...is supposed to jar you, but here's the funny thing about 90 minutes of bludgeoning and bloodletting: It usually just leaves me numb.
Saw II (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:113
Fresh:40
Rotten:73
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: Saw II is likely to please the gore-happy fans of the original, though it may be too gruesome for those not familiar with first film's premise.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for grisly violence and gore, terror, language and drug content
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:Oct 28, 2005 Wide
Box Office: $87,025,093
Synopsis: In SAW, a huge horror hit in 2004, a masked man called Jigsaw orchestrated the kidnapping of two people, chained them in a disgusting bathroom in an abandoned warehouse, and played vicious, brutal... In SAW, a huge horror hit in 2004, a masked man called Jigsaw orchestrated the kidnapping of two people, chained them in a disgusting bathroom in an abandoned warehouse, and played vicious, brutal mind games with them that potentially could lead to their freedom. Jigsaw is back for more gory fun in SAW II, but this time he comes out from behind the mask to terrorize a troubled cop face-to-face. Tobin Bell reprises his brief role as Jigsaw in the first film with a major starring turn in the sequel. Dying of cancer, Jigsaw lets himself get caught, only to show Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) that his son, Daniel (Erik Knudsen), has been taken hostage with seven other people, all of whom have been placed in a house of horrors with only the slimmest chance of escaping with their lives. Jigsaw promises Matthews that Daniel will live only if the cop follows the rules of the game, but time is running out, as the captives' bodies have been poisoned with a toxin that will soon destroy them. Meanwhile, in the dank, mysterious, booby-trapped house, the ever-more-desperate group of people (including Shawnee Smith, who is back as Amanda, the lone survivor of SAW) furiously try to find their connection to each other and a way out, but blood and violence lie in their path. Like its predecessor, SAW II is a frightening thriller filled with plenty of tricks and treats to satisfy even the most jaded horror fan. [More]
Starring: Tony Nappo, Shawnee Smith, Franky G, Beverley Mitchell
Starring: Tony Nappo, Shawnee Smith, Franky G, Beverley Mitchell, Tim Burd, Glenn Plummer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Erik Knudsen, Tobin Bell, Lyriq Bent, Donnie Wahlberg, Dina Meyer
Director: Darren Lynn Bausman
Director: Darren Lynn Bausman
Screenwriter: Darren Lynn Bausman, Leigh Whannell
Producer: Gregg Hoffman, Mark Burg
Composer: Charlie Clouser
Studio: Lions Gate Films
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Reviews for Saw II
[T]he earnest message-ification... vies with the meaningless and sadistic violence as the most stomach-turning aspect of the flick.
... the bad news is that there’s less (Jigsaw) innovation… the good news is there’s no crying Cary Elwes.
An ugly, joyless horror movie that deserves to be tossed into the business end of 1988's "Woodchipper Massacre."
The rare sequel that improves upon its predecessor, Saw II is an exploitation flick with style and skill to go along with its stream of red stuff.
In 'Saw II,' both the cops and the victims are so dim the whole elaborate exercise hardly seems worthwhile.
Unable to deliver the single novel concept or unexpected surprise that might justify its existence.
By referencing horror masters Dario Argento and Wes Craven, the film invites comparison to much better movies, [with] none of Argento's style or Craven's savagely sardonic of sense of humor.
Quite possibly Saw II sheds enough blood to satisfy horror aficionados.
The problem with the big game is that it doesn’t have that same fear factor – a deadly gas? (You can’t see any impending doom, except for a couple of phlegmy coughs).
The second Saw isn't as accomplished or precise as the first, but it's well worth watching because, in an era when most movies are forgotten before the popcorn is digested, it makes you feel something.
As it was in the first Saw, audiences are faced with insane leaps in logic that sabotage the last part of the film.
The film's one-note dialogue, insufferable characters and lack of scares make Saw II just a tedious exercise in explicit violence.
Saw II only has one ambition -- to make us squirm. And it does. Just don't be surprised if you need to switch to an electric razor after this.
An unapologetic exercise in nastiness, with lots of scenes guaranteed to truly gross out and freak out the audience in equal measure.
Saw II -- better-acted than its predecessor, which isn't saying much -- is so gratuitously, sadistically violent, and to such little end, that it finally falls over dead on the far side of obscene.
Latest News for Saw II
October 16, 2009:
See Saw with Alex, Day 2: Saw II
Fear, I think, is one of the essential components of movie watching that almost completely disappears as we grow older. When was the last time you sat down for a movie truly... 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 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...
November 01, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Bees and Gangsters Slug It Out For #1 Spot
Following a sluggish fall season, November kicks off with a bang this weekend with two high profile films both reaching for the number one spot while appealing to vastly... More...
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