Saw 2 (DVD)

I bought this dvd as a huge HUGE fan of the original. Never before have I watched a horror movie and been engrossed from start to finish.
The plot is amazing, just when you think you've figured it out you're proven wrong yet again.
And rarely is a sequel anywhere near as good as the original - but this one may even top it's predecessor!!
Don't get me wrong, it's scary and gross in some places, but I love the fact that this film makes me think rather than just tries to scare me - Well worth a watch - beleive me you'll NEVER guess the ending. And of course the second movie has now left it open for a third - let's hope they don't take it one stage too far and spoil it - but I'm waiting with baited breath for the next installment!!

The diabolic Jigsaw is back in the follow up to the smash "Saw" which came out of nowhere to become one of the biggest grossing horror films of all time. Not content to rest on the mayhem he created in the first film, Jigsaw is back kidnapping those he deems unworthy of life, and forcing them to earn their lives back in a series of brutal and bizarre games

what will he come up with next?

5/5 rating from me

In their attempt to one-up the snuff film sadomasochism that propelled “Saw” to take in a staggering $55 million at the box office last year, the makers of “Saw II” did everything that you would expect from a sequel: they raised the squirm factor tenfold, but in exchange sacrificed character development. What you get is a movie that is even more disturbing than the original, if that’s at all possible. It even has a tidy, plausible ending that I wouldn’t think of giving away. The only catch is that you don’t particularly care what happens to any of these people.

The movie begins, “Scream” style, with one unlucky bastard waking up in a cell and forced to play a “game” with John, the Jigsaw killer (Tobin Bell). I ruin nothing by telling you he fails, and suffers a quick, but gruesome, death. As the police investigate Unlucky Bastard’s death, they bring in Detective Eric Mason (Donnie Wahlberg), who’s now doing desk work by choice, to provide some insight on the case, which is being led by his former partner Kerry (Dina Meyer). Mason discovers a link to a possible hideout, so the cops raid the place, and sure enough, they find Jigsaw, expecting their arrival. John has a surprise for them, though: he has eight people locked away in a booby trapped house, inhaling nerve gas that will kill them in two hours. One of those eight people is Daniel, Mason’s troublemaking son. In order to give up their location, Mason needs to play a game with Jigsaw, while the clock not so subtly ticks in the background.

One of the ways that “Saw” ratcheted up the tension was in the back-and-forth between Adam (Leigh Whannell, who co-wrote both “Saw” movies) and Lawrence (Cary Elwes). While they both knew that the only way out of their predicament was to work together, Jigsaw made it clear that they were also in direct competition with each other. As a storytelling device, this served two purposes: it developed the characters, and it raised the stakes without raising the gore factor. The problem with “Saw II” is that the only way the plot stays afloat is to have none of these eight people talk to each other, something that the hostages happily, maddeningly oblige. This every-man-for-himself approach produces some pretty bad acting along the way, highlighted by macho dumbass Xavier (Franky G), who actually subjects another hostage to play the game that Jigsaw has assigned him. (Can’t say we blame him; it’s the worst of the bunch, by a mile.) This approach also produces a higher body count, as required by law of any horror sequel. It does not produce, however, the same kind of suspense that made “Saw” such a surprise hit.

And yet, as the events unfold, you can forgive the execution of the story, because they have once again come up with one killer ending, pardon the pun. At the risk of giving too much away, I will simply say that it is no left field cheat. There may be a laundry list of dropped threads and missed opportunities along the way, but damned if they didn’t nail the ending, again.

“Saw II” is as good as anyone could have expected from a 25-day shoot and a shoestring budget (more expensive than “Saw,” but clearly still cheap). While the script wasn’t honed as sharply as its predecessor, the movie is rather adept in at least distracting the viewer from its flaws until long after the credits roll. As sequels go, it’s better than most. But there is surely an unrated director’s cut somewhere in our future that will leave this in the dust.

When detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is called to a crime scene of a victim of Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), he finds a lead to the place where he is hidden. Once there, he realizes that Jigsaw trapped his son Daniel Matthews (Erik Knudsen) with three women and four men in a shelter, and they are inhaling a lethal nerve gas. If they do not use an antidote within two hours, they will die. Eric follows with increasing desperation the death of each member of the group in monitors, while trying to convince Jigsaw to release his son.

