I couldn't watch Saw III without thinking of reality TV shows like Fear Factor. Can it be a deliberate parody?
Saw III (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:80
Fresh:20
Rotten:60
Average Rating:4.1/10
Consensus: Saw III does little beyond repeating its predecessor's tropes on a gorier level.
Theatrical Release:Oct 27, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $80,150,343
Synopsis: In 2004, a low-budget horror film about a man who put people with moral failings into grisly, murderous situations became a huge hit. In 2005, the sequel scored again, upping the body count and the... In 2004, a low-budget horror film about a man who put people with moral failings into grisly, murderous situations became a huge hit. In 2005, the sequel scored again, upping the body count and the terror. In 2006, the franchise continued, with plenty of gore as well as an emotional story line that delved into the psychological makeup of the main characters. As SAW II concluded, Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) was dying. But that doesn't mean his penchant for playing games of torture and violence is ending. In SAW III, the murders start occurring again, and Kerry (Dina Meyer) is back on the case, although she thinks this time it might be the work of a copycat. She's only partly right: Amanda (Shawnee Smith), the only victim to have survived both movies, has joined Jigsaw as his apprentice, leading the way through a terrifying game involving Lynn (Bahar Soomekh), a doctor in an unhappy marriage, and Jeff (Angus Macfadyen), a distraught man who is having trouble getting over the loss of his son (Stefan Georgiou) at the hands of a drunk driver. Amanda has captured Lynn and placed her in a neck brace that is linked to Jigsaw's heart monitor; she must keep Jigsaw alive or else the brace will explode. Meanwhile, Jeff is sent on a dangerous journey on which he faces all the people involved in the light penalty his boy's killer received--and it is up to him whether he will seek vengeance or offer forgiveness. Helmed by SAW II director Darren Lynn Bousman and written by original SAW screenwriter and star Leigh Whannell (with a story by Whannell and SAW director James Wan), SAW III is an intricately designed, gruesome thriller with a hard-driving soundtrack featuring songs by Slayer, Helmet, and All that Remains. [More]
Starring: Tobin Bell, Angus MacFadyen, Dina Meyer, Shawnee Smith
Starring: Tobin Bell, Angus MacFadyen, Dina Meyer, Shawnee Smith, Alan Van Sprang, Costas Mandylor, Barry Flatman, Lyriq Bent, Bahar Soomekh, Franky G, Donnie Wahlberg
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Screenwriter: Leigh Whannell
Story: James Wan
Producer: Gregg Hoffman, Oren Koules, Mark Burg
Composer: Charlie Clouser
Studio: Lions Gate Films
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Reviews for Saw III
not great filmmaking, but very profitable and a fun way to get some cheap Halloween thrills.
God or Jack Valenti only knows how this work of pure entertainment got an R rating 'for strong grisly violence and gore, sequences of terror and torture, nudity and language.'
...getting dangerously close to turning the mangled bloody body business into tedious and tripe titillation...the Jigsaw chaotic chronicles have run its corrosive course
This is a series that went back to what made it work so well... a game that you wouldn't want to play yourself, but you have to know how it ends.
Because of its efforts to make sense of the previous entries and even attempt an earnest parable about forgiveness, Saw III may be the best of the trilogy; hopefully, it'll encourage its makers to wrap the franchise on a relatively high note.
Saw III may not be the scariest, or most successful horror film ever made, but if you're looking for your pound of fright fan flesh, you'll get a nice craven corpse-full with this shockingly sick flick.
Even splatter-film buffs should be offended by this piece of nonsense: Not because it's so gross, but because it's so dumb.
The second Saw sequel develops the mythology of sadistic puppet-master Jigsaw in ambitious, gruesome but ultimately self-defeating ways.
All told, this is a more affecting study in grief, guilt and human frailty than Babel.
I get that the easy retort to analysis for a movie like this is that "critics don't get it," or, more to the point, "aren't supposed to like it," but Saw III is so sloppily overblown in its technique as to make the original movie, directed by James
Admit it: It's not every horror film that can make you feel preached at and slimed at the same time.
The faces on the mannequins at Penney's are more familiar than these actors. The entire cast might as well be dressed in gray and bicycling around Beijing.
The makers... demonstrate a genuine integrity for their series by reigning the story back in to its original core elements... Fans of Saw will not be disappointed.
The fact that it contrives to give its torture master the moral high ground (apparently he only tortures his victims for their own good) is possibly more perverse than any of its violence.
Latest News for Saw III
October 19, 2009:
See Saw with Alex, Day 3: Saw III
Set six months after Saw II, Jeff (Angus Macfayden) is bereaved with the loss of his son, killed by a drunk driver. He's kidnapped and put through a battery of tests, wandering... More...
November 09, 2007:
Ending Already Written for Saw V
The biggest thrills of the Saw movies are their surprise endings, which seem to keep audiences guessing even more than M. Night Shyamalan's latest creations. That's why the... More...
November 08, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Fred Claus is Coming to Town
Vince Vaughn and Tom Cruise go head to head at the North American box office this weekend with their latest releases. The dodgeball champ goes for holiday laughs with Fred Claus... More...
November 07, 2007:
Saw V Still On Track for 2008
Saw IV is the fourth Saw film in as many years. After reports that the Saw franchise would finally take a year off, producer Mark Burg countered that he's still aiming for... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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