I honestly cannot believe that they kept the SAW franchise running after that horrible sequel. It did well financially I guess, so that’s probably enough reasons for big studio heads to make any decisions whatsoever. This film was immediately released a year after SAW II came out, and just like SAW II, it lacks passion and creativity. Though credit where credit is due, the $10 million budget was definitely a game changer when it comes to the production quality of the film. For cinema viewers, that was more than enough to go watch the film.
How to Stream or Download Saw III
You can stream it or you can download the film from a digital store. Click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Movie Review
SAW III is a continuation of the events of the poor second film, following John Kramer’s crippled yet manipulative state of mind. He’s now bedridden, he cannot walk so his game shifts drastically. He orders his apprentice to kidnap Doctor Lynn Denlon from the hospital she works at. She’s instructed with keeping Kramer alive until he watches the final game unfold.
The victim this time around is a grief-struck man named Jeff, whose anger at the man who killed his son is going to be tested as he’s put through a series of tests to figure out what he’ll do to survive.
James Wan didn’t direct this movie either, he officially just took a back seat after the first film and that is sad. Director Darren Lynn Bousman’s work on this third SAW film doesn’t really do justice at honoring the legacy of the first film. Lucky for fans of the franchise, Leigh Whannell came back to write the script for this film, and joining him was James Wan himself.
As a result, this film in particular has a much more emotional story as compared to the rest of them. The film extensively deep dives into Jeff’s grief, as well as Kramer’s state of mind and the state of mind of his assistant Amanda.
The direction on the other hand is really sloppy. The film is all over the place, with pacing issues as well as issues in character development as the Jigsaw Killer and some really uninspired editing.
This film feels like it was supposed to be a short story, yet it was adapted into a full-length feature film. They crammed as much content as they could, and ended up making it a drag. The film runs at a sluggish pace, yet it has so much happening all at the same time.
The one thing that I can appreciate about this movie, just like the other films Is the acting. Each and every one of the actors tries their hardest to give one of the best performances of their lives.
Of course, Tobin Bell as the Jigsaw Killer gives a bit of a stiffer performance as usual. It was to be expected though, seeing his work in the previous two films. Shawnee Smith as Amanda Young is the real show-stealer in this film. Her character by far has the hardest arc in the film, as well as some of the most interesting dialogue and reactions to situations. She’s essentially one of the few people, whose acting was utilized in the film in general.
The cinematography is the part where the game actually changes due to the $10 million budget. Now that the creators of the film had such a huge budget, they could do much riskier experimentation in terms of the lighting, shots, and stylized movements.
The result of this is a much prettier film to watch and a much more pleasant viewing experience. I still prefer the grainy, off-putting look up the original film, however, this was the best that they could do when it came to creating a film that wasn’t supposed to look snuff.
The Bottom Line
To summarise everything, SAW III is by far the least coherent film in the series. Despite being a direct sequel to the second film this is a completely different story, and it’s made in a completely different way.
The original two films were focused on torture scenes, whereas the third film focused more on emotions and guilt. It tries to be an exploration of grief but fails miserably at doing so. However, it does manage to look decent, which makes it a fun yet still bad movie experience.
