October Horror Challenge 2023 #20: "Saw VI"

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to "Saw VI" i go! This film was highly anticipated by me for two reasons. First, I actually enjoyed part 5, and i wanted to see what kind of story they came up with next. Reason 2 I was so excited was because I had now given up on the now ridiculously convoluted backstory behind who Jigsaw was and why he killed people, so I just enjoyed the movie for the story about the main victims and what happened to them and what they learned and if any of them survived. There's actually a third reason I was excited to see this movie. There was a reality TV show on VH1 called "Scream Queens" where a group of ladies competed to earn a role in Saw VI, and my favorite one, Tanedra Howard, ended up winning the season and I was excited to see her perform in this movie. I watched it as soon as the DVD came out. So what did I think?

The main story of this movie follows an insurance agent who wakes up in one of Jigsaw's traps with no memory of how he got there. He soon discovers that in order to survive, he must Play a series of games, deciding who lives and who dies in each game. There are a bunch of victims trapped in various Jigsaw traps throughout an abandoned building, and he decides the fate of the victims in each one. Meanwhile, back in crazytown, the cops are no closer to figuring out why the murders still continue even after Jigsaw's death. They don't recognize the killer who walks among them, and Ican'tact McStonyface is still among the group of cops swirling around in the movie trying to find a killer and failing miserably, i might add. What will happen to Mr. Isell Insurance? will he be able to beat Jigsaw at his own game?

Tanedra Howard does a great job in this movie (I knew I picked the right one!) She has a small but pivotal role as the victim in the opening sequence trap, which is particularly mean-spirited and gruesome, if I do say so myself. I won't spoil it for you, but I'll never look at the phrase "pound of flesh" the same way again. I have to say, the traps in this one are super mean this time around and insurance guy is pretty terrible at helping people. I know it's not his fault he ended up in one of Jigsaw's deadly games, but he's really, really bad at this stuff. the Jigsaw backstory is a HUGE mess by this point in the series, and the less said about it the better methinks. Ultimately, if you ignore that, this is a good sequel, way better than any movie with a 6 after the title has any right to be, and that still holds true today.