"Saw 2" opens with an elaborate and gruesome death scene, involving a mask insulated with rusty nails slowly closing on a victim desperately trying to find the key that will free him from this deathtrap. This scene is enough to make even veteran horror lovers cringe, and Darren Lynne Bouseman's frenetic directing intensifies the dingy terror of the situation. Unfortunately, this scene promises thrills and creativity that "Saw 2" does not deliver and, ultimately, only points to a potential that could have been achieved with more time and effort.
The premise of Saw 2 concerns Jigsaw (Tobin Bell, "Saw"), a ruthless killer that tortures his victims to help them gain a greater appreciation for their lives. This time around, Jigsaw has lured detective Mason (Donnie Walberg, "Dreamcatcher") to his lair to watch his next group of victims struggle for survival on a video feed. The victims have been kidnapped and placed in a rickety old house with poisonous gas seeping through the air vents. In two hours, the gas will kill them unless the captives can find and administer syringes containing an antidote. However, these syringes, although reasonably easy to find, are rigged to fatal contraptions that have to be maneuvered carefully. Additionally, one of the victims is Mason's son (Erik Knudsen) who after a previous fight with his father had run away. Jigsaw asserts that if Mason follows certain rules, his son will be returned to him safe and secure.
The movie alternates between the story of the victims and the story of Jigsaw's confrontation with the police, in which officers argue back and forth about how to prompt a concession from the maniac. Any sense of escalating horror is undercut by the interruption of these lame scenes that only serve as a vehicle for the final twist and take away from time that should be spent further developing intricate scenes of death. But even the violent horror scenes included, lack the capacity to elicit any substantial affect.
Also hindering the film is the weak portrayal of Jigsaw's prisoners. The victims are so stupid that they blindly wander into death instead of actually approaching the contraptions with an analytical mind and voracious desire for survival. In fact, the victims lack intelligence so much that the audience can tell exactly how they will activate these contraptions and clumsily fail to escape death well before it even happens. Case in point — a man has to climb into a crematorium to retrieve two antidotes. One antidote is loosely attached to the ceiling and the other is rigged to a clearly visible chain. After grabbing the first antidote, the man, without any delicacy, stubbornly tugs on the chained antidote activating the machine that leads to his fiery death. This scene would be a lot more effective if the man had cunningly and intelligently tried to maneuver the device only to be outsmarted. Then, at least, the audience could sympathize with his attempt for survival and marvel in the design of the contraption. Instead, this man's stupidity only reveals the shoddy design and rushed construction of the movie as a whole.
The character of Jigsaw is obviously a lot smarter than both his victims and the police, but the integrity of his character is compromised by an inconsistency in his scheme. The fulfillment of his plan depends on the ability of Mason and his police force to find him in his lair. Jigsaw even deliberately places evidence in a crime scene that will lure Mason to the destination. However, a SWAT team arrives to the lair only to find it booby trapped with a device that causes further harm. This contradicts the pretext that Jigsaw carefully selects his victims based on personal information that cause him to believe in their lack of love for life. The booby trap was not designed to further propagate his purpose because it was impersonal and non-fatal.
Ultimately, "Saw 2" seems like a movie that was roughly assembled in a rush to capitalize on the cult success of the first film. There are too many inconsistencies and logical breaks to mention and, in a movie that relies on mechanical design and group-oriented problem solving as agencies to deliver thrills, this lack of cohesiveness is simply unacceptable and should not be supported in any way. Unfortunately, the movie made $30 million last weekend, but hopefully those who endured this travesty will tell others to stay away from "Saw 2".
Grade: F
