Jigsaw [DVD]

It's been awhile since we've seen a Saw movie, hell I thought we'd never see one again. Years later and the horror movie landscape awash with new cliches and boundaries, John Kramer's work has returned to show once again that Jigsaw is the king of modern-day horror. I've always thought the Saw series is perhaps one of the best constructed horror franchises story-wise, just in the way that they tie together the timelines and intricate details throughout every plot. To an extent of course, as the films began to suffer from the exploitation of the gore which was one of the many attractions to the Saw franchise. This is the 8th film the franchise, and sets out to rejuvenate the series.Many horror franchises don't see 7 films within 7 years, but Saw did that. So to come back after some time, they had to do something new. While I'll admit that the first viewing of this film didn't particularly impress me, it was after the Special Features that I sort of understood why parts of the film were more bland than usual. And yes, of course a second viewing always points out details in the characters that you didn't notice the first time, so it adds that additional layer to the movie. It's well worth watching the audio commentary to learn about this film as well, and to watch it for the second time to appreciate it for what it is.The Spierig Brothers who did the vampire film Daybreakers, state throughout the Special Features that they wanted to avoid the commonplace things about the Saw franchise, such as the high level of gore. A lot of the producers and crew also agreed that to give this series the rebirth it deserves, they had to take a step back to the original Saw and the suspense that created with so little. While it comes nowhere close to that caliber of tension, it is somewhat refreshing to see new things in an established franchise like this. There were a lot of outdoor scenes for a series that was commonly shot in interiors. Also, not having a ton of gore and it being featured at critical times throughout gave Jigsaw a lot more punch. I think the scene with the 3 syringes has the best FX of the film, it was totally brutal and worth the admission.The characters are all really great too, and the actors all have moments where they have to make the audience think that they could be the killer or reveal their true "crimes". I saw about halfway through the film how it might have ended based on the way the film had played out to that point. However, it definitely keeps you guessing up until the end and when it all starts to click together you know "oh that's why that didn't make sense" or "oh that's why they said that" which is really cool. I commend the team who worked on Jigsaw for trying to expand this universe, as it's completely worth another look for maybe an entirely new Jigsaw series for us horror/Saw fans. It doesn't do anything new, but for those that are essentially tuning into Saw 8 would you expect any differently?Jigsaw does enough differently to stand out among a few of its predecessors, but not enough to immediately revitalize the franchise. I would give the film 3 stars on its own, but this release not only has the Special Features on the 4K disc (a rarity in the market right now), but they're all great ones at that. There's a 5-part documentary essentially about the making of Jigsaw with a lot of great interviews, and then there's a short bit on the props of the film which seems to have been cut from the aforementioned documentary. The audio commentary is also great and one of those that makes the movie immediately worth re-watching at home again. So for all of the Special Features included on both the 4K & Blu-ray discs that enhance the film in many ways, I'd give this release 4-stars.Case came in great condition with slipcover. 4K, Blu-ray, and digital copies were included in this release. Hope this is the beginning of more Saw films!

As a fan of the franchise, I was ecstatic to hear that a new Saw movie was in the works. Although not precisely the same, the primary character who we have all been searching for in movies for years is present.Law enforcement authorities are now embroiled in a brand-new game after a string of murders that bear all the signs of the Jigsaw killer. The ghost of a guy who has been dead for more than ten years must now be pursued. The conundrum is whether John Kramer is rising from the dead to inspire people to express gratitude for life, or if this was a trap set by a murderer with nefarious intentions.This is a gorefest that horror fans will enjoy, but it is neither innovative nor the best movie created. I like how in this one a woman takes the upper hand and is not the helpless victim. This movie is fantastic when viewed in the context of the original franchise, but it cannot stand alone.

Love this and all the Jigsaw movies.

This is the ‘Saw’ movie I am least familiar with, although I’ve seen it enough times now to feel that I understand it.It was interesting enough; the plot moves along in that distinctive, heady way that all of the ‘Saw’ installments do. But for me it didn’t have quite the same feel as the others - it was kind of like when you get into a story, and suddenly you find yourself going back even further then the original beginning (the Saw movies often move into different time periods. and this one went back the furthest in Jigsaw’s life).A couple of thoughts here: First, I would like to have seen Jigsaw a little more often than he was presented; he is only shown in about the last 20 minutes, and ‘throwing him in’ at the end just didn’t seem right somehow (he IS the star of the show, after all). Second, I can’t be the only one wondering what happened to the two surviving characters from the original Saw production, Dr. Gordon and Detective Hoffman. ‘The Final Chapter’ remains a bit of a cliffhanger, as both Gordon and Hoffman’s storylines were left unresolved. Their characters were curiously omitted in this movie, but maybe - hopefully - we will see them again at some future point.It does feel like a ‘Saw’ movie, although it is a little more toned down. Well worth a watch though, if you are a Saw disciple!

I wasn’t sure what to expect after the original saw franchise ended and also how that final film finished almost tying up so many loose endsI have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this film, true to its saw roots but approached in a way that has allowed them to almost start again in a new series of films and although I was expecting to see a reprise of the key characters from the final Saw it worked just a well withoutA great way to have John ‘jigsaw’ Cramer involved in this film considering the character apparently died in Saw 3, and didn’t see how that was working until the end twistClever and worth the watch

I am a huge fan of the SAW franchise. When this was due out at the cinema I straight away booked tickets and was very disappointed that on its release date, when I went to see it, the cinema was empty!! Just us and one other couple. I must say though I was really disappointed, I consider this the worst film of the series, but as its the only one I'm missing from my dvd collection I need to get it. Plus looking forward to the extras on this dvd.Spoilet alert!! I don't think they should have killed off detective Hallahan, as he was my fave character in the film. I would have liked to have seen him in the next one.I love the option where you can have the directors explaining the film as you watch it.

I loved this film, I don't want to ruin anything but, I was so excited to see Tobin Bell again (a.k.a John, a.k.a jigsaw) I won't explain how or why he's in it as I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but needless to say fantastic film 5*s, very highly recommend!!

Bought for my adult son who is a big fan of the franchise. To be honest none of us were sure how they were going to pull this off, being as the last movie tied everything up. I know that’s a bit vague but it’s really difficult to write a review of a film without including spoilers. Anyhooo, this film is great. Stays true to the Saw franchise but fresh enough to breathe new life into the franchise. We really enjoyed watching this and hope it gives rise to more.

As with all saw films it can become confusing at times, especially as is traditional with these films we see flashbacks, but you dont know which are now or history until the end. I had to watch this twice to understand everything. As a stand alone movie its good, but compared to the saw films, not so good. Saw 1 remains by far the best with a killer twist at the end, and interesting there is far less gore in Saw 1 than the rest of the series