Seven years after the final curtain was pulled, JIGSAW sees the return of a Halloween favourite and hopeful reignition of the success the series has garnered. While absence makes the heart grow fonder, the likes of RINGS and FLATLINERS has proven that some things are better left in the past.

 

Picking up exactly 7 years after the events of SAW: THE FINAL CHAPTER, 10 years after the death of the Jigsaw killer in the events of SAW III, a number of deaths indicate that the trademark style of John Kramer is present and that the bodies filling up the morgue show signs that this is not a copycat and that this is truly the return of Kramer.

 

With a new detective on the case, Detective Halloran (Callum Keith Rennie) and morticians Eleanor (Hannah Emily Anderson) and Logan (Matt Passmore) share more in common with the Jigsaw killer than first appears and in true SAW fashion, nothing is as it seems.

 

Unlike some of the franchises more mediocre sequels, JIGSAW puts the story at the centre and the traps, while still as vicious, to the side-lines. While it’s never clear as to what is going on and the first half feels like treading old territory, the pieces to the puzzle all become apparent and when the notes of Charlie Clouser’s now famous theme begin to ripple in the background, the hairs on your neck will rise in the realisation of what has just unfolded.

 

JIGSAW falls short of bringing any evolutionary death traps and while the originality of some feels somewhat far fetched, they also feel tame in comparison to some of the more imaginatively crafted designs the series is known for. Sharing elements of the group survival ethos of previous films, JIGSAW is an amalgamation of the best of the series that eels more of a natural flowing sequel to the original trilogy than the eighth part of the series and for a film that is now in its 13th year, there is no sign of it ending here.

 

As with all of its predecessors, there’s blood, there’s revelation and more twists than a Chinese burn and while it won’t necessarily win over negators of the franchise, those who’ve missed the voice of Tobin Bell narrate Halloween will have a welcome return to one of the series strongest entries and one that leaves with the want of more. While there are obvious cameo appearances, a strong connection to the ongoing John Kramer story is as strong eight films on as it was in the original movie. Interestingly, as a new starting point to the series there’s a small detail that seems strangely missing and for those who’ve seen SAW: THE FINAL CHAPTER, the closing scenes of that seem somewhat ignored but here’s hoping that it all ties together in traditional SAW fashion and is more of a purposeful omission than one of bad continuity. As far as sequels go, JIGSAW is near perfection. Forget everything that came before; the games have just begun.