Saw II (2005): Anybody Else's Needle Phobia Got Them Itchy?

 

Finally getting around to watching Saw II as part of my complete series rewatch after a few weeks since the first, this time watched on the Roku Channel instead of my beat up DVDs because it is a marginally crisper picture and I cannot do a disservice to the cinematographer, of course. Oddly enough I believe that this is the Saw film that I have seen the most times in my life, just because it’d sometimes pop up on random streamers or back in the day cable movie channels.

As often with these reviews, we’ll get to the bad first. The cast is a huge downgrade, no offense to Beverley Mitchell who I loved as a kid who sometimes watched 7^th Heaven with my older sister, from the original with none of the victims being nearly as compelling as the two originals and Donnie Wahlberg’s one-note performance being a huge downgrade from in terms of nuance from Danny Glover in the lead detective role. The nu metal music video editing isn’t quite as intense as the original, but unfortunately it is used more often having seeped away from just flashbacks into like just two people talking across a desk from each other in real time and the like. While the abandoned house certainly lives up to the grimy expectations of the series, the direction is much more flat and a lot less interesting any given point compared to James Wan’s work on the original.

However, there is stuff to like about this movie. After so much just being in single room in the original, the house seems downright expansive in comparison. Getting to see a bunch of people reacting to the situation as a group is an interesting twist and seeing a number of different simple very effective traps in “real time” is a big improvement on the slasher-y side of the Saw franchise. The furnace, the needle pit, the razor cuffs, these traps are solid and creative. The series lore gets some solid additions, and you cannot have Saw without the pseudo philosophical lore.

Tobin Bell getting significantly more screentime is a huge benefit to the series, he’s pitch perfect in the role and such a huge reason why the series was able to continue for so long. While obviously he was primarily chosen because he had such an amazing voice for a tape recorder-based performance in the original, he has such a distinct look and delivery that was just instantly iconic in the world of horror baddies.

The goal for sequels is to be bigger and better than the original, and this one gets like 3/4s there. It is certainly bigger in every way except for star power, and there are certainly things about its formula that originate here rather than the first film, some of which were a clear improvement even if they will later be done to death. However, it is not as good an overall film, but it isn’t a whole lot worse, it is totally watchable and enjoyable. I would recommend it to anybody who enjoyed the OG.