I recently bought this movie as I was a big fan of the original (even though the acting of Cary Elwes was a little dodgy to say the least!) and I was not disappointed.

Following on from the original, Jigsaw is still on the loose but this time allows himself to get captured - and this is where the games really begin!

Just as clever as the first movie (if not more so), the acting is very good and you always get the feeling that something clever is on its way.

If you liked the original or just fancy a modern horror movie with originality then give Saw 2 a go. I would say the only way it could really improve would be to have a bigger budget and be longer. This won't happen due to time constraints and ease of production as it now seems to be an annual event (Saw 3 is out in October!!).

In summary I would say that this film is very very clever (yet again) and will leave you with a smile, longing for Saw 3! Highly recommended.

I would highly recomend this film, Its got all the excitement and the twists of the first film. It will have you on the end of your seat. Spot on.

Why is it that so many critics, movie-goers and film patrons see such bold and unique forms of film as nothing but bloody and un-needed garbage? Isn't it about time to enter the age of the modern horror film, and to realize that audiences these days have already seen it all when it comes to the horror movie, so one-of-a-kind ideas such as the SAW series should be seen as a much needed godsend to the film industry. They say that this is what is takes to scare people these days: untrue. Take the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre for instance, upon close examination, one can notice that it is essentially a bloodless film. So what is it about such movies that scare us? Well, it's the idea, the cinematography, and the boldness to plant such a terrifying seed into the world of movies. It isn't a man sawing his foot off or a man being set on fire that scares audiences, it's the fact that it has NEVER...EVER been done before on the big screen that engulfs the audience into a trance-like cloak of fear over a movie. The people who conjure these ideas for movies are not on the mindset to create something for the SOLE PURPOSE of making someone cringe and fray, they want to be their own level, nay, rank of movies for others to, essentially, build off of. Are SAW and SAW II the last of their kind? By no means, if anything they are merely predecessors of the film noir that is going to eventually rise into the R-rated spectrum. Forgive me for not stressing on the movie's actual content, but I feel it is the very ideas behind SAW that make us have to see it for ourselves. And I highly recommend those of you skeptical about it to do so. Will you be frightened? Yes. Will you see things never before shined onto the screen? Yes. And will you leave the darkness of the theater in a sense that you have witnessed movie history unfold before your eyes? YES.

I bought it for my boyfriend, we really enjoyed it and have lent it out to our friends so they can enjoy it too! Really good bargain buy!

If you liked the first Saw movie then you wont be disappointed with this one. It has as many twists & turns & again a very unpredictable ending which is why we decided to but the second movie.We thought that it would be pretty hard to beat Saw 1 as it was a fairly unique movie very graphic & lots of blood that perhaps a sequel would not come anywhere close, but again we were surprised & it was a good horror movie in its own right. I would recommend Saw 2 if you enjoyed the first movie & its every bit as gruesome.

Great buy as described.
This film is just as gory if not moreso than Saw 1 plus more people getting done in gruesome ways.
Recommend for all horror / gore lovers.

Plot
Although Detective Eric Mathews (Donnie Wahlberg) has finally caught up with the serial killer known as Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), the psycho still has one big ace up his sleeve. At an unknown location, eight people are breathing in a deadly nerve gas and have only two hours to live. Eight people, including the cop’s only son..

Verdict
Morally dubious it may be, but this gory melange of torture, terror and darkly humorous depravity appeals to the sick puppy within us all.

It is a great film if your into that type of horro it was more grosome and more effective than the first one. Cant wait to see the third but you now what they say about trilogys one bit that really got me going was the drug seringe scene it was really frighning if your afraid of seringes i wouldnt watch this bit, 4/5 great but first one was much more real.

Saw II is a fine example of a sequel that works because it's a sequel. Too many sequels nowadays make ghastly attempts to give more of whatever the first offered, which was presumably good enough to have said sequel. However while some people are too busy thinking up the same movie again, others decide to not only build upon what was established in the first movie but to also use these establishments as a foundation for something special in it's own right and within today's torrents of sequels barely worth the DVDs they're on, it's glad to see hope, that people still know how to make superior sequels, in the form of Saw II.

