendulum routine. The added attraction here is that the … Continue reading Horror review: Saw V
Horror review: Saw IV
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 31, 2007In Saw III, the murdering genius known as Jigsaw finally got his comeuppance. He was a dead human, with no possibility of a Michael Myers- or Jason Voorhees-style resurrection. But since when has a little thing like death stopped a horror franchise from cashing in?Jigsaw is back–or at least his … Continue reading Horror review: Saw IV
Horror review: Saw III
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 1, 2006Saying that the newest Saw movie is better than the last one is a bit like saying that your latest root canal was better than your last one. Either way, it’s all about the pain and suffering. Mind you, I had a root canal once and it didn’t hurt that much; … Continue reading Horror review: Saw III
Horror review: Saw II
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 27, 2005 The original Saw had a pretty interesting premise, and one that kept the options wide open for gruesome, sadistic, squirm-in-your-seat horror. It was about a psychopathic genius named Jigsaw who trapped people and made them play horrific beat-the-clock games for a slim chance at avoiding a grisly death. … Continue reading Horror review: Saw II