Every Halloween, the Saw franchise releases more than just a new movie. This year, it is releasing Saw IV. Its distributor, Lionsgate Films, is also releasing two important things, a three movie box set of all the Saw movies, and this film, Saw III – The Director’s Cut. While I had seen Saw III during its theatrical release, I was excited to finally get the chance to see the director’s cut of my favorite of the three Saw movies.

In Saw III – The Director’s Cut, we’re taken back through many of Jigsaw’s past games. For example, we find out what happens to some of the past Saw game players including Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and Adam (Leigh Whannell – the ingenious co-creator and writer of the Saw Franchise). Jigsaw is dying, which we knew, but he’s practically on death’s door at this point. While he says he’s playing one last game, we know it’s only a matter of time before more games will be played, inspired by Jigsaw from beyond the grave.

With Jigsaw on his death bed, his apprentice, Amanda (Shawnee Smith) must kidnap a skilled doctor/surgeon, Lynn (Bahar Soomekh) to keep John alive. She attaches a device to Lynn. If John dies, it is connected to his life monitor. She will die as well. At the same time, Jeff (Angus MacFadyen), a man who is practically dead due to the death of his young son, is thrust in to a game of life or death. He will play the judge & jury and decide who lives and dies. At the same time, he must work to get keys to get out of the labyrinth of rooms he’s trapped in, before he is shut in this building and left for dead.

This Saw movie had some of the most inventive traps. If you have a weak stomach, you may not want to see Saw III – The Director’s Cut. All I’m going to say is ground up pig entrails and leave it at that. Other traps include a key for a trap left in a vat of boiling acid, a naked woman in a room with freezer temperatures, who continuously gets hit with ice cold water, and a man in a twisting torture device, which twists and rips at his limbs.

Saw III – The Director’s Cut will be out on DVD on October 23, 2007. It is a two-disc collector’s edition and the run-time is 120 minutes. This cut of the film is longer and a bit gorier, though it is hard to tell where the changes were made from the original film. This box set also features plenty of extras including two audio commentaries, one with co-creator Leigh Whannell and the other with director, Darren Lynn Bousman and J La Rose. There is also a special “villains” audio commentary by Shawnee Smith and Tobin Bell.

Other features include the very first Saw Trivia Game, Jigsaw’s Plan Trivia Game, a Hydrovibe music video featuring Shawnee Smith, “Choose the Death” interactive featurette, where you pick the death plan and find out about how Jigsaw laid it out, “Looking Tortured Makeup”, a featurette discussing the makeup used in Saw, “Filmmaker Faves”, where the cast and crew pick out their favorite scenes, and a first look at Saw IV.

The acting of this film was nothing short of amazing. Tobin Bell, as always, is terrifying, even when he is on his death bed. Still, John/Jigsaw’s purpose-driven nature makes you almost sympathize with him. On the other hand, Amanda (Shawnee Smith) is completely unsympathetic, uncontrollable, and a bit of a loose cannon. You don’t feel sorry for her, and wonder if she truly has what it takes to be the next Jigsaw once John/Jigsaw is dead. The other characters in the film, Lynn, Jeff, and the various characters from past Saw movies tie in nicely with this movie.

The audio of this movie is about as good as it gets. It was done in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX audio. This provides for clear, easy on the ears dialogue, rich and vibrant music, and rarely any carryover between the two. The video quality was equally as good. It wasn’t grainy. Everything looks great on this film. On my HD television, it looked like I was watching it in a movie theater. It was transferred at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is in a 16×9 anamorphic widescreen format. No complaints here whatsoever.

Bottom Line: Saw III – The Director’s Cut is one sequel that comes back with a vengeance. Next to the original, this sequel is my favorite Saw movie. In some ways, it is almost better than the original. This is a rare feat for any sequel, especially a sequel to a horror film. While there are some naysayers who dislike the Saw francise, I am of the firm belief that the horror genre needed these films. It was stuck in remake hell, which it is slowly emerging from as new horror films are beginning set to be developed and produced. However, without Saw those of us who were waiting for the first, new, original idea to crop up are forever grateful to this franchise.

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Technorati Tags: Saw III, Tobin Bell, Horror Movie, Director’s Cut, DVD Review, Jigsaw, Play a Game

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