Rickting

Saw is back and Jigsaw has returned to reclaim Halloween. But, you'll immediately find yourself confused. After all, Jigsaw has been dead for many years. As soon as you start watching a lot of things just don't make even a hint of sense. Everything seems jumbled up... until the film's many twists and turns become clear and, with yet another rising crescendo of the iconic theme tune, a series of flashbacks, big reveals and gory images, a Saw film once more concludes seemingly laughing at its audience and said audience will once more leave feeling sick to the stomach and very confused. Yep, Saw is back... for better or for worse? In this case, for better. Kind of. After the horrendous last installment, the only good part of Jigsaw's legacy was the roller coaster at Thorpe Park. Now... maybe things could be back on track. It hasn't redeemed the franchise; the usual bad acting, logic gaps and lack of genuine scares still applies. But at the same time, this installment prioritizes thought provoking moral themes and tension over gore and flashbacks and it is an intense, unsettling experience. With memorable death scenes, a reasonable amount of tension and a relatively solid plot, this should be satisfying enough to most. It doesn't entirely feel like Saw since virtually no-one, not even those still alive, returns from the previous films and the grimy, unclean atmosphere of the old films is replaced by a cleaner, more high-tech vibe, but many will like the various nods to the past movies.

6/10

Mother! is... what is it exactly? That's the question. It's basically an allegory, so one could argue none of the film's events are real. It's nothing like anything Hollywood has put out in the last... well, have they ever done this? I won't say anything about the plot; all I will say is that if you're expecting a home invasion horror film... denied! This is a singular artistic vision from Darren Aronofsky, boasting dazzling close-up based cinematography, incredible acting (Though Javier Bardem's character felt a bit underwritten and wasn't the best use of his talents), thought- provoking themes and utterly bonkers storytelling throughout. I won't lie; it's often tedious, highly self-indulgent, completely ridiculous and not always massively enjoyable. But do you know what? That's fine. I quite like Mother. It's an intelligent, sometimes powerful and clever (To some extent) allegory, although the limited nature of its narrative would make a second viewing somewhat unappealing. It might not be enjoyable, but it is certainly very well-made and I think that if you go in knowing what to expect, you'll be able to appreciate this more. It's got enough visual dazzle and Jennifer Lawrence's usual awesomeness to keep the film afloat. It's also got one of the most messed-up scenes in any recent mainstream American movie... so there's that.

6/10