Saw VI proves that the premise of the series can still be explored and that we should not give up hope yet.

Like the other five films, Saw VI stresses the concept that life is an important gift that too many have forgotten; once more, people must decide how far their will to live will carry them, and how far they'll have to walk on their own. This time, the victims are those who work for the insurance company that denied John Kramer (Tobin Bell), the original Jigsaw killer, medical insurance that could have led to the treatment of his brain tumor and saved his life.

There are many parallels between this film and the third Saw movie. The first is the journey that the "protagonist" must make, encountering situations that involve people he cares for and that test the resolution of his character and what he believes in; there is a major twist at the end; and the killer slips up and has to be replaced.

These similarities aren't merely because the writers ran out of ideas; to me, they help bring some closure. In the film, we finally learn the role of Kramer's wife; about the box she receives in Saw V; the story of Amanda; and about Kramer's motivation to put people through these tests to judge whether or not they're worthy of life.

The gore is still there, but so are the underlying principles about the worth of life, the role of people in control and faith. Watch the other five, then see this movie.



Vaughn Fortier-Shultz is a sophomore at Academy for Technology and the Classics. Reach him at moosemanxl@gmail.com.