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Saw III

EMAILPRINTLionsgate

Saw III reviews
48
6.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 135 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >

Movie Info

Genre(s): Crime  |  Horror  |  Suspense/Thriller

Written by: Leigh Whannell (also story)
James Wan (story)

Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman

Release Date:
Theatrical: October 27, 2006
DVD: January 23, 2007

Running Time: 107 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for strong grisly violence and gore, sequences of terror and torture, nudity and language

Starring Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfadyen, Bahar Soomekh, Dina Meyer, J. LaRose, and Debra McCabe

With his new apprentice Amanda (Smith), Jigsaw, the puppet-master behind the cruel, intricate games that have terrified a community and baffled police, has once again eluded capture and vanished. While two city detectives scramble to locate him, they are unaware that they are about to become the latest pawns on his vicious chessboard. (Lionsgate)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

That may not exactly thrill those who admire the Saw films only for their splatter quotient, but all told, this is a more affecting study in grief, guilt and human frailty than "Babel."

Read Full Review >
75

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Admit it: It's not every horror film that can make you feel preached at and slimed at the same time.

Read Full Review >
70

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

While Saw III provides a decent number of new twists, psychological as well as torture-wise, it necessarily lacks the originality of its predecessors.

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63

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

An improvement over the tedious "Saw II" (2005), this second sequel to the surprise 2004 hit still features the series' trademark gruesome "games" but shifts the focus to the relationships among the characters.

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63

Philadelphia Inquirer Tirdad Derakhshani

The question for moviegoers: Would you rather get your dose of existenz-philosophie from Dostoyevsky or a slasher flick?

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60

Variety Robert Koehler

Unlike the disturbingly mysterious original, Saw III is a neatly wrapped-up package that explains everything -- including Jigsaw's evil contraptions and the background of his crazed female assistant.

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60

Los Angeles Times Michael Ordona

Bottom line, those in the "Saw" factory know their audience and have brought along the appropriate buckets and bibs. Even devotees, however, may note pacing problems and tire of Jigsaw's selective omnipotence.

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50

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Saw III may be the best of the trilogy; hopefully, it'll encourage its makers to wrap the franchise on a relatively high note.

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50

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Pop psychology has never been as visceral as it is in Saw III.

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50

Film Threat Stina Chyn

As much as you'd like the characters to become better people and beat Jigsaw's game, there is also a strong desire simply to watch violent spectacle. And somehow, there just isn't enough of the latter.

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50

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jason Anderson

The presence of some genuine feeling distinguishes Saw III from its predecessors. That said, it has plenty of the blood, torture and dismemberment that moviegoers demand from their Halloween weekend entertainment.

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40

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

The most depressing thing about this series is not the creativity of the bloodletting but the bleak view of human nature.

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38

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Just like its increasingly wan antihero, this blood-soaked series is on its last legs.

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30

Village Voice Rob Nelson

This is laughably absurd, but unlike the first "Saw," the third installment gives no indication that its humor is intentional.

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25

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

While "Saw" and "Saw II" were pretty good splatter films hampered by spectacularly unbelievable endings, Saw III is annoying for almost the duration of the movie.

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25

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Television is a state of mind. And the makers of Saw III have delivered the most despicable episode of "One Life to Live" ever.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 135 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Job A. gave it a5:
Very disappointed.I liked Saw and loved Saw II but this one was terrible.

[Anonymous] gave it a0:
If you think this movie is actually good, then your an idiot. The fourth one is out this weekend and who knows why

Jason S. gave it a6:
Not quite as good as saw 1 but better then saw 2.

lkhoiuh A. gave it a5:
The second was better.. it was more disturbing than the second and it was not as intriguing

Balzac Balzac gave it a0:
Morally repugnant, sadistic and pointless unless you kick your kicks watching people being tortured physically and mentally. If you do then you should probably join Al-Queda.

Matthew T. gave it a10:
It's Amanda's story and is really pretty brilliant and heartbreaking. It's the best of the three.

AB gave it a9:
Although "Saw III" is even less scary than its prequels, it retains the unique mood and attitude of the series while boasting the best story yet. The level of gore has been raised considerably, which is actually a positive characteristic - it maintains a series trademark in a film that otherwise could have easily been shown on the Lifetime channel. For its ability to mix an important message with an extreme level of gore and a surprising ending, "Saw III" is the best "Saw" by far.

Read more user comments >

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