Reviews – As Scene in Cinema

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Let me start off by saying I was with this movie. I was totally down for the mystery and suspense that it built, how technology can manipulate people, and the dynamic between all the family members. This movie saw my enthusiasm, took it to a back alley, and beat it into submission. Johnny Kavorkian’s (not to be confused with Jack Kavorkian, the notorious “death doctor” that advocates for physician-assisted suicide) second movie is one of the most cliched works I have ever seen. The “message” is so tired, so archaic and boring that I thought I was missing something at the end.

The movie opens with a man (Nick, played by Sam Gittins) and his non-white girlfriend Annji (played by Neerja Naik) going to his family’s home for Christmas. It is made abundantly clear that he has not had contact with his family for several years and that they are not huge fans of any people of color. I should say that this is a British movie, so some of the social commentary may have been lost on me. But I doubt it was anything meaningful.

Await-Further-Instructions-Trailer-752x440 — The very exciting and engaging characters. Even they look bored with the script.

The movie slowly develops the characters into shallow caricatures – the racist, abusive grandpa, the meek but sometimes strong mother, the overbearing father, the dumb and pregnant sister with an equally dumb but loving brother-in-law. Truthfully, I do not remember their names, but that hardly matters. Eventually, Nick and Annji decide the racism and judgement is too much to handle and try to leave, only to find that the entire house is sealed within some sort of metal cage. All the windows, doors, everything are blocked. At this point my interest was piqued – will this movie be an exploration of how people who secretly hate each other come to cooperate and love one another? Or end up murdering everyone? Woe is my wasted excitement.

After the cage comes down, the TV comes on and begins giving instructions such as “administer the vaccine that came down the chimney” or “isolate the infected” (they assume it is Annji, of course). The father decides to follow the TV instructions exactly, reasonably believing that there is some sort of attack happening and they are being quarantined. As the movie progresses however, the instructions get odder and more sinister, resulting in the death of most of the characters. The ending is so cliched, such a dated allegory that it ruins any semblance of decency the movie had. To save you a watch, the movie’s ultimate message is that television/media is evil and is corrupting society to such an extent that it will control every aspect of our lives, that it demands a form of worship. The TV literally says “worship me” to multiple characters. Need I remind the reader, this movie was made in 2018, not 1993.

lawl — This may look terrifying as a still, but is incredibly goofy in motion. It’s also showcased on the poster of the movie, effectively ruining the climax.

This is a bad movie. It has its moments of suspense, it has its jump scares, it tries. But the ending and “twist” completely ruin it. The allegory is so obvious and dumb that it will leave most viewers rolling their eyes and switching to just about anything else. The special effects do not help either, since the director clearly could not decide (or did not have the budget) to do either CGI or practical effects and thus did a mix of the two, resulting in a weird and silly looking final “monster.” Take a hard pass on this.

I’m a pretty big fan of horror. Anything from “pop” horror like It (2017) to Junji Ito’s wonderfully terrifying mangas. But the Saw franchise has never managed to hold my attention. I did not see the first one until over a decade after its initial release, and have seen bits and pieces of the other 7 or 8 films. I know what they are – fun thrill rides with a dash of torture porn and grotesque deaths. Honestly, I see the appeal; it’s fun to watch these characters (who are often so underdeveloped they act more as mannequins than people) go through creative traps. There’s tension, it’s sometimes goofy in a macabre way, I get it. But Jigsaw (2017) – the “reboot” of the series – has none of these things.

MV5BMTk2MzE4NzU3OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjg0NDk5MjE@._V1_SX1492_CR0,0,1492,999_AL_ — RIP creepy and creative traps. From Saw (2004)

Before getting into my many, many issues with this movie, it’s worth noting that the directors (Peter and Michael Spierig)and writers of this had not previously worked on a Saw movie. All of them have horror credits to their name (the Spierig brothers directed the so-so vampire film Daybreakers), but not one has worked on a franchise of this calibre. And it shows.

Jigsaw opens up with an intense car chase in the middle of the day through a city – quite different from the traps and dark rooms we are used to seeing. I appreciate the attempt at breaking from the norm here, but it is so forgettable that I had to google “Jigsaw opening scene” because it serves almost no purpose to the rest of the film. Nothing gross or creepy happens, so it doesn’t stand out in your mind. The rest of the film follows the same formula as the previous Saw iterations: opening trap, different characters need to confess their sins, they either do or don’t, we get our blood and gore.

Of course there’s a twist at the end, but the story is so convoluted and steeped in the lore of the Saw series that it meant nothing to me. There was a weak attempt to introduce the audience to the potential players and/or orchestraters of the trap set-up, but I just didn’t care. I assumed these characters were from previously installments and I had missed out, but a quick look at IMDb tells me that this is everyone’s first Saw experience (sans Tobin Bell, who reprises his role as John Kramer/Jigsaw).

Discovering that these characters are new to the franchise is troublesome, because they are treated as thought they are established. I am speaking exclusively about the forensics team that is investigating the death of the man in the opening sequence, because the people caught in the trap(s) do not matter at all. I can’t recall a single name, and can only vaguely remember what they were each guilty of. It’s totally irrelevant. Only one character actually matters, which the film graciously provides flashbacks to remind us who the hell he is.

All of the script problems and plot structure issues could be forgiven if the movie leaned into its silliness and gave the audience what they wanted: cool, creative traps that people get shredded in. But that doesn’t happen. Yes, there are traps. No, they are not particularly creative or interesting.

MV5BMTkxNzA5ODQyN15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTczNjg2MzI@._V1_SX1500_CR0,0,1500,999_AL_ — Remember when we had cool traps? The movie attempts to pay homage to past creativity.

But the biggest problem – the thing that totally ruins this movie – is its editing. I don’t know how they managed it, but the editing is so inconsistent that it does not help to create any sort of mood. In this scene, (all credit to the filmmakers) there is no creativity with the camera, and very little tension built up. The shots take too long to start with, and are too quick at the end for the audience to react. The directors shied away from creating what could have been the highlight of the film.

It’s best to take a hard pass on this. The poor writing, mediocre acting, and horrible editing make it a painful experience, and not in a good way. 1/10

Category: Reviews

Await Further Instructions (2018)

Jigsaw (2017)