Movie Review: Saw VI (2009)

Patrick J Mullen
Sep 5, 2018 · 4 min read

Saw VI strangely tries to make political commentary, and it’s as sloppy and unsubtle as you’d expect from a Saw sequel. As usual, the movie’s reasonably entertaining, but not really any good.

In the main trap/game plot, a health insurance executive, William (Peter Outerbridge), has to go through a bunch of tests to save people and eventually get to his family. It doesn’t play out exactly as you’d expect, of course, but there are some good moments here with the traps.

The shotgun carousel sequence is pretty great and probably the highlight of the film. Even though it does guarantee four people die, which conflicts with everything Jigsaw ever stood for. I guess it’s not designed by Jigsaw at this point, but they’ve pulled so many gimmicky tricks with the continuity, that it’s honestly hard to tell.

Anyways, the scene is well done. It’s shot well and the acting is some of the strongest of the series.

With the cop plot, it’s really just a lot of Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) tying up loose ends. Apparently Agent Perez is still alive, and it’s not really that clear for a while if she suspects Hoffman as Jigsaw’s accomplice for a while, but enough suspicious things have been found out that he basically just murders the entire police department, including Perez.

I admit it’s something different in the series to see someone just go on a killing spree, but it doesn’t really feel like Saw. And to be honest, I’m not sure why I don’t like it, I guess. What makes a Saw movie a Saw movie is all the traps and pseudo-philosophical bullshit. But that is precisely all bullshit, so I guess it’s refreshing to see this. And Hoffman started as a murderer even by John Kramer’s nonsensical logic, so it sort of makes sense that if anyone is going to do that, it’d be him. Still, it’s weird.

We get a lot of flashbacks in this movie of course, to see Hoffman working with Amanda working with Jigsaw. We get a lof gaps filled in that don’t need to be filled in — like who gave Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) the key that she used to unlock the box that John Kramer gave to her in his will. The one gap that seems like it needed filling in was the whole business with the note that Amanda read back in Saw III. That was apparently something that Hoffman gave her as blackmail for her having something to do with John Kramer’s unborn baby’s death. Amanda needed drugs and that’s why Cecil ended up slamming the door against a pregnant Jill.

Anyways the note mentions that Hoffman would tell John Kramer about that unless she killed the doctor that was helping keep John Kramer alive, knowing that the whole thing was a test for her, and that she’d probably die as a result.

This is all introduced a few movies later because now Jill knows all about it. While the whole trap plot is resolving itself (if it can be called that), Jill incapacitates Hoffman and puts the reverse bear trap on him.

Apparently it was in John Kramer’s will that Hoffman be tested this way. We’re not really sure why. But whatever — the most iconic trap of the series is back! The movie ends with him pulling off an amazing move to survive it despite it going off.

Overall, this movie has a few things going for it. It’s got good creative gore and the traps are as fun as ever. Unfortunately, though, everything going on with the Jigsaw accomplices/apprentices is pretty uninspired. There’s just not a lot of drama there, and definitely some of that has to do with how horrible Betsy Russell is in all of these movies.

Rating: 3/10

As Vast as Space and as Timeless as Infinity

This blog will be dedicated primarily to horror and sci-fi media, chiefly film and television.

Patrick J Mullen

Written by

As Vast as Space and as Timeless as Infinity

This blog will be dedicated primarily to horror and sci-fi media, chiefly film and television.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade