The James Logan Courier

By Shamal Asnani, Courier Film Reviewer

The sixth installment of the Saw series was released in theatres October 23, 2009. John Kramer/ Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) once again reprises his role in this movie, showing that even after death, he is still in much control over people’s lives, weather it be he apprentices, or future victims. Not unlike its prequels, the films plot focuses on a certain person of Jigsaw’s choosing, who is being tested through various life endangering games in order to prove that they possess the will to live. In Saw VI, William Easton (Peter Outerbridge), an executive at a health insurance company, is chosen to endure the mental and physical torture of Jigsaw’s games.
As seen in flashbacks in the film, William explains to Kramer his policy of how he approves who is eligible for health insurance, and not. His policy is composed of an equation, which calculates a variety of factors about the possible candidate for the health insurance, however, according to Kramer the policy has one major flaw, its failure to consider a person’s will to live. It is due to William’s failure to meet this requirement that leads to Kramer’s, or Jigsaw’s, motivation to have William tested, forcing him to a very unwilling participant in Jigsaw’s games of extreme mental and physical torture.

Fans of the Saw series would most likely approve of the sixth installment. The sequel successfully delivers gruesome and grotesque violence while still being able to constantly focus on its story. Unlike a few of its prequels, the plot of this film is quite easy to follow, and never leaves the viewers confused about what is occurring, unless it intends to. Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) does an extremely good job at playing his role of Jigsaw’s apprentice throughout the film. Although he is intended to be the villain of the film, viewers can’t help but somewhat like his character due to his assertiveness and strong character.

Although Saw VI was a decent film, don’t expect to see it up for nominations of any prestigious awards. One of the more disappointing aspects of the movie was that nothing really made it stand apart from the previous five installments. Viewers will definitely have a great time watching the movie, however, at the end of the day Saw VI is nothing more or nothing less than a sequel to an already long going series.