Saw VII
Year: 2010
Director: Kevin Greutert
Stars: Costas Mandylor, Sean Patrick Flanney, Tobin Bell
MPAA Rating: R
Studio: Lionsgate
Running Time: 91 Mins
{Please note: I saw the 2D version of the film and may contain spoilers}
It must be time for a new “Saw” film, as it‘s that time of the year. Going into the last installment, it was supposed to the film where I had enough, considering that “Saw V” was very dull and boring. But to my surprise, it was clearly one of the year’s best horror films. Now going into this film, I was hoping that would on a descent that is respectful to the whole series.
The film picks up where the last film left off, where Hoffman (Costas Mandylor)was able to escape the jaw trap that Jill Tuck put him. Now, he’s out to find her, after her plan backfired. While this is going on, a game is taking place. The game centers on self-help guru Bobby Dagen(Sean Patrick Flanney), who has written a book on how he survived Jigsaw’s deadly game. But he has deadly secrets of his own that spawns a new spawns a new wave of deadly terror. The film also co-stars Betsy Russell and Cary Elwes.
Going back and thinking about this film, the thing that I admire the most about it was the way Kevin Greutert handled this film, as that’s the kind professionalism the guy has for the fans of the series. He could have easily have taken it out on the studio and the fans by making an unsuspenseful and a dull film, because of the whole “Paranormal Activity 2” / Saw VII fiasco that took place before filming of this film. But he doesn’t, as this film is a suspenseful and shocking thrill ride. That’s the thing that I take out of this film is that he puts in the effort to make this a good entry and enjoyable for the fans.
“Saw VII: The Final Chapter” ended up in a very good way.
One of the things that makes “Saw VII” one of the best entry, the way that it has same level of intensity that make the first one, the second one and the sixth one so good. Greutert does a very keeping you on edge from first minute. He does that from the way the film is shot to the way the traps were set up. Those two elements help make this terrifying and it also helps that this is the goriest entry in the series. The other thing that Greutert does very well is directing actors. This is one of the better acted films in the series. One of the things that he does right with the acting is helping the actors feel like that their in this terrible predicament. If its not like that, you have a hard time getting into the film. Also, I think it help makes you forget the fact that you don’t see much of Jigsaw in this film, like in some of the previous films. That’s probably due to this film being so intense.
The screenplay like Saw IV -VI was written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. They do a very good job keeping the momentum that they had from the previous film. The suspense is there, even though its very predictable that Dagen is a sucmbag and a liar and you don‘t care about him. It’s the way they set up the traps that makes it suspenseful, which it’s needed to hook the viewer you in. They also do a good job keeping the action going considering that Jigsaw is only in this film briefly. This was a major problem with “Saw V”, but what they do different here is the fact they have a central story within the game that involves around one character. In “Saw V” it felt like five characters in a room. By doing that, there was no way to have a back-story to the characters and feels five characters are locked in a room, which still makes it hard to watch. That is still one of the major complaints that I have about that film. Thankfully that’s not a complaint here.
But what’s “Saw” fans are going to like here is that they resolve everything. All the lingering questions are answered and will leave fans of the series satisfied. I liked, how it ties up everything from the previous films. Even though you’re left with a question or two, it much answers every question from the previous films.
Hopefully, this is truly the last film in the series, as I would like to have a Halloween without a “Saw film and it’s also the perfect ending to the most successful horror franchise in history. “Saw VII” is a film that’s intense and gory.
Review Rating: Five Stars
