Customer Reviews

Saw II - Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition)

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(73)
3 star:		(47)
2 star:		(32)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

The diabolic Jigsaw is back in the follow up to the smash "Saw" which came out of nowhere to become one of the biggest grossing horror films of all time. Not content to rest on the mayhem he created in the first film, Jigsaw is back kidnapping those he deems unworthy of life, and forcing them to earn their lives back in a series of brutal and bizarre games, where death is all to often the result.
The sequel picks up shortly after the events of the first film where Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is investigating yet another victim. The fact that the victim is missing a puzzle shaped piece of skin leaves no doubt as to who is behind this killing, and Matthews and his task force set up their efforts to stop the killer before he can strike again.
A sudden inspiration leads Matthews and his team to a factory where they soon discover Jigsaw amongst all of his toys and traps. The frail Jigsaw is dying from a terminal illness, and he reveals to Matthews that he has a game underway, one where a group of people are trapped in a remote house filled with traps that are also filling up with a deadly gas. Only those who can survive the traps and decipher the clues will be able to locate the antidotes and survive the mayhem.
Matthews is even more determined to find the locale of the house as his son is one of the individuals trapped inside slowly dying from the poison. Matthews and his team can see what is happening in the house via a video monitor and while the team attempts to determine the location and save the individuals, Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), plays a dangerous game with Matthews as he attempts to interrogate him for information.
The film moves back and forth from the interrogation to the individuals trapped in the house and keeps the tension going. While not as claustrophobic or as gory as the original, "Saw 2"
benefits from an interesting premise and a rousing finale that sets the stages for the pending "Saw 3". Some may find a bit of issue with the pacing as it does not contain as the tension and scares are scarcer than they are in the first release.
Solid performances throughout makes "Saw 2" a cut above most horror films and is not to be missed by fans of the original.
Bonus Materials Include
Commentary with director Darren Lynn Bousman, Donnie Wahlberg and Beverley Mitchell
Jigsaw's Game Making-of Featurette
Bits and Pieces: The Props of Saw II
Bits and Pieces: The Traps of Saw II
Featurettes
Storyboards
4 stars out of 5
Gareth Von Kallenbach

The film has shock value, suspense, gore and realism. I didn't have very high expectations for this film thinking it would be a typical slasher flick, but it really surprised me. I haven't been watching many horror films lately. Maybe there are quite a few good ones being made. Saw II definately delivers.

The film's plot has nothing to do with saws and I have not seen Saw I. Any horror film that gets me thinking is a good film and well worth the price of rental or maybe even purchasing for horror film enthusiasts. The main thing I got out of the film is that we all tend to conjure up our own realities and this can make or break us.

I'm anxiously awaiting the DVD release of Saw II. I saw it (pardon the pun) with some friends of mine and all of us could agree that it was just as awesome as, if not slightly better, than the first one. If you thought Saw was a great horror movie, then don't miss Saw II. Just like in the first one, expect twists and turns and plenty of gore. I don't want to give away too much information, but seriously, if you truly enjoyed Saw, then Saw II will not disappoint! See Saw II!

After watching the incredible SAW that graced our screens last year - it was a given that I would see the MUCH ANTICIPATED sequel.
This film seems to have more of a story-line than the original... JIG-SAW is at it again and this time locks up 8 people inside an abandoned, creepy old house. They are trapped in the building and a lethal gas has been pumped into the house for a while. They have exactly 2 hours to each, find a room marked for their attention, crack the game needed to be played and won and inject the antidote into their systems. They also have the option to play each game a little "further and harder" in order to find a 2nd Antidote : perhaps for a friend they have made amongst the 8 strangers. Inevitably, going for the 2nd one - may end in death.
To add an incredible dimension to the story, DONNIE WAHLBERG, who plays a cop in the film : catches JIG-SAW at the start of the film and then finds out that JIG-SAW has his son in he house. The race against time plays out awesomely in the film, as does the films running time and the fact that each and every character in the house is running closer to death from the lethal gas.
DONNIE WALHBERG is awesome, as is the cast of basic unknows. TOBIN BELL (JIGSAW) is incredibly creepy.
And finally : if you thought the original ending came at BREAK-NECK-SPEED... this one is going to hit you LIKE A SACK OF BRICKS TRAVELLING AT MACH 1...
As is the basic rule for sequels : THE BODY COUNT IS ALWAYS MUCH HIGHER... THE DEATH SCENES ARE ALWAYS MORE ELABORATE AND OH YES... THERE WILL BE BLOOD!!!

