Film Reviews

Saw 2

• Rating:
• Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
• Starring: Tobin Bell, Lyriq Bent
• Details: US, 90mins, 18s

Follow up to 2003's SAW, which told the story of a perverse serial killer who has a penchant for tying one person to another and then forcing them to kill each other but not before solving a little puzzle. Threading similar ground as its predecessor, SAW 2 sees the return of Jigsaw (Bell) as the deranged serial killer; this time trapping his victims in a booby-trapped shelter from which they have to escape before they inhale too much of the lethal nerve gas. With the multitude of story line possibilities available with a group of people trapped in a tight surroundings - the claustrophobia, the paranoia, the panic as the characters turn on each other - director Bousman pondered his options and decided 'that's just what they expect me to do'. Instead, Bousman introduces eight characters to SAW's two for no other reason than there is more opportunities for blood and gore while forgetting about humanising the leads and, apart from exploring the psychology behind Jigsaw's games, character development is non-existent as the action tempo is upped and upped to a crescendo... with nothing to back it up. At least it's action packed. No, at most it's action packed.

Review by Gavin Burke