The Sixth Sense (1999)

"The Sixth Sense" was one of the most talked about and seen movies of 1999. It was a breakout movie for writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, another great performance by Bruce Willis, and a line of dialogue that became one of the most memorable and repeated since. The film does a great job of building suspense, tells an excellent story, and has a twist that makes so much sense at the end that you feel like watching the movie over again to see it all the more clearly the second time around.

Dr. Malcom Crowe is a child psychologist who is attacked by a former patient at his house one night, being shot in the stomach before the assailant turns the gun on to himself. A year later, Malcom begins working with a new patient that has a similar psychological symptoms that his attacked had. Malcom promises to not give up on the young boy, Cole. Together, they discover and explore Cole's unique ability to "see dead people".

Saw 4 (2007)

Things are about to get complicated now....

What can “Saw 4” possibly be about? The Jigsaw Killer, John Kramer, and his assistant Amanda are both dead. We also know that there are now only two characters from the previous films that have any connection to the Jigsaw cases; SWAT team leader Rigg, who lead his team in “Saw 2”, and the brief introduction of Detective Mark Hoffman in “Saw 3”. We know that John swallowed one of his famous tapes cassettes before dying, so what does it say? Something else to keep in mind while watching this film – It’s been a little over six months since the events in “Saw 2”.

The movie follows Lt. Daniel Rigg, who is being forced into his own series of tests because Jigsaw has deemed him incapable following the advice “cherish your life” because he is too consumed with trying to save everyone else. The film also introduces two FBI agents, Agent Peter Strahm and Agent Lindsey Perez, both whom were contacted by Detective Kerry before her death. John’s wife Jill Tuck.

The opening of “Saw 4” is beautifully filmed, using stark colors of blue and red in a modified black and white setting. John Kramer is in the morgue and the color of his corpse compared to his blood and organs is so stark and eerie. Plot wise, Detective Hoffman is summoned to the morgue when the tape cassette is discovered. On it, Jigsaw tells the Detective that he’s the last man standing but his test has only just begun.

The first “game” seen involves two men, one who has had his eyes sewn shut and the other who has had his mouth sewn shut. There are both chained to a winching device that once activated, will pull them together and into the machine. The key to their locks are located on the back of the other man. They are forced to fight/kill each other since they can’t communicate. But there isn’t a tape, so we have no idea who or what these men have done to be Jigsaw style victims.

The next scene is when the police team discovers Detective Kerry’s body. Lt Rigg breaks protocol by rushing in before the room has been secured and is sent home by Detective Hoffman. The FBI agents arrive on the scene and quickly rule that a third person had to help set up Detective Kerry’s trap because of her weight and how Amanda and John were unable to lift her up. At home, Rigg finds out that his wife is leaving him for a few days and asks him to come with her. She knows that he’s pushing himself too hard as well and she can’t stay there and watch him suffer. He’s attacked later that night and when he awakes, he begins his “rebirth”. A Jigsaw video shows that Detective Matthews is still alive but only for another 90 minutes, and Detective Hoffman is tied up as well. Jigsaw tells Rigg that their Eric’s life is linked to Mark’s survival.

The first “game” for Rigg takes place in his living room. A prostitute is chained to a chair. The Jigsaw video tells him to walk away but Rigg ignores the advice and frees the woman before her hair is pulling into a wench and kills her. After he frees her, she attacks him which forces him to kill her in defense.

The second test takes Rigg to a rundown motel. The Jigsaw tape tells Rigg that he has to wear the famous Pig costume and set up a “game” for the Ivan, hotel desk manager. Rigg finds out that Ivan is a serial rapist. Rigg forces Ivan into the trap, a pulley system that will pull apart his limbs. His only escape is to trigger knives that will stab his eyes.

Between Rigg’s second and third test, we see that the survivor of the first “game” in the film is a lawyer named Art, who was representing a pedophile who is abusing his daughter. His “game” is keep Eric and Mark under watch until Rigg arrives.

The third test for Rigg is watch the pedophile and his wife remove metal stakes that are impaled through both of them. If the wife removes them, the husband will bleed to death. The wife becomes the fourth onscreen survivor of the series (Amanda, Dr Gordon, and Art). With each passing test, Rigg looks more and more like an assistant of Jigsaw rather than the police officer that he is.

The fourth and final test, Rigg finds the room where Detectives Matthews and Hoffman are, but by going through the door and not walking away like everyone told him to, he causes Eric Matthews death when two large blocks of ice are released from above and smashes in his head.

