To dismiss the eighth instalment of the Saw movie franchise with a withering “move along, nothing new to see here” quip, though accurate, would be unduly cruel for directors Michael and Peter Spierig who go by the Ronseal-inspired name of The Spierig Brothers have injected enough Jig into the Saw dance to hold if not captivate the attention.

The screenplay by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger, much-like one of the five captives whose face dissolves from the inside out after being injected with acid, is devoid of fat. The editing by Kevin Greutert, who directed the two previous instalments, is as tight as said victim’s sphincter when the needle pierced her jugular. And the score by Charlie Clouser, a former member of the appropriately named rock band Nine Inch Nails, unlike the veins of the lifeless corpses is pulsating.

Right from the get-go the action is non-stop, from the moment a runaway felon is gunned down by a volley of bullets to the gloriously gory finale when a man’s skull is split open like a satsuma after being lacerated with a laser. True, we’ve seen it all before; it’s satisfying, if instantly forgettable; and it looks and feels distinctly televisual. But at 90 minutes it whizzes by and the jigsaw puzzle of who killed who, when, where, how and why keeps you guessing. Though, to use a chocolate analogy, I hope there’s no After Eights.

Video courtesy of: Lionsgate Movies

Directed By: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Written By: Josh Stolberg, Peter Goldfinger
Peter Callaghan
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