SAW II 
Starring:
Donnie Wahlberg, Dina Meyer, Shawnee Smith, Franky G, Beverley Mitchell, Tony
Nappo, Erik Knudsen, Glenn Plummer and Tobin Bell
Director:
Darren Lynn Bousman
Running Time:
92 mins
Out to buy on DVD 27/03/06
"Follow the rules of the game"
As the Jigsaw killer (Bell) continues leaving a trail of victims in his wake, Det. Eric Mason (Wahlberg) is pulled into the case when he takes a personal interest in the police officer. When he unravels the mystery about his latest victim, Mason comes face to face with Jigsaw himself but this is just the start to another game.
After the mammoth success of the low budget horror hit 'Saw' a sequel was inevitable but can his follow up start a whole new game?
As Hollywood became obsessed with remakes of old horror hits and Asian fright fests, a low budget film was released in 2004 that injected in life into the fading genre. That film was 'Saw'. Here we had an intelligent serial killer movie, with more twists and turns that you could ever imagined and a killer that never actually murdered his victims. It was this unique twist, combined with some ingenious methods of dealing out his own kind of justice, which captivated and terrified audiences and now the sequel has to keep up that moment.
The problem with any sequel or continuation of a story is that you always have the original to live up to and not many of them surpass the impact of the first film and the bad news is that 'Saw II' doesn't quite have the same shock value. This doesn't make this a bad film however but you do know what to expect. As the first film had twist and turns and a shock ending, you are expecting them throughout the film and this takes away some of the impact of the horror that the deaths of Jigsaw's new victims has. They are however, no less inventive as you watch and try and figure out the reason behind Jigsaw's latest nefarious plan.
As with the first movie, the film doesn't have any stars to take anything away from the story or Jigsaw's games. Donnie Wahlberg, who is more known for his music and TV appearances, has a chance to show what he can do on the big screen and he does his best with the character of Det. Eric Mason. The latest police officer to go up against Jigsaw, Wahlberg brings some believability to the film and makes the character his won. Dina Meyer returns as Kerry, the investigating officer from the first film whom you are waiting for Jigsaw to take an interest in. Shawnee Smith also returns as the survivor Amanda, who is dragged back into the nightmare after not learning her lesson from the first film. The star of the show is Tobin Bell however, as John. He is an actor who you always recognise but never know who his name is but this is his chance to shine.
While 'Saw II' doesn't have the same impact as the first film this is still far superior to any other horror movies that Hollywood is producing at the moment. With its twist and turns, gore and a killer that is increasingly inventive and compulsively watchable, as most great serial killers have to be, 'Saw II' provides enough scares to keep you on the edge of your seat and cowering with fright.