In the backstory of “Saw 4”, the FBI Agents state that either Hoffman or Rigg is helping Jigsaw as they find clues at Rigg’s home. Agent Strahm realizes that of all of the pictures posted in the crime scene, those of Jill Tuck do not belong. During the interrogation, we learn that Jill worked at a clinic helping recovering drug addicts. One night, an addict forces his way into the clinic as Jill is leaving and when he runs back out, he smashes the door into Jill’s pregnant body, killing her child. Afterwards, while looking over the crime scene of Rigg’s third test, the Agents find a Billy surrounded by candles. Its message is for Agent Perez and it tells her that Agent Strahm will kill an innocent man. She then gets too close to the doll and is shot in the face with shrapnel.

 We then see a flashback where John creates his first test, and the killer of his child, Cecil. The “game” makes Cecil press his face against a series of knives and if he presses hard enough, he’ll be released. If he does nothing, he’ll bleed to death from the wounds on his wrists. He gets out but falls into a cart full of razor wire.

Now working alone, Agent Strahm figures out where Jigsaw’s lair might be and when he goes there, he finds the room and aftermath of the events in “Saw 3”, including Lynn’s blown up head and Amanda’s corpse.

The final Jigsaw tape tells Rigg that he is responsible for Detective Matthews death, and that everyone had to save themselves and that time was on his side. It is then revealed that Detective Hoffman is Jigsaw’s other assistant and now the sole heir to Jigsaw’s legacy. And thus Jigsaw’s work will continue…

Saw 3 (2006)

Third entry of the "SAW" series is once again directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by Leigh Whannell from a story by James and himself.

In “Saw 3”, John Kramer, aka the Jigsaw Killer, is literally on his death bed as his brain tumor continues to slowly take his life. Lynn Denlon, an ER doctor, is kidnapped and taken hostage via “game” to operate on John to ease his suffering and prolong his life. She has a bomb around her neck and it will explode if John dies. In a subtle turn of events, John warns Amanda that her life is in Lynn’s hands. Throughout the movie, Amanda’s jealousy grows as she watches John appreciate the work that Lynn is performing while under duress. Amanda is nearly pushed to the edge during a scene where Lynn is operating while John is having a memory flashback of his wife; when become conscious, he whispers “I love you”.

The first “game” in the movie is a man named Troy, a repeat convict, who wakes up and finds himself in a class room. He has nearly a dozen chains hooked in to his body. Like most Jigsaw “games”, the victim had two minutes to rip each chain out of his body before the timer went and a bomb with nails as shrapnel goes off. Only problem with the trap is that the door to the room was wielded shut, so even if Troy beat his “game”, he would still have been killed by the bomb. This is NOT a part of Jigsaw’s modus operandi. Also, this crime scene introduces Detective Mark Hoffman, a character that would appear in each following sequel.

The second “game” in the movie involves Detective Allison Kerry, the only other character besides John and Amanda to appear in the first three films. Amanda wakes up and finds that she is trapped in a device that will rip her chest open if she doesn’t get it unlocked. The key is placed in a glass jar in front of her. All she has to do is grab the kill and unlock the device. She manages to get the key and unlock the lock but finds that the device has impaled her thoroughly and there is no possible way for her to escape in time. The timer runs out and she is killed. It’s another trap that looks like a Jigsaw “game” but wasn’t designed by him…. (This was the second “game” that made me gasp because I loved her character. The first “game” was the syringe scene in the second film…shudder…).

The main “game” involves an angry and vengeful father named Jeff, whose young child was killed by a hit and run. His anger is all consuming to the point that his daughter is “nothing” and he neglects her and becomes angry when she is found sleeping with one of her brother’s stuff toys; a perfect candidate for Jigsaw. When he wakes up, he begins his own “game” by finding those responsible for the death of his child and the injustice that he believes that took place.

First is a witness to the accident who didn’t testify at the trial. Jeff finds a naked woman in a freezer, and when her “game” begins, coolant is sprayed over her and slowly kills her. All Jeff needs to do is to reach behind some painfully cold pipes to grab the key that will unlock her chains. He yells at her asking her why she did what she did before finally grabbing the key. By then it’s too late and she’s dead.

The second victim that Jeff finds is the judge that ruled so lightly against his son’s accidental killer. All Jeff needs to do is to incinerate his son’s stuffed toys in order to get a key and free the judge. While he makes up his mind on what to do, the judge is laying on his back in a large vat that is being filled up with sawed apart rotted pig corpses, slowly drowning in the filth and maggots. Jeff finally burns the toys and saves the judge.

