Saw 3D has been advertised as the last installment of the "Saw" series, and let's hope that is true. This last installment is as gory, nauseating, and horrific as a movie can be. What happened to the X rating? Did it expire and no one told me? If any movie deserves that rating it is this film. Violence can be just as pornographic as sex and this film glorifies violence to the extreme.
It should also be noted that much of the violence in this movie is directed at women. They are victimized time and time again, and in most of the cases they are depending on a man to save them. It would have been nice to see them fight their way free by themselves.
The plot concerns a series of violent acts committed by a cop named Hoffman (Costas Mandylor). He is continuing the evil work of a man named Jigsaw (Tobin Bell). The latest crimes involve the torture of Bobby (Sean Patrick Flanery), a man who claims to have survived the traps of Jigsaw in the past.
In a movie such as this one the plot doesn't matter. It is only used as a bit of glue to hold the scenes of violence together. The movie starts off with a sickening jolt as two men and one woman try to survive a group of buzz saws. That someone would view a scene such as this as entertainment is a scary thought.
Actors in the film, who should know better, even if their careers have seen better times, include Flanery, James Van Patten and Cary Elwes. It is especially sad to see someone of Elwes' talent reduced to starring in films like this.
The movie is laughingly rated R for profanity and violence.
It is fun to watch a good suspense film where most of the violence is left to the imagination. It is disturbing, however, to watch a movie such as this one where the violence is as graphic as possible and the gore is plentiful. How this is affecting us as a society has not yet been determined. It could be that these depictions of violence help make us immune to violence and its effects.
I am not in favor of censorship except in the most extreme cases but I do believe the X rating served a purpose. It definitely should have been applied here. Children may not be able to watch this movie at theaters where the R rating is strictly enforced, but most will be able to see it on DVD.
I scored "Saw 3D" a serrated 0 out of 10.