jtindahouse The biggest strength the 'Saw' series possesses it how intelligent they are, however the biggest weakness the series possesses is that too many of the film aren't unique enough and don't have personally identifying features. So where does 'Saw VI' fall in terms of those two parameters? As far as intelligence goes it is up there with the smartest in the series. It is thought-provoking, challenging and has an extremely clever twist ending. It succeeds in this area as much as, if not more than, every other entry in the series. What about in terms of being unique though? Again this is the only fault with the film, as it is with many of the later editions. It feels very similar in format and style to every other film and when there are seven entries in your series, that makes them very hard to separate in your mind.I really enjoyed 'Saw VI'. It is everything a 'Saw' film should be. The brutality is immense, the layers to the story are plentiful and the ending is superbly executed. I would say the dialogue in this one is perhaps less memorable in spots than other films in the series, but only in a very minor way. This is probably the best of the latter editions to the series and one that ensured the series would have a lasting impact on a lot of people. A 'Saw' entry not to be missed.

bh_tafe3 Oh look, all you need to know about this film is that Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) runs around with the severed hand of the late Agent Strahm trying to leave Strahm's fingerprints everywhere. Look, I lost it when he pulled out the hand. I was sitting in the theatre and burst out laughing. And he doesn't stop using it! he just keeps going. This is the film where they let go of any pretensions of being some serious gritty horror film, and it is all the better for it, as the past two have been about as torturous to watch as some of the traps have been. In this one you will actually have some fun watching it.What else happens? Who cares! Well all right, we have some douchey people (insurance assessors, predatory lenders) put into traps, who we are supposed to want to see die. We have Hoffmam taking out some agents who have worked out who he is and we have some more crap about Amanda and Jigsaw that I stopped caring about 2 or 3 films back.Look, if you must keep making these movies, please make silly ones like this with a genuine cliff hanger and some fun to be had. Jigsaw died in Part 3. I don't want to know what was written in a letter Amanda read in Part 3. I don't want to see Saw trying to channel Fight Club by "making people feel free," and I really don't want to have a whole movie wasted by trying to explain Hoffman's back story while a group of people not even connected to the main story kill each other in a trap. I want to see Hoffman use a severed hand to leave fingerprints (think about how stupid that really is) and kill some people who've found him out. I want to see a predatory lender cut their arm off with a meat cleaver. I want to see an insurance assessor get pumped full of acid. And at film's end I really want to see what Hoffman does next after escaping from that Bear Trap Jill put him in.It's better than the last two, more than incrementally, and that's the main thing you can ask for. Well, on my score sheet, that's three good, one boring and two bad. Looks like this series is going all the way down to the last installment to see if it works as a whole.

Python Hyena Saw 6 (2009): Dir: Kevin Greutert / Cast: Peter Outerbridge, Tobin Bell, Betsy Russell, Costas Mandyler, Shawnee Smith: Yet another disgusting outing of guts, gore and booby traps. This time an insurance lawyer awakens in shackles to the grim voice that sends him from one torture test to another that will either propel him or kill other victims subjected to the traps. Directed by Kevin Greutert with no story to mention. Peter Outerbridge stands out as the greedy lawyer tested for his past deceits. It reveals his conduct with Jigsaw and how he came to find himself in his vile circumstance. Unfortunately revenge seems uplifted as Outerbridge pleads for his life in a graphic send off. Tobin Bell appears in flashbacks as killer Jigsaw who ends up on the negative end of greed in flashbacks. He response by making the agency suffer for his disservice. Betsy Russell plays Jill, Jigsaw's wife who opens an ominous box to carry out the rest of Jigsaw's tasks. One such task will involve a double cross where someone's trail of blood doubles back on him. Costas Mandyler is unfortunately limited as Hoffman who mainly prevents police from getting too close until he finds himself the victim in a twisted climax. Shawnee Smith also makes brief appearances to uphold previous story points. This is another puke fest horror film that is not for the squeamish or the highly intellect. Score: 3 ½ / 10

BA_Harrison I found Parts II, III and IV of the Saw series increasingly tedious, so much so that I left it six years before watching Part V. I was pleasantly surprised, then, to (eventually) find that the fifth instalment marked a turning point, the plot-line becoming a bit more interesting with Agent Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) taking on the mantle of Jigsaw, the gore being even more graphic, and the makers clearly taking matters with a welcome pinch of salt (the extreme nature of some of the gruesome traps bordering on self-parody). I was having fun at last.The series continues to improve with Part VI, which develops the Hoffman character further, ladles on even more revolting splatter, and steadfastly refuses to get bogged down with trifling matters such as the cash, time, and skill required to build such amazing methods of torture. Part VI simply gets on with entertaining the fans, with a twisty-turny narrative and bucket-loads of the red stuff.This time around, Jigsaw has assembled a group of despicable life-insurance business-people, and proceeds to teach them that choosing between life and death should not be an easy decision to make. As a result, bodies are blasted, crushed, hung, and, in the film's most revolting scene, melted from the inside with a highly corrosive acid. Meanwhile, the F.B.I. are closing in on Hoffman, although Kramer's wife Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) also has a surprise in store for the deviant agent. Rather surprisingly, this satisfyingly sick chapter has left me looking forward to more Saw.7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.