And then there were 8. We open on an anonymous action sequence that sets the tone for the indistinctness to follow. With the torture porn factor set at low, Jigsaw is more PC reboot, than original continuation. Directed by the Spierig Brothers, the action moves as freely as a blade in a miter box, driving the once mighty horror franchise in the direction of a formulaic fright. Time was one could always rely on a Saw picture to hew ingenious ways of torturing victims with sardonic gusto, agreeable gore, and just a smidgen of anti-Republican social commentary to justify its bloodstained actions. A cop who’s into S&M that religiously followed a website devoted to our titular human stockyard showed faint promise. Wondering how the victims bodies are transported from remote farmhouse to bustling metropolis in such record time was proof enough of my overall disengagement. (2017) — Scott Marks
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