Playground Puns

This afternoon, I went to see Saw II. (Say that sentence out loud. The joke is still no funnier than it was when the first movie came out last year.)

I was honestly a bit nervous about seeing this movie. But it's Halloween time, and I'm pretty much obligated to go and see whatever "scary movie" is available. The trouble is, I had such high hopes for the first one last year, and was so disappointed. What a clever concept the first Saw had: the story of a serial killer who makes his victims kill themselves (or each other). I remember seeing trailers for Saw months before the film hit, and I just couldn't wait.

Unfortunately, Saw looked like exactly what it was, a movie made for about 1/40th the budget of even the most modest of Hollywood films. (It cost about $1 million, from what I understand.) Apparently, they were on such a tight schedule that they ended up filming a lot of the rehearsals and actually using them in the movie. And this is why actors I've quite enjoyed in other films (Cary Elwes and Danny Glover) come off just plain awful in it. And the ending? It somehow managed to be cool and ridiculous at the same time.

So you can imagine that I was very pleasantly surprised to really enjoy Saw II. I suppose that it failed utterly in being a "scary movie" like I was looking for. I don't think it was trying to be. There weren't really any scares in the entire film. (A cliche "whip pan and loud music sting" or two, but that so doesn't count.) But it was very interesting, much more so than the first film. It was engaging. It was truly horrific at times. And this time, I was not at all ambivalent about the ending. The movie was wrapped up in a neat little package. Worth a B-. (Maybe even call it a B, since 'tis the season.)

I'd actually like to say a little more about it, but can't do so without spoiling parts of the movie for those who want to see it. I guess I'll see how it goes in the comments thread. (Assuming anyone even has anything to say about the movie.)