The past few years have been really exciting for horror movies. Tons of wholly original and exciting films have hit theaters, resulting in a bit of a renaissance for the genre. But given how popular and profitable horror films have become, plenty of classic franchises are attempting to get back in the game. Case in point: Jigsaw, which will be the eighth movie in the Saw franchise, and the first new installment in seven years. The property is famous for making the sub-genre torture porn mainstream, although now it appears that the next installment might be a lot easier to sit through.
Jigsaw co-director Peter Spierig recently spoke to EW about the upcoming sequel, where he managed to pivot away from some spoiler-filled questions. But he did address the iconic traps, and revealed that Jigsaw will be a bit more light hearted and less vicious than its predecessors. He said,
We've got some pretty wild traps in the film --- we don't shy away from the gore. It's such a perfect Halloween scarefest. It's perhaps not quite as vicious and more fun, which is something we tried to inject into it. But it's still full of good fun gore, that's for sure. And, on top of that, it's got a really great mystery, and there's very interesting twists. It's Saw for 2017.
This might actually be a relief to the many Saw naysayers out there. Even the most hardcore horror fans can sometimes have a hard time stomaching the contents of the Saw films, although now it looks like Jigsaw might be a little more user friendly.
Jigsaw's games and traps are basically the central concept of the Saw movies. He and his various protegees kidnap corrupt and immoral people, and force them into situations where they will have to torture themselves and go through physical agony in order to survive. This is John Kramer's attempt at rehabilitating those people, apparently forcing them to reevaluate and appreciate their life. But in order to get to that realization, the audience must watch a revolving door of characters get killed in long, painful fashion.
But now it looks like the traps may be dialed down a bit in Jigsaw, which is probably a good call. The torture porn genre is old news at this point, with the most successful horror movies instead focusing on psychological drama and/or supernatural elements. Additionally, a good horror movie usually has moments of levity and comedy to give the audience a chance to breath. This has never been an aspect of the Saw franchise, although Peter Spierig's promise for more fun may hint at this type of tonal shift.
Jigsaw will arrive in theaters perfectly on time for Halloween, on October 27th, 2017. In the meantime, check out our 2017 release list and plan your next trip to the movies.
