In 2004, Wen Ziren became famous with his "Saw Fright".
The first feature film he directed, with a low cost of 1.2 million, has earned more than 100 million box office worldwide, and several sequels have become an insurmountable masterpiece in the hearts of horror film enthusiasts.
The "Chain Saw Fright" series not only combines suspense and blood, but also refreshes the characteristics of the escape room movie with the constant puzzle-solving levels and the brain-opening torture equipment.
Today, the latest series of "Chain Saw 9: Vortex" has finally come out. But I don't know whether this work, which has left the "jigsaw" of Wen Ziren and the soul villain, can continue its glory and break a bloody path in the sluggish horror film market?
This article has spoilers.
1
At the garden party, a plainclothes police detective witnessed a theft case. In order to hunt down the suspect, he jumped into the underground passage regardless of the danger. But he was stunned by a mysterious man wearing a pig-head mask with drugs, tied and hung on the subway track.
After waking up, he found that his head was firmly locked by a steel mechanism, and a TV was placed in front of him. The pig-faced man accused him of being a "black policeman" who often gave false testimony, and said that there would be a car in a few minutes. The tram drove by, and if the detective wanted to escape, he would have to jump off under his own weight, but at the same time, his often "liar" tongue would also be ripped off by the agency.
If he doesn't dare, then what awaits him is the result of being hit and shattered by a tram.
After some consideration, the detective decided to sacrifice his tongue to save his life. But the intense pain made him hesitate, but the next second he was crushed by a tram, and he paid a heavy price for the crime he had committed.
Investigating this case is detective Zeke and his new partner William.
Zeke was born in a police family, and his father Marcus was a high-level police officer and an idol in many people's hearts. However, Zeke became a "traitor" in everyone's eyes because he reported that his colleagues shot and killed witnesses in the early years. After all, many policemen would secretly accept bribes and rush to kill his life. Zeke's report has undoubtedly become a threat, directly causing damage to his future. Take some small cases that no one cares about.
The detective who was killed by a tram was mistaken for a homeless man who accidentally broke into the subway and was not taken seriously by the police. Until someone sent a package to Zeke, according to the video prompt in the package, he found the whirlpool sign unique to the serial murderer "jigsaw" and confirmed that the deceased was a police officer and his best friend.
The distraught Zeke was about to find the murderer and avenge his friends, but he did not know that he attracted the envy of his colleagues. It turned out that the sensational serial murderer "Jigsaw" has long since passed away. If the murderer this time is not a descendant of Jigsaw, he must be a crazy impersonator.
If you can catch this person, you will be famous and even get promoted. Therefore, all my colleagues looked at each other and wanted to get in. Even if there are clues and suspects, he refuses to confide the information to Zeke.
This also gave the murderer an opportunity. He took advantage of the intrigue within the police station, and everyone wanted to get ahead of him to conquer Zeke's colleagues one by one. Exhausted all kinds of cruel ways to put these unscrupulous black policemen to death.
At the same time, he also challenged Zeke and the police station time and time again, threatening to clean up the door for the police station.
In desperation, Zeke could only start a race against time, but every time he was a step late, he could only watch his colleagues die...until the black hand reached for Zeke's father.
The unbearable Zeke decided to fight his back, but he also found out in the game with the murderer that his father, who was once a high-level policeman, was far from simple. He also had many ulterior secrets.
2
Unlike ordinary horror movies, the "Chain Saw" series not only has a scale and splashes of blood, but also sets a number of levels for the "players" in the film, making them have to face life and death choices.
Is it to sacrifice part of the body's organs to save their lives, or to be afraid of immediate injury and be killed on the spot later? This kind of mental and psychological torture, coupled with the cruelty of the various organs, all stimulate the sensory nerves of the audience.
And the person who came up with these mechanisms and produced them is the soul of the entire "Chain Saw" series, "Jigsaw" John Kramer.
Although "Jigsaw" himself died in the third part, it still dominates the next few sequels in the past and flashback methods.
Those unrevealed puzzles are also explained clearly in the sequel. The content not only involves the successor of the jigsaw, but also clearly shows the beginning and end of the jigsaw from an ordinary person to a notorious serial murderer.
Another major feature of the "Chain Saw" series is that in a closed environment, the plot is promoted with the content of breakthroughs. This setting similar to script killing and escape room not only created the precedent of this type, but also became the key word of the series.
But it’s a pity that the original features of the "Chain Saw" series have been broken one by one in "Chain Saw 9: The Vortex". Even the most basic "tribute" is not even mentioned. Instead, it is more like a movie. Fan works. There is enthusiasm in the air, but only in exchange for the embarrassment of forcibly "touching porcelain".
The first is the Soul Boss Jigsaw, although it also appears in the form of photos, but the criminal in this work is not the successor of the Jigsaw, at most it is an unqualified impersonator.
Secondly, there are very few bridges for "escape room". The execution place is no longer an abandoned house full of agencies, and the victims are not collectively captured after being captured. It has become a punishment for individuals, either in the subway or in the basement... Even the life and death decision has only left a bloody shell, but there is no way to arouse the audience's thoughts and empathy.
3
The victims in "Chain Saw 9: The Maelstrom" are basically the police, and the killing is also a revenge against the "black police."
The protagonist is no longer an in-depth desperate game, forced to become the victim of the player, but transformed into a justice detective who wants to solve the case and catch the murderer.
Without the excitement of going through the barriers, more suspenseful reasoning is incorporated. This is contrary to the characteristics of the "Chain Saw" series, but even the reasoning part performed poorly.
In fact, it is not uncommon for a senior agent to work with a rookie to jointly solve a serial murder case. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt's "Seven Deadly Sins" and Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie's "Mystery Puzzle" are among the best.
These two works focus on how the police compete against the murderer to save lives based on limited evidence. The combination of suspense and criminal investigation, with appropriate curiosity and emphasis, is also very well-controlled for details and rhythm.
But "Chain Saw 9" did not learn from these excellent works at all, and just wanted to fit the big IP of the "Chain Saw" series. The narrative does not distinguish between primary and secondary, not only wanted to use the light of "jigsaw" to make an excuse for his killing, but also wasted a lot of time to describe the personal aura of the hero Zeke out of the mud and not stained. In the end, only the gain was not worth the loss, and the end was unconventional.
Even if the producer finds old drama bones like Samuel Jackson to escort, it is hard to escape the criticism of old fans. It seems that this Guinness official certification as "the most successful horror film series in history" is finally unable to escape the fate of falling to the altar, and it is difficult to regain its former glory.
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