The idea of a Jigsaw support group is easily the most inspired thing here, and the concept of a media-managed self-help guru attempting to exploit Jigsaw’s victims has aged well in the era of social media performance, but these threads largely taper off by film’s end. Gordon, but the script is so threadbare that it gives them little worthwhile to work through. Sean Patrick Flanery gives a solid performance as fraudulent Jigsaw “survivor” Bobby Dagen and it’s fun to see Cary Elwes finally return to the fold as Dr. In the story stakes, Hoffman is a non-presence for much of the film, while our new “hero” is a bland damp squib by the name of Detective Matt Gibson (Chad Donella).

Though a few of the traps do retain a vaguely satirical underlayer – the two cheated-on boyfriends agreeing to let their girlfriend be sawed to death, and the neo-Nazi (RIP Chester Bennington) having his skin ripped off – the blood-letting has never felt quite this arbitrary. The glut of cringe-worthy 3D gore effects tip the tonal hand a little too far in the way of silliness, which combined with goofy asides like Jill’s bizarre dying nightmare, result in a film that’s thoroughly daft yet oddly not-that-fun. As a result, it’s an absolute eyesore to look at. Worse still, the on-set gore effects were coloured bright pink, apparently to compensate for the 3D presentation’s dimmer tint, yet these colours weren’t ever re-graded for the home video release. What’s most striking about the film from the outset is its prevailing visual hideousness the series has always favoured a grimy aesthetic but here the colour grading renders characters practically jaundiced.

If Saw VI satisfyingly set the stage for Hoffman’s desperate last stand, The Final Chapter is more interested in giving itself over to gimmicky 3D schlock – the film was released the year after Avatar legitimised the tech – and years-too-late fan-serving twists. As is the age-old tradition with horror movies called “ The Final Chapter,” Saw’s seventh outing was anything but, nor was it a particularly dignified or satisfying send-off for the original era of characters.

Saw 7 full movie