I went to go see this movie in theaters the night it came out because I thought that the first Saw was really good. I was just hoping that the directors, writers, and producers were not just putting out some crap sequal so that people would see it. (You know, one with no plot, bad acting, and that is very predictible) However I was very, very, very pleased with this sequal. I enjoyed this movie just as much (if not more) than the origional. (And with all of the sequals that I've seen I have never been able to say that before) I felt as if the plot was pretty average (parents get divorced, the kid turns into a punk because of it, and he and his dad fight over it) However, as the story goes along, I realised something. In all of the movies that I have seen with that sort of storyline, this one was VERY different. So the plot gets an A+ in my book even though it is not that origional. Now what is origional is all of the twists and turns that the storyline actually go through. The ending totally blew my mind. I had no idea that was going to happen. (Don't worry I wont spoil it) Now some people are saying on here that this movie did not live up to the first one. I could not disagree more. If you were to take all of the acting, twists, gore, and even the death traps, then multiply them by 100 this is exactally what you would get. Plus, I mean how many horror movies have you seen that were this thought out? I say that because about 99.9% of horror movies that have been released recentaly have been just crap. Most of which I went to go see in theaters, and felt as if I had got screwed out of the money that I used to pay for the ticket. Mostly due to the fact that either the commercial was very diceiving, bad acting, or it was just some stupid college movie slasher. Either that or I felt like I could have crapped out a better idea for a movie. (Officially known as that turd of a movie titled "Hostle") Anyway, what I am trying to say is that for a horror movie (or for any type of movie out there) this movie has it all. Great acting, great storyline, great gore special effects, awesome villian, and one of the best endings I have ever seen in my life and in any movie. So, go out on February 14 (unless they change the date that has been anounced) and buy this DVD!!! I greatly recommend it and you will not be disappointed!

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is back! this time he traps a helpless group of several people people (Shawnee Smith, Erik Knudsen, Tim Burd, Franky G, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Glenn Plummer, Tony Nappo) in a booby-trapped filled house conducted by Jigsaw and his sick twisted ideas. Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) discovers Jigsaw himself for he must play the game if his son and the other victims can survive.

Enjoyable and fairly grisly sequel to the suprise instant new horror classic "Saw" has writer-and-director James Wan as executive producer. The acting is good in some places but there is some more memorable moments of torture and gore such as the now infamous cringe-inducing "Pit of Syringes" and the gunblast to the eyeball boobie trap, though nowhere as great as the original this is still a fairly watchable and violent sequel.

This unrated uncut 2-Disc DVD set contains the alternate unrated cut not shown in theaters with excellent extras like two audio commentaries, theatrical trailer, a fun "Play Me" set top navigation game much like the one on the "Nightmare on Elm Street" boxset, The making of "Saw II" multi-featurette, "Zombie" a short student film from the director of this movie, and "The story behind the story" multi-featurette.

I really liked the first Saw. It was inventive and suspenseful. This one simply stank. I'm no genius by any stretch, but the 'twists' and 'clues' are so obvious. They were obvious from the FIRST movie!

The movie leaves behind suspense and relies on red corn syrup and jerky camera movement for the scares. Hey, that's cool, but that is not what the first one relied on. And the acting? Well, with such absurd writing, I can't blame them, for failing to look scared or even stay awake (that seventh heaven girl looked as bored as I did, but as least she got to sleep!). And that opening scene...that guy CAN'T ACT!

For what it's worth, if you find absurd blood and alpha male being all mean scary, then you may find this interesting. At least, they avoided some perverse sex/violence scene.

What's worse, is when you watch the extras you learn the writers buy into this absurd notion of torturing people to make them enjoy life. Sure, we don't appreciate life, blah, blah, blah. (It's as cliched as a Japanese horror movie with a creepy girl in some water)

All I know is if I tortured several dozen people to get them to enjoy life, but killed all of them, then I'd make the stupid traps just a bit easier!

Jigsaw is at it again in this sequel to the do-you-appreciate-your-life saga. Five people are trapped in a house with no way out. There is toxic fumes coming out of the vents, and these fumes are slowly killing the victims. The antidote is around the house somewhere. Like in the first movie, we find out a little something about each person there. Meanwhile, a detective is looking for his son, who is in the house with the other four.

