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‘Jigsaw’ is a puzzle not worth solving

As of Nov. 12, “Jigsaw” has made $64 million worldwide against a budget of $10 million. (Courtesy of Lionsgate)

Eric Smith
Connector Contributor

After “Saw 3D: The Final Chapter,” the production companies Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate decided to bring back the franchise despite the last film being titled “The Final Chapter.”

Like every other “Saw” film, a group of sinful individuals are trapped in a torture house and must “play the game” to proceed to the next room where more torture and death awaits. The movie is blandly divided into two halves: the torture house and the investigation behind the random bodies appearing in the streets. The two halves of the movie do not mesh well, and it seems as though the audience is watching two different films simultaneously. One is a violent gore fest where all the fun in the movie seems to be. The other is an investigation with bland characters that the audience is supposed to care about. This part feels like a CW crime series that is attempting to be part of a horror flick.

Supposedly Jigsaw (the evil man behind all the messiness) is taking the dead bodies from the torture house and displaying them for others to see, because why not? The investigators and the morticians each do their thing and all signs seem to point to Jigsaw, who has been supposedly dead for 10 years. It is a pretty simple plot without much confusion, although there are plenty of plot holes that do not seem to be answered, and it is hard not to dwell on them for the entire runtime.

The first hour is rough to get through, but it does not compare to the ridiculous and infuriating ending. Without spoiling anything, the film takes a 180 and gives the audience a supposed “twist” that is designed to “blow our minds.” It does anything but that, and leaves viewers scratching their heads in confusion and anger.

The characters themselves are not interesting on either side. The investigators have bland personalities, and one is supposed to seem like he is the bad guy because he says stereotypical bad guy stuff. The poor souls in the torture house can be irritating with their decisions (although they need to act stupid since it is a horror movie after all), and annoying due to their personalities. Although the performances are not much to be excited about, they do not ruin the fun of watching people get their legs torn off.

While the plot is contrived and messy, it still has plenty of fun and watchable scenes. The torture devices and bloody deaths can be entertaining if one is into that. They may not be as unique and original as the traps in the other movies, but they seem to be the part of “Jigsaw” that makes it somewhat watchable. However, with the incoherent moods, mundane performances, plot holes and a fundamentally broken ending, this film can be missed without any regret.

Grade: D-

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