Seven years after Saw stopped being a Halloween mainstay, Jigsaw arrives to remind us why we loved John Kramer's twisted games.
Grisly, deviously twisted and wince-inducing, Jigsaw plays like a greatest hits of the Saw series, blended up to - if not a series high - then certainly a return to form after the weak Saw 3D.
Its biggest strength is that it successfully plays as both a soft reboot of the franchise and as a satisfying continuation for fans. While certain reveals will have more impact with prior knowledge, you don't need to go rushing to watch (or rewatch) all seven previous movies.
Whether you've met John before or not, Jigsaw is a bloody good time this Halloween for anyone with a strong stomach.
Set ten years after John's death at the end of Saw III, Jigsaw finds the police baffled by a series of corpses showing up over the city, all with the telltale missing jigsaw piece of flesh.
As the police chase a seemingly dead man, a new game has begun with five unfortunate souls waking up with buckets on their head and chains round their neck, leading them towards deadly buzzsaws. In order to survive a series of gruesome tests, they must figure out what sins they have committed that have drawn them to the killer's attention.
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For a movie that is faithful to the spirit of Saw, it doesn't exactly start well. Eschewing the traditional pre-title test that usually becomes relevant later on, Jigsaw instead opens with a bland car chase that introduces us to Detective Halloran (Callum Keith Rennie). Stylistically, it's a sign of things to come, with Jigsaw shot and edited without the frenetic energy and grimy feel of the previous movies, more in line with Saw 3D's cleaner look.
Fortunately, that's where the comparison ends as we're quickly thrown into the central game and onto familiar ground. Barring one involving a motorcycle, the tests are more in line with the stripped-back and effectively simple ones of earlier movies. Morally, they're more interesting too, with the highlight being a tense sequence where one character must decide to save his own leg or two of his unwilling teammates. Add in the deliciously OTT final trap – up there with the best of the franchise – and you have Saw in its finest gory glory.
As with other Saw outings, the procedural side of things is a bit duller, even if it is livened up by Hannah Emily Anderson's enticing performance as assistant medical examiner Eleanor, who seems to have an obsession with Jigsaw and his work. Mostly though, Detective Halloran and medical examiner Logan Nelson (Matt Passmore) are left looking at corpses, which is just as exciting as it sounds. The two strands do come together nicely though as we head into the climax and closer to the arrival of that classic Saw jingle.
Given that it liberally borrows from Saw's past, hardcore fans of the series might find it feeling a bit too familiar, especially when the movie plays its final hand with echoes of previous outings. Jigsaw still has an ingenious trick up its sleeve though as its intricate plotting accelerates and apparent plotholes are filled in, meaning you'll be desperate for a rewatch to see where the pieces fit.
John Kramer may or may not still be alive, but Jigsaw proves that there's still life in this horror franchise yet.
Directors: Peter Spierig, Michael Spierig; Screenplay: Pete Goldfinger, Josh Stolberg; Starring: Laura Vandervoort, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie, Hannah Emily Anderson, Matt Passmore, Brittany Allen; Running time: 92 minutes; Certificate: 18
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
