Product Details

• Actors: Donnie Wahlberg, Beverley Mitchell, Franky G, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Tobin Bell
• Directors: Darren Lynn Bousman
• Writers: Darren Lynn Bousman, Leigh Whannell
• Producers: Daniel J. Heffner, Greg Copeland, Gregg Hoffman, James Wan, Jason Constantine
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NC-17
• Studio: Lions Gate Films
• DVD Release Date: February 14, 2006
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (268 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000CRR31U
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,302 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Saw II (Widescreen Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 2 in The Saw Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Saw II brings back many features of the original Saw: elaborate sadistic scenarios designed to "test" the victims' will to live; Tobin Bell as the Machiavellian (yet doomed) serial killer Jigsaw; Shawnee Smith as Amanda, a survivor of one of Jigsaw's "games", forced to play again; Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers), whose role as a detective is considerably expanded; and the stunningly godawful dialogue of screenwriter Leigh Whannel. The set-up this time is even more preposterous than before, as a rough-and-tumble cop named Eric (Donnie Whalberg, Band of Brothers) watches, on video monitors, his son trapped in a house filled with nerve gas and a handful of other victims, all of whom are mysteriously connected. Eric has captured Jigsaw, but the implacable killer refuses to reveal where the cop's son is being held... unless Eric will play by Jigsaw's rules. Fans of Saw will love Saw II, as the tortures are more gruesome than before; viewers who found Saw either detestable or laughable won't like Saw II either, as the characters rarely behave like actual people (even when a moment's explanation would solve a conflict, no one bothers to communicate, even though their lives are on the line). It's a festival of body fluids, agonized grimaces, and shrieks of pain--and if that's your thing, this is your movie. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

JIGSAW IS BACK! THE BRILLIANT DISTURBED MASTERMIND WHO WREAKEDHAVOC ON HIS VICTIMS IN 2004'S SAW IS BACK FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF HORRIFYING LIFE OR DEATH GAMES. DVD FEATURES AUDIO COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR AND ACTORS, THE PROPS OF SAW 2, AND DECONSTRUCTING JIGSAWS TRAPS!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid follow up to the horror classic., January 31, 2006

By	Gareth Mc Bride (Lynnwood, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than the first, October 29, 2005

By	hi - See all my reviews

Better than the first. Now, that's something rare in movies and was highly unlikely to me that this movie could surpass the excellent first one. Saw II is one hell of a good movie with everything clicking right. The acting is solid notably the guy who played Jigsaw. If you watched the first one and liked it, then stop reading this right now and go watch it.
This movie still has the same twists the first one did notably another great one at the end. The end sure is unpredictable and will continue this Saw franchise.
Saw II opens with a guy being trapped and receiving orders from Jigsaw. Everything goes wrong for him and he gets his face smashed. Detective Matthews is on the case. He has an argument with his son and his son runs off. Guess what. They find Jigsaw..he's still the old guy and he has cancer and is breathing on a respirator. But wait..there's something else. Inside the room they find Jigsaw, there's 4 or 5 tvs and on them..it's not pretty. There are 8 people stranded in a room. One of them is Matthew's son. They have been given a toxic gas that will kill them if they don't get an antidote.
What happens next is one hell of a good and really suspensful movie. Believe me, there are some serious gross out moments like in the first one.
The movie's cleverness and geniune creepiness comes from Jigsaw though. All that he says makes perfect sense. He makes a serious point witch is very creepy. He's like John Doe in Seven, all that he says makes sense. He says that he is only putting people in this position because they don't cherish life which is the truth. The drug dealers, the suicidal people, all of them..But if you're placed in Jigsaw's position where they tell him he's going to die, then he starts to view life differently..starts to cherish it. Every glass of water, everything. And that is what makes the movie so fascinating because you see why Jigsaw became what he is and why he's doing it. This adds to the creepiness of the movie. The huge twist given in the movie is fascinating and the twisted irony at the end is brilliant. Just pay attention to everything Jigsaw says and in the end you'll see. All he wants is for detective Matthews to listen..so remember that.
Saw II is one of the best movies of the year and I'm not talking about stupid horror like the texas chainsaw massacre. This movie is unforgettable and I will definitely watch it again. A complete must see...Saw II is a success, even comparable to the silence of the lambs and red dragon. Now that's something to say and besides the acting which is better in the silence of the lambs (by far), I think this movie is better. Now that's unbelievable. Saw II is a piece of genius..watch it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It is game over when you go to see "Saw II", October 28, 2005

