Saw X (2023)

I think everyone knows what this is about by now, but stay far away from reviews if you’re a complete newcomer to the series. Everyone else will already know what they’re going to get.

Although this is called Saw X, it could easily have been called Saw 1.5. John Kramer aka Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dealing with a cancer diagnosis that seems terminal. There’s hope on the horizon though, a cure mixing therapy and unapproved drugs that means traveling to Mexico. Kramer heads there, pays his money, and starts to hope that he will be cured. As those who have seen the rest of the movies in this series will already know, there’s actually no cure. Realising the whole thing was a scam, Jigsaw plans to play a game with those who have made money preying on people in his situation.

With a number of inventive traps and a handful of potential victims, mainly people who you could easily view as deserving of their fate, Saw X is a satisfying extra instalment in this long-running franchise. There’s some good gore, an attempt to keep this rooted in the convoluted and dense continuity already established, and a finale that reveals a couple of extra details while the familiar music starts to build and overwhelm your sound system.

Director Kevin Greutert seems to be a good choice for helming these movies, having helped to bring things back on track with the previous instalments he directed, and the script, written by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg, manages to reframe our iconic horror villain as the hero of the hour without making it too intolerable. Despite the actions of various characters in the series, Jigsaw himself has always tried to set up his games with a strict set of rules (the main one being that anyone who survives is free to live their life with a renewed appreciation.

Bell is as good as ever in the main role, helped by the fact that he was already of a certain age when he first played the character, meaning he still looks the same nowadays and just has to cough and look ill in between his deadly lessons in morality. It’s a bit harder for Shawnee Smith, reprising a key role, to look younger than her years, but I appreciate that the makers of the film don’t try anything too silly to signify her youth (e.g. having her skateboard onscreen and talking in tiresome “coolspeak”). Smith does as well as Bell in terms of playing her character in line with how viewers know her from this time period. As for the potential victims, naming them in any kind of order might give an idea of their importance in the grand scheme, which is why I will just name Synnøve Macody Lund, the head of the whole operation and the one that we all know must be due a very special fate before the end credits roll.

The ridiculousness of everything is once again offset by the creativity and nastiness, a few moments here made me properly wince and wish for it to move away from the impressive gore effects, but it’s a shame that the pacing isn’t as good as it needs to be, although that is affected by the foreknowledge and familiarity that most viewers will have, which means a lot of time spent just waiting for the pieces that need moved into place for the grand conclusion. This feels unavoidable, admittedly, but the whole thing could have been streamlined by removing one or two moments of Jigsaw underlining his rules and methodology. And, I will say it, add another one or two victims to keep the blood and gore outweighing the screentime that doesn’t focus on deadly traps.

A good time for Jigsaw fans, even if it’s completely unnecessary and disposable.

7/10

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Shudder Saturday: Belzebuth (2017)

Belzebuth may be quite a mixed bag, and it ambitiously aims for something always just out of its reach, but there are scenes within it that rank among the most disturbing I have seen in some time. Because, for the most part, the victims are often innocent children. Children, some as young as newborn babies (in one sequence near the very start that has a woman lock herself in a hospital nursery room and then pull out a knife). It's easy to see why the film cannot maintain those high standards of terror in between the major set-pieces, but it's a shame that it fumbles with the other main ideas it has at the heart of it.

Joaquín Cosio plays Emmanuel Ritter, a cop who is still shattered from the above incident that took place soon after the birth of his child. He's further affected by a number of major incidents (a school pupil who guns down many of his fellow pupils, an attacker who takes aim at a swimming pool full of youngsters) as the authorities tell him he has to co-operate with a paranormal expert, Ivan Franco (Tate Ellington). This leads to them trying to keep a mother and child safe, learning more about the motivation of the killers, and eventually going on a journey with a tattooed and determined priest, Vasillo Canetti (Tobin Bell), who has already had a fateful encounter with these evil forces before.

