The first Saw picture actually had an idea behind it; to say nothing of the ingenuity of its low-budget production; making a silk purse out of a bloody; maggot-ridden human ear; as it were. With Saw III; the franchise pretty much settles into gore for gore's sake; as it explores newer and better ways to traumatize the body--and the audience. Events from Saw II are sewn up at the beginning of the film; and a detective on the trail of mad killer Jigsaw is quickly trussed up and subjected to one of the villain's sadistic games (this one has escape possible only by means of a key sitting in the bottom of a beaker of acid). Then we catch up with Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) himself; as he awaits death from his debilitating illness; once again he's tended by helper Shawnee Smith. The movie follows parallel plots: Jigsaw blackmails a doctor (Bahar Soomekh) into keeping him alive; and tortures a vengeful soul (Angus Macfayden) into recognizing the futility of revenge. Original Saw creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell worked on the script of this one; and it fully buys into the series mythology; referring backwards to previous events and; for all we know; preparing us for future installments. But if future installments are as pointlessly repugnant as this one; there's not much to look forward to. --Robert Horton