This movie had a lofty cliff to climb in it's making, as rarely have films like it's predescessor established so much, of what would become trademarks, in the first outing. Indeed the sick traps of the titular Jigsaw Killer are already one of the franchise's selling points, and it was a given fact that they would have to be bigger, better as well as sicker than before to appease the appetites of it's poised fans, who were left wanting more from the surprise success of the first movie. But Saw stood apart from the fastly-growing crouds of what could be referred to as just another bloody horror movie, with it's convoluted plot and characters who are there for more than to just be victims. Saw II would have to grow on both of these as well as the infamous ending plot-twist of the first film. I can't really say much here, as it's a kind of unwritten rule that reviewers aren't allowed to spoil things, however I will say this: You won't be dissappointed.

The basic premise of the movie is that more victims wake up inside one of Jigsaw's iconic traps. One of these is Amanda, the only person to survive another of Jigsaw's 'games'. Needless to say, building on the cult bathroom of the first movie, this Saw now has an entire house loaded with an ironic trap for each victim... and maybe a few more thrown in for good measure. If you're an avid Saw fan, it should be no surprise to learn that this is not the only thing going on in the movie, as 10 minutes into the opening of Saw II, Jigsaw himself is captured and interrogated by the police. However this is all a part of Jigsaw's ultimate plan...

The movie, however, doesn't come without it's faults. The traps, this time around aren't as gory nor as clever as those on the first movie, but this can be forgiven due to them being part of a much more bigger and complex trap. Plus the victims lack personality and relavance of the original victims, and are reduced to mere stereotypes. However these faults can all be forgiven since, by the end of the film, they do more to help than hinder the plot, and are an obvious sign of a movie with it's priorities focused firmly on what makes the movie good.

As I said earlier this movie works more as a sequel than it would as a stand-alone movie and fortunatly there are quite a few referances for fans of the first. Becuase the main plot-twist towards the end of the first Saw was Jigsaw's true identity, it is good to see this movie working on that and giving Jigsaw some much-needed character development, the conversations between Jigsaw and his interregator Matthew, (who plays a much more important part towards the end of the film.) never get boring, which is a good thing as the movie constantly changes back and forth from these conversations back to the 'funhouse' and it's gradually fewer victims...

And yes, there is blood...

I love this film the reason i bought it was cause ive got saw 1 and i went to see saw 3 at the pictures so i thought ill buy this so i can watch it again

I bought the saw11 because I had bought the first one and i loved it as i am a horror fan. i was pleased with the fast delivery and the packaging.All in all i was delighted with my item and would give this ebay member an excellent rating.

What a great sequel. Obviously we now know that everything is not what it seems, nothing is easy and freedom always comes at a price. Still the new director captured the essence of the original film (credit to James Wan for not selling out to the Hollywood money machine, I pray that it lasts!!). A little more gory than the original but again not over the top and yet another great twist at the end. Looking forward to number 3, sincerely hoping that the quality lasts and the follow up scripts don't get silly like so many others, Amityville, Friday the 13th, Halloween to name but a few. We shall see, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Last comment, I liked the extras on this DVD much better than the ones on the first film, but I believe every film should have a blooper section by law!

THERE ONLY COMES A DEMONIC FILM LIKE THIS NOW AND AGAIN,BUT THIS AS A SEQUEL IS A MUST FOR ANY PERSON WITH A TWISTED MIND.EXCELLENT STORY ABOUT PAST CONVICTS TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM THIS CAT AND MOUSE CHASE AGAINST TIME,BRILLIANT TRAPS AND LOTS OF MANIC BEHAVIER,I DID NOT SEE THIS AT THE FLICKS BUT THIS IS A MUST

i loved the first film and seen clips that looked even better. I hope they make a saw 3 if possible. I love all fimls like this especially stephen king films.

great dvd, excellent film! and very good sound and picture quality. i bought this dvd as it was cheap and i love the saw films!

A very good follow on from Saw 1 - the action, blood and guts starts straight away and doesn't stop. An excellent film recommended to all but must see the first one first!!!!!

Very tense and exciting!
Never know what is going to happen next!
All the traps are well thought!
Great film!

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Saw 1 was a horror fans dream come true well for me anyway. Then i got Saw 2 even better still These films are absolute genius mind blowing a pleasure to watch even though at times it feels like your there with jigsaw taking one of the tests , All you got to remember is "he does not want to kill you" .He wants you to survive .

the sequel to saw, with more blood and guts its a very good but gory film, and with saw 3 4 and 5 out now its one to watch.