One of the most successful franchises on the past ten years, and of all time, is about to come full circle, or so they allege. The Saw franchise has been a big hit since the first film hit theaters in 2004. Since then, it spawned six sequels, including the latest release, Saw: The Final Chapter.  This is said to be the final film in the franchise, but that’s been said before about a lot of other successful horror franchises. However, the way the film ends, this could be the last. But you never know.

   Saw: The Final Chapter begins where Saw VI left off. Detective Mark Hoffman is about to be killed by the face-ripping device when he manages to jam it between two bars in a door, and get the device off. As we all know from the last film, Jigsaw’s ex-wife, Jill, has put Mark in the device to kill him. Obviously, she does not succeed.  Knowing of her crimes, she seeks out the police and detective on the case and agrees to tell them everything in exchange for for police protection. Meanwhile, a man claiming to be one of Jigsaw’s victim is making the rounds promoting his new book on talks shows and various other forums. It is a hoax. But he soon will be. Hoffman knows that the police know who he is, so he tries to make a deal with them: Give him Jigsaw’s ex-wife, Jill, and no one else dies. If not, the killing will continue.

    There has been a lot of negative press toward the way this franchise closes. After seven films and a twisty story, what did you expect, an Academy Award-winning film? While the sequels have been a seesaw of good and bad, Saw: The Final Chapter is not exceptional, but it’s a decent film. It has an acceptable script and some good and gruesome kill scenes, as all the Saw films should.  The problem is that it’s not a memorable film and the actions are starting to be predictable. Still, it has all the class of a Saw film: decent acting, storyline and, most of all, some kind of twist.

   The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack has many features. The DVD just has the film in standard definition, however all the features are on the Blu-ray which include: Producers and Writers' Audio Commentary, Music Videos, Deleted and Extended Scenes, Theatrical trailer and the featurettes 52 Ways to Die: Recounting the Traps of the Saw Films.  The disc also contains the BD-Live feature.

   Overall, if this is, indeed, the last Saw film, it kinds of ends on a note  some with which some may be satisfied, and others may say it is weak. I, for one, agree with the latter. The ending of this film just seems to take the series in another direction that calls out for another sequel. There is really no closure and it is an open-ended book. However, the film is not that bad and it does still have a clever twist, but I do think that the series needs to come full circle. This film does not accomplish that.

  - Horror Bob

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