I consider myself to have a pretty strong stomach. I am one of those people who loves the general 'horror genre' concept...and I am all for 'realism' and effective 'shocks' in film-making.
But I am afraid to say that, for my taste at least, the SAW series of movies, especially this one, go way too far down the gore-fest highway.
I felt physically sick within twenty minutes of this movie. Maybe this was the intention of the director, but frankly it just detracted from the storyline itself...which then in turn ruined the whole movie.
The actual storyline itself was 'OK', somewhat unbelievable, but hey, aren't they all?! That's why we love most of 'em!
I was unimpressed by the standard of acting, in general. It was again 'OK', but nothing special...considering the money they must have spent of special effects, it hardly did them justice.
The whole thing was rather like being transported to some sick, Victorian experimental hospital. The storyline, as I said, became blurred and irrelevant. The amount and degree of 'gore' was actually totally unnecessary. It was lazy film-making, a lack of thought and an attitude of: 'oh well, all they want is a bit of gore, we don't need to worry about whether they understand the plot or not.'
In other words, the film maker showed an utterly patronising attitude towards the viewer. I don't care much for film makers that do this.
I will not be indulging in any more SAW fests anytime soon.
MARK C EDWARDS.