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  Saw II (2005)


 

Saw-pprentice.

Review: The original Saw was a captivating look at sadism, cruelty and redemption. In Saw II, we are treated to a new group of victims and another round of life-threatening puzzles.

Raspy-voiced, Tobin Bell, returns as Jigsaw and Shawnee Smith reprises her role as one of his victims from the first film. Donnie Wahlberg and Dina Meyer play detectives out to capture the maniacal serial killer.

After finding a new victim care of Jigsaw's handiwork, the two detectives track down Jigsaw and discover he has eight more unsuspecting players trapped in a decrepit house filled with new deadly puzzles. Among the group is Smith, as well as Wahlberg's teenage son, which raises the stakes even more.

The new players fight and argue with each other as they try to determine what happened to them and immediately become wary of the mysterious Smith, who possesses knowledge of Jigsaw and his games. They learn the deadly secret of the house and as they venture through it looking for a way out, they stumble upon several of the designated games. Each victim in the house has a puzzle devised for them, but unfortunately not everyone lives long enough to play their game.

This time around the puzzles are not as clever, but still provide for great visuals and suspense. On the disappointing end was "The Furnace," because the outcome was obvious: person crawls into a furnace, person gets burned alive. The highlight was the excruciating and gut-wrenching, "Needle Pit," where a valuable key must be dug out from a pit filled with tens of thousands of needles and syringes. It will make you cringe and stay with you for a long time. 

With a brilliant twist of an ending, the winners are ultimately sorted from the losers. Jigsaw's second round is completed and sets the stage for the next. I can't wait.

 


Learn more: IMDb

DVD version viewed: Saw II (Widescreen Edition) (Lions Gate, UPC 031398188599)