Five people wake up with their heads encased in heavy steel contraptions and attached to thick chains. Heavy cutting discs spin in the opposite walls, and the chains begin winding in, hauling them towards certain death. A recorded voice tells them they are part of a new ‘game’ in which they must prove their worthiness and confess their past nefarious actions. When a first body is found with a jigsaw puzzle piece wound the police recognise the style of the Jigsaw killer. But John Kramer is dead, isn’t he...?

This is the eighth movie in the Saw franchise which began in 2004. As with Saw 6 and Saw: The Final Chapter, Jigsaw is the absolute last one in the series (except for the next one, of course!). Sometimes you just hate to be proved right; in my review of The Final Chapter I said I wouldn’t be surprised if we haven’t seen the last of the Saw films – and here it is come back to haunt me. It has been called a reinvention of the concept, but in reality it’s just the next episode. Part 7 at least had a form of closure to the entire series, by linking with Saw’s origins. However, aside from the first film, which was inventive and contained genuine motive and reason, all of the sequels have been pretty much set pieces hinged on how nasty the ‘game’ traps can be.

This new beginning makes much of whether this is the real Jigsaw killer (believed dead) or another copycat. I must say, I wasn’t particularly bothered either way. The intention here, I believe, is to create a whodunit, as the finger is plainly thrust in the face of four or five major characters. There is a race for the police to discover the location of the ‘game’ before all of the potential victims meet their deaths. One plot strand follows if not a super-fan, then certainly an individual with an unhealthy fascination, having a warehouse of recovered or assembled items designed by the killer.

I realise there are many Saw fans; However, although there is an attempt to return to the thriller aspect of the first film, the characters in the game (and even some of those outside of it) remain simple cannon fodder. You’re not going to be bored watching this, but it’s not different enough to really pique your interest. Having said that, I’m sure it will be enough to satisfy the franchise’s growing legion of followers.

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Ty Power