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

I was not originally planning to see "Saw II" in the theater. "Saw" was the last horror film I made a point of going to see instead of just waiting for the DVD, but that was on the strength of strong reviews and since "Saw II" just opened today the critical and public verdicts have yet to be determined. But then I saw the trailer and discovered that Beverly Mitchell was in the cast and that tipped the scale towards going to the first showing on the first day, because the possibility of seeing Lucy Camden Kinkirk die a horrible death in a splatter flick appeals to me (the character drives me up the wall). I know lots of people went to go see "House of Wax" just to watch Paris Hilton die on screen, so it is not like I am the only sick person on the planet.

It goes without saying that your enjoyment of "Saw II" is predicated entirely on your having seen the original. There is not a recap per se, but we begin with a reminder of exactly the sort of games that Jigsaw plays. Then we are introduced to Detective Eric Mason (Donnie Wahlberg), who is brought in on the case because Jigsaw has left him a message. Mason is one of those world-weary cops who has enough personal and professional problems without having a psycho killer playing mind games with him, so he does not want to play. But of course Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) forces the issue as once again there are games within games within games.

So, while Jigsaw is playing his little game with the police, on the monitors we see the interiors of a house when Jigsaw has trapped a group of people like rats. I do not need to get ahead of the movie in terms of introducing the characters beyond pointing out that we already know two of them. One is Daniel (Erik Knudsen), who is Marsh's son, and the other is Amanda (Shawnee Smith), who has the distinction of being the only person ever to have survived one of Jigsaw's little games. The game this time has two parts. The first is that they are all breathing a toxic gas. A door to the outside will open in three hours, but unless they get to an antidote they will all be dead within two ("There will be blood," Jigsaw promises). The second part of the game is that each person in the house will get to play their own little personal game in an effort to get their hands on the antidote.

If you are expecting everybody to take turns playing their own personal game, then you are going to be disappointed, because that possibility disappears before they even get out of the first room. With more than two characters playing the game we certainly do not get to know any of them as well as we did last time. Still, "Saw II" plays off of the original, which is exactly what you want it to do, and one of the strengths of this film is how it finds a new way to do old things in a new way, which is also what you want it to do. Unlike most contemporary horror films (e.g., "Jeepers Creepers"), this one has a better payoff than a set up. At least that is what I was thinking when I was sitting in the dark watching the end credits. So while I do not think many people will find "Saw II" superior to the original, I also think most people will not be as disappointed watching "Saw II" as they usually are when they watch a sequel to a horror film they liked.

Director Darren Lynn Bousman ("Butterfly Dreams," "Identity Lost") co-wrote the script with Leigh Whannell, who came up with the original story for "Saw" and wrote the screenplay with director James Wan, and I have a complaint in that the director undercuts the writers and actors at key moments. Take the opening sequence, where within a minute of the movie starting they have come up with a situation where you want to close your eyes rather than see what is happening on screen. But just when you are about to close your eyes and keep them shut, editor Kevin Greutert goes into overdrive and we are at the other end of the spectrum where things are flashing by so quickly you cannot tell what you are seeing. That strikes me as rather counterproductive for this type of a movie and is the reason I ended up rounding down on this one (and not because of what does or does not happen to Mitchell's character). Despite that, "Saw II" should deliver the goods this Hallowee weekend, which is just what horror fans need to hear.