This is bloodier than the first. Is it better? Maybe. The ending will shock you as it did me. From the sounds of it, there's going to be a Saw 3.

Watch Saw 2 and judge for yourself. I, personally, thought it was just ok.

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Cast: Donnie Wahlberg, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Dina Meyer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Beverly Mitchell, Erik Knudsen.
Running Time: 93 minutes
Rated R for grisly violence and gore, terror, language and drug content.

Sequels, with a few exceptions, have a tendency to be very bad. In the wake of all this being let down by them, many critics were initially unimpressed with the idea of a clever little horror film like "Saw" to have a sequel. It seemed like too much of a way to cash in a successful revenue and good reception of the original and while this one isn't as good it is a formidable continuation. "Saw II" does everything wrong that the first film did right. First of all, this film tells the story of a group of eight random people inside one of Jigsaw's "Fun houses", if you will, with a dangerous nerve gas slowly creeping into their systems. They only have 3 hours to find a way out, or they all die. Now, what made the first film great is that it built tension and suspense on the fact that everything was a mystery. The two men locked inside of a bathroom had no more of an idea of what was going on than the people watching the film. As the film went on, there was a little more information leaked, a little more progression with each minute that ticked by. And the fact that there were only two people instead of eight made it easier to know the characters, know why they were doing what they were doing, etc. Instead, "Saw II" is just basically a glorified theatrical version of "Survivor" with blood, guts, and gore.

The first film also didn't reveal much of the surrounding environments outside of the bathroom. That's what made it scary; you didn't know who or what was watching them, why they were in there, or even if there was any hope that they would get out. In Saw II, a police team actually captures jigsaw (Tobin Bell), and throughout the film, there are cuts to detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg), who must investigate the crime scene in order to save his own son, who happens to be trapped with the several others at the unknown location, about to be killed by the deathly gas. Everything is just so silly when compared to the first film. It's like Leigh Whannel completely let his film go the way of "quick cash-in", and if he had a little more input on this film, I think it could have been much better. Saw II does do some things right, such as the way people die and nailing the violence factor right on the head. There is plenty of gore in this film, and some of the twisted things the people have to do are pretty insane (seeing a girl crawl around in a pool of syringes is terrifying). But, the violence isn't handled well. Violence isn't something that is supposed to be there just to be there. It should have a purpose (such as scaring audiences!). What director Darren Lynn Bousman and screenwriter Leigh Whannell (who wrote the first "Saw") attempt to do is create a scenario similar to the excellent "The Cube" and create a villain as menacing as Jon Doe in "Seven"; however, they fail to do either and "Saw II", despite its redeeming qualities, becomes an overly grisly, horrifically gory tale that isn't all that surprising or entertaining.

Like everyone else who liked Saw, I was looking forward to the sequel continuing on the legacy of clever traps, tension and gore that made the first in the series so enjoyable. Instead, it looks like the script writer bit off more than he could chew and the overall feel of the movie became contrived and, at times, laughable.

The whole movie would have benefitted from a reduction of about half of the cast. It was obvious they were intended to be nothing more than bait, but there were way too many times I would watch a character blithely wander along into a trap when just one second of thought would have been enough to figure out how to avoid it. Clearly, the writer was more concerned about showing off props instead of making sure that the characters were at least slightly believable. Luckily enough the traps were interesting and I could still find something to make me keep going to the end.

The plot ending was similarly weak. I had it figured out halfway through the movie when only a few characters didn't seem to be feeling the effects of the gas (not to mention that a serial killer who was presumably pushing around safes and hauling heavy equipment could barely hold up an empty plastic cup). The ending was neither scary nor interesting, just a cheap and very corporate segue to the next movie in the series. If Saw II flowed more naturally, or had at least some attempt at characterization, maybe the whole thing could have been more natural and rewarding.

It wasn't all bad here. Donnie's performance as a cop was shallow but honestly given. I was looking for a little more detective work, but I had no other real complaints considering the movie genre. Jigsaw was fine as a cinematic serial killer, and at least his philosophy never really changed.

As mentioned before the traps and the sets were cool and salvaged what was left of the tense atmosphere. The first Saw broke up the trap sections by using the Pig's head character for some old-fashioned suspense. Adding scenes like these to Saw II to vary things a little would have taken some of the burden off of the traps, making them more of a great addition to the movie instead of its only saving grace.

Maybe I was watching this with expectations too high? I don't think so, the movie just never delivered. Here's hoping for a better outing in Saw III.