Saw News

So, I know that the final Saw came out on the 29th and you can count on me seeing it this week. In honor of it, I have watched Saw 1 thru 5 this week and will watch 6 before I watch 7 so I can give you a review of the series as a whole. How exciting!

My Soul to Take

I love Wes Craven. I don't necessarily love every movie he's done, but I really respect what he has done in the horror genre. On a side note, when I worked in Hollywood his office was below where I worked. I was fortunate enough to share the elevator with him several times. And no, I never talked to him. But thanks for rubbing salt into the wound that is my shyness.
My Soul to Take is about the supposed 'energy' of a mad man being transferred into any of the children born in this town the night the mad man dies. So these 8 kids get together every year on their birthday to gather at the spot the guy died and try to scare the pee out of each other. On their 16th birthday celebration it works (not the pee part) and they are all creeped out the whole day. As it turns out it's with good reason as they each start being chased down and killed. Ultimately I really can't share much more as it would give it away and that's no fun and truly not really that important.
Here is a lesson I learned. If a high school football player is pressuring you into oral sex on your walk home from school. Don't agree to it and tell him to follow you into the woods in ten seconds so that you can actually begin running for your life from him. A) this angers the hormone driven teenager B) this alerts the nearest killer that you are scared, running and alone in the woods. Killers can't resist that.
This movie had tons-o-blood which I raise my glass to. There was a scene that just showed the girls dangling shoes (yes...she was the runner addressed above) with blood pouring down onto them like a hose that needs one more twist. It lasted probably 2 minutes...impressive.
The characters in the movie where pretty cool. The main guy and his best friend had great dialogue and I liked the way each one panned out at the end. This is where Craven's talent really shows.
All in all this film gets a B. It wasn't super scary but it did have lots of gore and good dialogue.

Devil

I'm sure you've heard mixed things about this film. For some it was a gross waste of time, for others it was terrifying and for those like me it was just ok. M. Night Shyamalan seems to be like coconut...you either like it or you don't. I'm impressed that he has created enough of a name for himself that people can distinguish his movies. That says something in the cluster of films that are out there with directors whose names your don't know.
So, plot...hmmmm. It's different than the typical slasher/horror film. He gets a point for that. However he uses the whole "I bet you can't guess who's doing it" to the extreme. Literally you have 5 people in an elevator and every time the lights go out some one dies. So really how much of a who done it is it?
The gore factor was pretty good in this one. There is enough blood and it is creepy that there is a stack of bodies on the elevator floor.
Outside of the elevator the police, FBI and maybe even the circus are trying to get these people out so if you're thinking that you don't want to sit and watch the inside of an elevator for an hour your safe.
Finally, I don't really love the weird religious tones that Shyamalan puts at the end of some of his movies and this was no exception. It's just weird. You've sat and watched people get slashed and strangled and then he wants me to switch gears and think about forgiveness. It just didn't work for me. So having said all of that...I think the final rating for this movie is a C.