Most recently, the new creation of directors Michael and Peter Spirigov “Saw-8” was presented to the general public. Reviews from the audience speak about a very diverse viewing experience. What kind of movie is this? Is this a great sequel to the famous franchise or a complete failure?
Title
The original name of the film is Jigsaw, which can be translated as "Designer", "Mosaic" or "Openwork Saw". According to the plot of any part, in the sense all three options are suitable. Because of its cruelty, the film may well be called "Saw." The plot is based on the intriguing context of events, in addition, the ending is saved from one part to another, which gives the plot a slightly different meaning. Therefore, "Mosaic" is also suitable, and the main anti-hero leaves a sign "puzzle" on his victims. It is curious that in the English version all this is called Jigsaw.
Plot
In each part, everything is simple: a group of guilty people is locked in a monstrous trap built by John Kramer - the same maniac nicknamed Jigsaw, played by Tobin Bell.
The whole film abounds in cruelty. The participants in this crazy survival game have to make difficult choices. Kramer offers the victim to cut off a limb or choose which one should die.
When the film is nearing its end, an event suddenly occurs that turns the whole story upside down. And the viewer has no choice but to sit with his mouth open and rethink what he saw. That is why all the parts of the "Saw" are so fond of. Each film revealed a new side of Cramer's life. Did the eighth episode manage to maintain a reputation?
Jigsaw
According to reviews of the movie “Saw-8,” the beginning is no different from the previous parts - traces of the fact that the “game” began were found in the city. This is evidenced by a series of brutal killings with marks in the form of a "puzzle" on the bodies. Everything suggests John Cramer. But there is one snag - he’s been dead for about ten years.
And at this point, according to reviews of the "Pile-8", the audience divided into two camps. The fact is that in the seventh part all the cards were revealed: the maniac’s wife, Jill Kramer, was killed by Agent Hoffman. He was eliminated by Dr. Gordon, who was a victim of the "game" in the first part.
So, some viewers began to argue that the answer is obvious - the killer Gordon. Others insisted that everything was not so straightforward. The plot is presented in the best style: as if before his death, John constructed a giant deadly maze, set the mechanism to automatic, and then the victims have to fight for life.
Prisoners of the “mousetrap” were chosen for a reason - everyone was guilty of something just before Kramer and deserved to be punished. Those who watched the film must have left surprised reviews about “Saw-8,” which said that the prisoners of the “game” were only to blame for living only for their pleasure, not helping their families in difficult times. And now the “Death Constructor” offers the one-on-one to learn to value the life of relatives, because they will have to make a difficult choice: to part with any limb or choose who dies. It is on such cynicism that the plot of the film “Saw-8” is built.
Viewers reviews about the picture
Even before the premiere, Jigsaw 8 trailers literally blew up the network. It's no secret that any franchise with the release of a new part is more and more "slipping". This, unfortunately, happens with the Saw.
However, the new part has earned many positive reviews. Everything is filmed in the best traditions: the necessary share of cruelty, a pinch of intrigue, and most importantly, the same “boom” at the end, contributing to the rethinking of what he saw.
You should not think of fans of the franchise as close-minded individuals, because the new part should be evaluated as a continuation of previous films, as a new round in the development of history and the disclosure of the secrets of John Cramer. Reviews of “Saw-8” are deprived of cynicism; they have a place for evaluating both acting and quality special effects, and, of course, the psychological component.
Each new film carries a certain message. In the eighth part, the owners of the director’s title tried to convey to the viewer the idea that one should not choose a lie as a guiding star.
But, as testimonials about “Pile-8” (2017) testify, there is also a share of the negative from the novelty.
Conveyor
It is known that the very first part was shot by a graduate of the cinema school who did not have any serious means, because all the events took place in one room, the cast worked for a mere penny, the whole bet was on the message that the picture carried.
The director could not even imagine how commercially successful the product was. Then the creator continued his work in such creations as “The Spell” and “Astral”, and the scriptwriter worked until the end of work on the third part of “Saw”, after which he retired to the ranks of the actors. The Lionsgate studio, owning the rights to the franchise, put this business on stream and made every effort to attract volunteers to work on a new part of the film, because the Jigsaw universe has overgrown with all kinds of parodies, sequels and plagiarism films.
The seventh part, known as “Saw 3D”, was supposed to be the last, but, apparently, Lionsgate found the same guys who shot “Scream in the hostel” and “Piranha 3D”, and allowed them to scoff at John Kramer’s legacy ".
The hacksaw is dull
There are more than enough negative reviews about the movie “Saw-8” (2017). The first thing that hurts the ear and the eye is the presence of humor. Jokes are a good thing, of course, but not in the format of such a movie.
Heroes caught in a trap behave illogically. Traps are overly complex and inherently absurd. The picture does not catch from the very beginning, you do not want to worry about the characters. According to reviews of Pile-8, the film looks calmly under a mug of tea with a bun. Nowhere does one want to exclaim in surprise or astonishment.
The creators of the film simply placed criminals in the deadly dangerous conditions and set the audience to watch how they will fight for life. That is, in fact, observe the execution of convicts. The sight is unpleasant and uninteresting.
It was mentioned above that in the seventh there were hints of followers. Did Hoffman manage to get out of the trap, the police saw through the two-faced nature of Gordon? There are no answers in the new creation. Moreover, references to other parts of the cinema universe are completely ignored.
Around the middle, the directors tried to "get out" due to a flashback with John Kramer. But as it turned out, it was just a ruse, narrating that the events in the film take place even before the first part of Saws.
Cinema universe through the eyes of critics
Reviews of "Saw-8" indicate that such a development of the plot is already not very impressive. For many viewers, the movie ceased to be interesting after the release of the third part, where the "highlight of the program" John Kramer died.
Over the course of several episodes, he, of course, appears on the screen so that some kind of logical connection to the maniac’s personality appears in the film and the plot gets a philosophical connotation. But, as already mentioned, the farther, the worse.
The seventh part, which was planned as the final, was gnawed and spat upon by film critics from head to toe. They described the creation as follows:
- compared the work of directors with picking in old decaying corpses;
- regretted the absence of the main villain;
- summarized that without Cramer it was no longer a “Saw”, but only a rusty old jigsaw;
- criticized for the lack of ideas in the film, the fantasies of the directors and the general boredom, the confusion of what is happening;
- nominated for the title of worst movie of the year.
The list, of course, goes on. With the new film, everything is much worse. There is no more idea. All antagonist detractors have long been killed, re-educated or crippled. There is nowhere else to look for victims. It remains only to catch black cats on the streets for crossing the road to Kramer, and to punish with a vacuum cleaner, a broom, a bad "Whiskas" and an empty tray. As well as postmen, collectors and tax officials.
Conclusion
I would like to note that in most cases the continuation of the picture harms not only the cinema universe, but also the film industry as a whole. Recall at least the "Resident Evil." The project was worth completing somewhere in the third part and giving rest to poor Mile Jovovich, and not to remove the subsequent parts, which completely ruined the impression of the Resident Evil universe.
Also with the "Saw". It is clear that the franchise brings good money to the studio, which owns the rights, but if the sequels continue to be filmed further, it is scary to imagine what an absurdity can wait for a sophisticated audience.
A number of reviews of Pyle-8 describe in a joking manner that by about the 15th part it turns out that all of these deadly games by John Kramer are a classified government experiment (an explicit reference to the films Cube and Hypercube) and everyone is exiled there objectionable citizens.
For the viewer who is familiar with this film universe, the film is recommended for viewing for general development. But an inexperienced person should not start acquaintance with “Saws-8”. Otherwise, there is a risk of completing the viewing with a sense of wasted time.