The third victim on Jeff’s journey is the killer himself, a medical student who accidently hit Jeff’s son. Timothy is attached to “The Rack”, a device that will twist and snap each limb one by one until it snaps his head around full circle. The key to this trap is attached to a shotgun.  Jeff has dreamed of shooting Timothy, so Jigsaw’s question of “Will you do onto others as you will do onto yourself” is taken to a literal level. Jeff finds a way to unscrew the key from its string but the gun still goes off, hitting the judge in the face and killing him. With key and hand but not knowing where to use it, Jeff sadly watches Timothy die.

THE TWIST –

After Jeff finishes the third test, John tells Amanda to let Lynn go. Amanda refuses and John repeats the fact that Lynn is more important to Amanda than shall ever know. Amanda still refuses and shoots Lynn right as Jeff walks in. Jeff uses the gun he found and kills Amanda. John was always testing Amanda to see if she was worthy of his legacy. She was a murderer and John hates murders, the people who played her unwinnable games were just victims.

Jeff, who hasn’t learned anything, slits John’s throat and kills him which in turn makes the bomb around Lynn’s neck explode. The final victim is Jeff and Lynn’s daughter who ends up being locked alone within the complex with a limited supply of air. John was Jeff’s last test and he failed.

Favorite moment – the scene where John and Amanda prepare the bathroom where “Saw” took place. John is applying makeup to make himself look like he shot himself in the head while Amanda locks Adam up and places him in the tub.

Amanda and Lynn

Detective Kerry

Lynn after the bomb!

Troy the Convict

Saw 2 (2005)

“Saw 2” came out to the theaters the year after the original premiered and builds nicely upon the established storyline. James Wan had moved on to other projects by this time and Leigh Whannell came back to rewrite a script that the current director, Darren Lynn Bousman, had written previously. The end result is another clever work that seems larger and feels like a step in the right direction.

The film is the Jigsaw Killer, aka John Kramer, who is apprehended by the police during a raid. John is cocky and self-assured and reveals that he wants to play one of his “games” with Detective Eric Matthews. All Detective Matthews needs to do is to listen to John talk for two hours and if he does so, he’ll be able to see his son again. At this point it is revealed that Detective Matthews son Daniel is playing a “game” of his own; Daniel is trapped in an inescapable house with seven other victims, one of which is Amanda Young, the only survivor of a Jigsaw “game”. The eight victims in the house have two hours to work together to find a way out before a deadly toxin in the air kills them. The eight victims are all connected by being convicts who were falsely arrested by Detective Matthews after he planted evidence on each of them, and none of them realize that Daniel is his son.

The first victim, Michael, is a police informant, a useful contact for Detective Matthews. His "game" is that he needs to dig out a key that has been surgically placed behind his eye. He had one minute to dig into his head with a scalpel, get the key, and unlock a iron maiden-like spring trap on his head.

The first "game" in the house wasn't intended for any particular person. The rule was simple, don't use the key in the locked door. One unnamed guy did and he was shot in the eye by a booby trapped gun.

The second house "game" is for Obi. He is a con artist who helped kidnapped the other housemates. His "game" is to climb into an oven and retrieve two vials of an antidote. He goes in and gets the first one without a problem. The second needle triggers the door to close and the oven to turn on. Obi has the chance to turn a valve that will stop the flames but he would be seriously burned by doing so. By not, he'll burn up and die anyway....which he does.

The third house "game" was for Xavier. The group finds a room that has a pit full of syringes with a key somewhere inside. Xavier throws Amanda into the pit and she finds the key but Xavier doesn't use the key on time to free them.

The final "game" is a trap that traps a person's hands (and cuts them up). The player of course puts both hands into the slots so they can't free one without the other. Who knows who this trap was meant for.

One house guest dies from the toxin before getting to play a game while Daniel and Amanda never find their own "game" to play.

Detective Matthews fails his game after he beats John up badly and John finally agrees to take the Detective to the house. But Detective Daniels failed his "game" and is now gone when the safe in John lab opens automatically and reveals his son safe inside.

The big twist at the end of this film is the reveal that Amanda is actually Jigsaw's apprentice and helper. It explains how he was able to kidnap and set up the "games" in the first movie! 

The best part of this film is when Daniel and Amanda escape into the industrial bathroom where Dr. Gordon and Adam were chained up! Seeing the aftermath and the decayed bodies is incredible and a great way to tie both films together.

The informant and his "game"

John Kramer, the Jigsaw Killer

Hand trap!

Amanda playing Xavier's "game"

The housemates