Saw II

Jigsaw, the diabolical criminal who captured the imagination of horror fans in the 2004 hit Saw, returns in this equally bloody sequel. Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is a police detective who, after discovering the aftermath of a particularly gruesome murder, is convinced that Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is up to his ugly tricks again. Matthews's hunch turns out to be correct, but the master criminal proves to be disconcertingly easy to capture. As it happens, Jigsaw is eager to be put behind bars in order to throw the authorities off his trail as he once again punishes people who in his eyes have transgressed the boundaries of acceptable moral behavior. But instead of trapping two people in a filthy dungeon where they must engage in a terrible contest in order to win their freedom, eight people have been locked away by Jigsaw, and they must torture their bodies and minds to achieve the terrible justice Jigsaw seeks. Saw II was written by Leigh Whannell, who also scripted the first film. — Mark Deming

AMG Review: The quick-turnaround sequel that could, Saw II murders its way to the screen with all the blood and mind-numbing twists that made the first one such a curious hit. With its spastic editing and gore-shop grime, the follow-up certainly nails the same hyperkinetic rust-colored nightmare of its predecessor, but it also shares the same gimmicky attitude that mired it as well. This time there are more twists than you can shake a stick at, with a higher number of dime-bag idiots bickering their way through its deadly and convoluted maze. When it comes down to it, though, Saw II might be a slightly better film. It is more of the same no matter how you look at it, but at least the finale isn't as much of an implausible mess. And yes, it does deliver one of the best cringe-inducing hypodermic needle freak-outs of the year, which has to amount to something. Still, there's nothing much else to really crow about with this flashy slice of gruesome entertainment. — Jeremy Wheeler