Saw III

Name: Saw III
Genre: Thriller, Horror, Crime
Released: October 27, 2006
Duration: 108 min
Rating: 48
Cast: Angus Macfadyen, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell

2006

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 375 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 375 Ratings

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Saw III

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Movie Details & Credits

Lionsgate | Release Date: October 27, 2006 | NC-17

Starring: Angus Macfadyen, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell

Summary: 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)

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Genre(s): Thriller, Horror, Crime

Rating: NC-17

Runtime: 108 min

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Awards & Rankings

55	#55 Most Discussed Movie of 2006

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

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

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. Read full review

Tirdad Derakhshani

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

Marc Savlov

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

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. Read full review

Elizabeth Weitzman

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

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. Read full review

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User Reviews

MatthewT.

Sep 16, 2007

It's Amanda's story and is really pretty brilliant and heartbreaking. It's the best of the three.

2 of 2 users found this helpful

Yashar

Oct 28, 2006

SAW is still the best horror franchise out there and while 2nd and 3rd films are weaker than original, at least this one has a rather different direction (Though more like SAW2).

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Annoymous1

May 3, 2013

A nightmarish film but yet so good at its plot it is sensitively awesome. And seeing Jigsaw finally getting killed was a important part in the Saw trilogy. Definitely a must watch for die-hard Saw fans like me.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

imthenoob

Feb 12, 2012

The acting was ok but no where near as good as the first two films. The traps were scary though and imo the best in the series. The plot isnt interesting though and fails to keep you entertained like the first two films did. Its an above average horror film but thats about it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Halfwelshman

Jun 13, 2012

This is probably the most "human" of the Saw films. You're actually allowed to get under the characters' skin this time round, and given time to care for the sympathetic protagonists, a melancholic surgeon (Bahar Soomekh) kidnapped to care for the dying John Kramer, and a grieving fatherThis is probably the most "human" of the Saw films. You're actually allowed to get under the characters' skin this time round, and given time to care for the sympathetic protagonists, a melancholic surgeon (Bahar Soomekh) kidnapped to care for the dying John Kramer, and a grieving father (Angus Macfadyen) who is forced by Kramer to confront those responsible for the death of his young son. Tobin Bell is still great as Jigsaw, and steals the show despite being bedridden throughout the film, but it is Jigsaw's apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith) who is actually more terrifying than her mentor. Without Jigsaw's strict (if misguided) moral code, she's more like a rabid dog than a calculated killer with purpose, and actually seems to relish the misery she puts others through on her master's orders. There are some particularly nasty and inventive traps, the best of which unusually for a "torture porn" film actually doesn't involve bodily destruction, but instead rancid pig carcasses are turned into slurry and dumped on the victim. The film is generally quite engaging and keeps your interest until the final act which well and truly begins to ramble and comes across as rather preachy. The now traditional Saw "twist" doesn't come as a surprise either, making me miss the ingenuity of the first installment's spectacular ending. Saw III is far better than Saw II because it's written by series masterminds Leigh Wannell and James Wan, and only directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (one of the failures of the second film was that Bousman wrote and directed, and he is far less talented as a screenwriter than he is behind the camera) and so the film feels more connected to the first film than any other in the series. That said, the message of the franchise (if there is one) has well and truly been lost by this point, and the third film brings very few new ideas to the table. You can appreciate Saw III for decent writing, good performances and a certain perverse joy in death in cruel and unusual ways, but the twisted novelty of the series is beginning to wear off, showing a glimpse of the ugly truth at its heart. Perhaps they should have ended Jigsaw's blood-soaked saga here, but as well we know, box office returns can be ever so persuasive...… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

marcmyworks

Aug 31, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This film is why I stopped watching the SAW franchise. Not only do we get a lot more of the same tired brutal murder scenes, we also have a long exposition at the end of the movie to explain that the killer had been watched the whole time, which again shows the brutal death scenes compiled.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

RobinH.

Oct 28, 2006

Why would anybody find pleasure in this sick and boring fest of unnessacary gore and unresulting terror. This movie may be grim, but it is not scary. It is simply a brillant load of garbage. Worst flop of 2006. Well of course its #1 in the box office for the first week but so was grudge 2 Why would anybody find pleasure in this sick and boring fest of unnessacary gore and unresulting terror. This movie may be grim, but it is not scary. It is simply a brillant load of garbage. Worst flop of 2006. Well of course its #1 in the box office for the first week but so was grudge 2 and that fell apart after three seconds.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful

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