Saw: The Final Chatper

SAW: THE FINAL CHAPTER (Blu-ray)
Lionsgate UK

Release date: March 7th, 2011
Certificate (UK): 15
Running time: 129 minutes

Director: Kevin Greutert
Writers: Marcus Dunstan, Patrick Melton

Cast: Tobin Bell, Cary Elwes, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Sean Patrick Flanery, Gina Holden, Noam Jenkins, Tanedra Howard, Shauna MacDonald, Chad Donella, Dean Armstrong, Naomi Snieckus

There’s no doubt in my mind that the Saw movies are solely accountable for the resurgence in a certain type of horror movies, dubbed “torture porn”, that became popular from the early 2000’s onwards.

As an off-shoot of the splatter film genre, the original Saw (2004) movie was quite unlike anything mainstream audiences had seen before. Here, the killer wasn’t a deformed outcast of society, a supernatural force or a crazed psycho, he was a methodical, rational (to an extent) man with a manifesto targeting those who squandered their lives and brought harm to others.

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) sought to teach others about the value of life through a series of tests. As each film progressed, these tests became more and more elaborate and the plot thickened like dry blood.

Saw: The Final Chapter picks up, as usual, with the events right after the previous one. Jigsaw’s widow, Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), is seen putting the reverse beer trap on her husband’s more-than-willing accomplice, Hoffman (Costas Mandylor). As Hoffman escapes, Jill goes to the police to try and bargain a deal with Detective Gibson (Chad Donella); information for protection.

Meanwhile, a group of survivors from Jigsaw’s previous tests form a support group. Among them is Bobby (Sean Patrick Flanery), who’s been making money from selling his story to the media, but there’s something off about him, and his team of PR people.

The Final Chapter also brings us back to a storyline that fans were just dying to see resolved; the fate of Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes). We last saw him at the end of the first movie and we’ve waited this long to find out how he fits into the puzzle, or jigsaw, if you pardon the pun.

With a new game set in motion, the police are working around the clock to try to prevent more deaths, but as usual, this consists of mostly scratching their heads and walking right into traps. As Hoffman ups the stakes he finds that the bigger picture is now much bigger than he imagined and both he and Amanda (Shawnee Smith) might not have been Jigsaw’s only apprentices.

It’s an ending you might have guessed a long time ago and there’s still a feeling that the franchise blew out all its steam a few films back with Saw III (2006). As a result, The Final Chapter, though heavy on traps, is light on plot development and uses it’s last few remaining loose ends to bring the story to a close without adding anything further.

While movies like Hostel (2005), Hatchet (2006), The Collector (2009) and The Human Centipede (2010) owe much of their success to the Saw series, we have to ask if it’s really over. After all, The Final Destination (2009), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) and Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993) all proclaimed the end was nigh but further sequels followed.

As long as there are horror icons, there’ll always be a way to resurrect them so I’m sure we haven’t seen the last trap yet.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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