Saw 2 - and the point is?

It's quite a long time since 'Saw' came out, but I saw 'Saw 2' the other day and this has prompted me to write a little about this series.

I watched the original Saw film when it was first released in cinemas in 2004, I went up to Nottingham's Showcase (not the world's nicest cinema) with a horror fan chum of mine and we enjoyed every moment. This is not to say that Saw is some kind of horror genre masterpiece - far from it. There is a fair chunk of turgid dialogue and the fast / slow sequences when icky things are happening are a bit annoying, but the overall sense is of true dread. The film opens with two characters being trapped in a dingy bathroom with a tape telling them that they must each commit a debasing act of terrifying violence in order get out alive - from this start point some wickedly disturbing horror takes place.

The claustrophobic setting and the slow revelation of the sick horror of their captor builds the tension up to a wonderful and totally unpredictable twist; a twist which still makes me grin at its audacity.

Such was my enjoyment of this innovative new horror film, that when Saw 2 was released to a rousing cacophony of criticism I decided to avoid it. Why would I want my happy memories of Saw's tension and terror ripped away by this sequel? As further instalments appeared it only increased my desire not to watch them, this was turning into some kind of Franchise which was only being made to serve a tedious corner of the teen horror fanboy market. Surely the sequels be unable to capture the aspects of the first which made it great, I wanted nothing to do with it.

Finally though, just last week, I gave in and watched Saw 2. This time, rather than two men in a bathroom, we are (eventually) presented with a group of misfits stuck in a house. They are slowly being poisoned and must search for antidotes or else die before the house unlocks itself in a couple of hours. Rather than generating suspense, this set up seems to exist only to create a series of increasingly ludicrous and unlikely set-pieces in which one of the characters will be killed. All while this is going on a seriously unlikable detective and his equally unrealistic police team are trying to solve the case by giving the killer (Jigsaw) everything he wants (why?!).

Where Saw glossed over its editorial and script flaws by creating a genuinely terrifying atmosphere, Saw 2 just tries to be as gory as possible. There are so many plot holes, impossible contrivances and character flaws in this sequel that I stopped being able to take the plot seriously. The film ends with a 'twist' which made me think "oh, is that it then?". Thankfully it's only 80 minutes long, but even that shouldn't make you watch it. How I resisted watching parts on fast forward I have no idea.

Will I be watching Saw 3? Well a friend of mine who is well into the series agrees that 2 is crap, but insists that 3 is a huge improvement. So against my better judgement it's on my LoveFilm list. We shall see.