The opening act of Belzebuth is the equivalent of a slap in the face. It grabs your attention, no doubt, and holds it, even while things start to fray as you head towards the halfway point. Director Emilio Portes, who co-wrote the screenplay with Luis Carlos Fuentes, knows just how much to show and how much to keep out of frame. When it comes to the horrible infanticide, we see splashes of blood, we see stains that cover the surfaces surrounding the site of a massacre, or violent acts that are cut away from at just the right moment. Adults, on the other hand, we can handle seeing violence inflicted upon them, and we often do get to see it. Portes has a good eye, and a good instinct for how to maximise the effectiveness of each scene without going too far.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have the same instinct when it comes to the writing. This is a messy script, with the film clocking in at just under two hours when it would have made a perfect 90-minute thrill ride. It's not something that people may say often, but both Portes and Fuentes would have done well to try and meld their material/ideas with the more streamlined Hollywood horror outings, figuring out how to cut out a lot of the extraneous content and build everything more effectively towards a knuckle-whitening finale. As it is, Belzebuth peaks at about the halfway point (a sequence in which the characters talk to a demon contained within a statue is an imaginative high point, a real mix of oddness and entertainment) and then just becomes a waiting game for viewers until the end credits roll.

There are other cast members involved, particularly the mother and child being kept safe, but this largely feels like a three-hander between the male leads. Ellington is the weakest of the three. He's not bad, he's just not given anything to make his character truly stand out. Cosio, on the other hand, is always giving the impression of his inner pain and turmoil while he dives further into this strange case, helped by his imposing figure. He may not be any kind of giant of a man, but he feels that way in many of his scenes. And then you have Bell, a lot of fun in a role that allows him to do his enigmatic schtick while also revealing more of the true nature of his character in the third act.

Despite it being front-loaded and a bit too muddled in places, Belzebuth is well worth your time, especially if you're after a horror movie that uses a number of familiar elements and tropes in ways that make them feel slightly different. It's just a shame that it cannot maintain the momentum it gathers during that amazing first act.

6/10

No links today. Feel free to use one on another post and shop till you drop.

Jigsaw (2017)

As much as I love the Saw series, and I do, my eyes rolled hard when I heard that they were adding to it with one more instalment (for now). Unlike many people, I was very pleased with how the last instalment had attempted to tie up numerous strands and end things on a satisfying note for fans.

Then I discovered that the Spierig brothers (Peter and Michael) were going to be involved, and I've been a fan of almost all of their previous movies. This made me tentatively optimistic. Then I saw the trailer. I was sold.

The plot is exactly what you expect from a Saw movie. A group of people come around and find that they have been unwillingly volunteered to participate in some deadly games. Everyone has a reason to be there, but will any of them be able to survive? Two detectives (Callum Keith Rennie and Cle Bennett) are on the case, and two pathologists (Matt Passmore and Hannah Emily Anderson) start their own investigation, with each party mistrusting the other.

Jigsaw delivers exactly what you want it to deliver. You get some great traps, a number of twists and turns, and editing sleight of hand that tries to keep you in the dark for as long as possible. Of course, part of the fun with these movies now comes from trying to figure out just where the trickery is taking place, not just with the traps but with the structural playfulness and the hidden character motivations. The script, by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg (who also gave us the fun of both Piranha 3D and Sorority Row), isn't as clever as it thinks it is. Saw movie scripts seldom are, however, and it works as a gory thriller that at least attempts to avoid being as dumb as possible.

The visual palette feels similar to previous instalments, yet the Spierig brothers even manage to effect some positive changes here. You get the feeling that a lot of the environments are quite dingy, and perhaps covered with blood shed from past victims, but there's also a cool hue to many of the scenes that save it from being as relentlessly dour and murky as some of the other films.

You don't come to these movies for the acting, let's all admit that, but I'm happy to say that nobody stinks up the screen here. Rennie, Bennett, Passmore, and Anderson all have moments of being a bit over the top in acceptable ways, and Laura Vandervoort, Paul Braunstein, Mandela Van Peebles, and Brittany Allen actually do pretty solid work as some of the chosen players.

It's completely unnecessary, often a bit ridiculous, and a bit overly familiar in the many scenes that obviously nod and wink to past deathtraps . . . and I will happily buy a ticket whenever they decide to do another one, especially if it's once again helmed by the talented Spierig brothers.

8/10

Jigsaw is available to buy here.
Americans can get it here.

Boogeyman 2 (2007)

I can't, in all honesty, say that Boogeyman 2 is a GREAT horror movie. But I can easily say that it's quite a step up from the first movie. In fact, apart from one main connection, you could happily avoid the painful experience of watching the first film and just skip straight to this one.

Danielle Savre plays Laura Porter, a young woman who decides to check into the mental health facility that seemed to do so much good for her brother (Henry, played by Matt Cohen). Laura and Henry were scarred many years ago by a traumatic night that led to the loss of their parents. As Matt heads off to start rebuilding his adult life, Laura puts herself in the hands of Dr. Jessica Ryan (Renee O'Connor) and Dr. Mitchell Allen (Tobin Bell). Unfortunately, it's not long until a number of her fellow patients start dying, and in ways that seem tied to their deepest fears. Is the boogeyman real, or have one of the doctors decided to try more radical methods of treatment?

While the script by Brian Sieve is simply competent, and the direction by Jeff Betancourt is perfectly fine, Boogeyman 2 actually manages to impress with one or two moments of real nastiness. The dressing may be standard, sanitised stuff, but the death scenes here are sometimes wince-inducingly painful, which is all the more surprising considering the blandness of some other aspects of the film. The supporting characters are a mixed bad, and it's hard to care for most of them, the facility always feels like a horror movie set as opposed to a real building (like, for example, those many horror movie hospitals that never have more than one or two staff working in them at night), and the final act revelations will neither surprise nor impress full-time horror fans.

Savre is fine in the lead role, I guess, but it's the supporting cast that provides more fun for movie fans. The appearance of Bell, of course, immediately makes him a prime suspect (due to his prominent role in the Saw franchise), but O'Connor also plays up to the fact that her character could be good or evil, simply because all of the adults disbelieving younger characters with legitimate fears can be viewed as potential baddies in a movie series that has shown how far things can be affected by the fear of fear itself. Then we have Mae Whitman and Johnny Simmons as two patients, the former unable to stop her habit of cutting herself and the latter suffering from OCD relating to hygiene. They both stand out, making the film much more enjoyable than it otherwise would have been. The same, sadly, can't be said for Christine Griffith, Michael Graziadei, Lesli Margherita, or any of the others that I may have already forgotten. Cohen does okay, but he's not onscreen long enough to make much of an impression either way.

If, like me, you never thought of checking out the sequels to the awful Boogeyman then it may be worth reconsidering your stance. You're not missing out on too much if you never watch this movie, but it's an easygoing bit of entertainment if you have 90 minutes to fill and you're in the mood for something undemanding and gory.

5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Triple-Feature-Boogeyman-Barry-Watson/dp/B003UN0752/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1411851034&sr=1-1&keywords=boogeyman

Decoys 2: Alien Seduction (2007)

Making a satisfactory sequel for any decent movie can be a tricky prospect. Making a satisfactory sequel to a surprisingly enjoyable movie that went direct to the rental market can be even trickier. The fact that Decoys 2: Alien Seduction succeeds is due to the way it admirably sticks to the most well-known symptoms of sequelitis. Normally constrictive and damaging, these standard tenets (more of the same, extra nudity, a few slightly famous names to help promote the thing) actually work in the film's favour and this is a sequel that almost equals its predecessor.

Is it a great movie? No, but neither was the first film. It is, however, undemanding and entertaining fare that makes the most of a ridiculous but fun central premise (sexy alien babes freezing Earth males while they try to get jiggy with it) and zips along from start to finish with snappy pacing and good humour.

Jeffery Scott Lando directs the action this time around, with a script written by Miguel Tejada-Flores, but the change of names offscreen doesn't show onscreen at all. There are a couple of actors also returning to their roles (Corey Sevier and the gorgeous Kim Poirier), a number of new actors who all come across as likeable enough and more eye candy for the guys in the shape of ladies like Michelle Molineux (aka Heather Graham MK II) and Lindsay Maxwell. And then we have Dina Meyer and Tobin Bell being the more famous names getting involved for some limited screentime.

Effects aren't top notch, there are more than one or two gaping plot holes and there's no tension whatsoever. Pretty much like the first movie anyway. Thankfully, it focuses on the fun to be had with sexy alien women getting nekkid to seduce their prey - this time around they also reveal a talent for being able to transform into whichever kind of girl the male victim has fantasised about.

An uncomplicated sequel that will be appreciated by those who saw the greatness at the core of the rough diamond that was the first movie. Okay, okay, another good film to watch if you like sexy femaliens getting naked. And who doesn't?

5/10.

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