It’s the Booze Talkin’; The pieces are coming together for Chris Rock’s Saw!

It was this very site that led me to the film that introduced the world to James Wan and Leigh Whannell. I remember reading what The Arrow had to say about SAW, and I was more than a little curious about the frights on display. And yes, when I finally took it in, this disturbing tale of terror immediately resonated. In fact, I recently revisited the 2004 feature, and it still works as well as it possibly could after all these years, even knowing the big reveal. The film was such a massive success, that you knew a sequel was inevitable. And when SAW II arrived – this time helmed by Darren Lynn Bousman – it became obvious that a brand new horror icon was born. The series continued to thrill fans looking for the gruesome offerings of a vindictive Tobin Bell looking to teach a lesson to those he deemed sinful.

Horror changes. In fact, it changes often. For a few years, the SAW franchise was a reliable hit for Lionsgate. After the initial success of the original, every year fans were treated to yet another gory display of murder and mayhem, up until SAW: THE FINAL CHAPTER in 2010  Many of the features I enjoyed with a disturbing fervor, but some didn’t work at all, with the so-called final film being one of the most disappointing. However, we all know that it takes a whole lot to truly kill a popular film series in genre, so we certainly weren’t done with the murderous John Kramer and the many nut jobs that helped him continue with his grotesque traps and creations. Even when it appeared that the 2010 sequel wasn’t enough to keep the scary punishments coming, most fans had a feeling that we weren’t done with the insanity.

When Lionsgate decided it wasn’t finished grossing fans out with the announcement of JIGSAW back in 2017, there was clearly a bit of hope that it was still a viable Halloween release. And yes, the lackluster sequel directed by The Spierig Brothers still managed to bring in some box office bucks. The 10 million dollar feature film was plagued by lousy reviews, yet the over 100 million dollar worldwide earnings proved that there’s an audience still hungry for this kind of horror. Yet I don’t think a single soul expected to hear Chris Rock’s name in association with these hit movies. But in a world where both Jordan Peele and John Krasinski have proven to be viable names in the horror genre, it’s not much of a surprise to see studios thinking outside the bloody box.

To say that I wasn’t especially excited about the idea of Rock producing a SAW movie is an understatement. And now here we are. Every single time we hear more about it, the more curious I become. In fact, we recently announced that there’s huge news coming on this very day about the sequel. Frankly I’m already far more thrilled at the prospect than I was after the official announcement. And while we aren’t getting a trailer, apparently the news was big enough for a preview announcement. For this fan, I went from thinking why are we wasting time with yet another SAW flick, to, “holy crap, Sam freaking Jackson is in this?” In addition to Mr. Jackson, the cast includes Rock himself, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, and what excites me the most… Darren Lynn Bousman is returning to bring the horrors back to life as the film’s director. Aside from Wan, he’s the best one to continue on with this goretastic tale.

With a rumored title SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW, there isn’t much known about the plot. However, judging from Bousman’s Instagram account updates, and the promise that this film will be “Saw on steriods,” the sequel is becoming one of the films I’m most interested in when it comes to 2020. Another curious fact is that they’ve moved up the release to summer, instead of keeping this sequel as yet another October nightmare. And frankly, after finally checking out JIGSAW myself – I enjoyed it more than most critics – it sure as hell feels like we may have a return to form for all those involved. Wan and Whannell are producing, Bousman directing and Chris Rock heavily involved in all areas of the new film, it appears that we may be finding ourselves witness to Jigsaw’s atrocities on a regular basis once again.

Maybe it’s the booze talkin’; but the pieces seem to be coming together for Chris Rock’s SAW. Even now that still feels a bit strange to write, but everything I’m hearing is raising my expectations. The cast is amazing. Chris Rock appears to have a ton of love for this franchise. And most importantly, Darren Lynn Bousman, James Wan and Leigh Whannell will be overseeing this inventive horror sequels return. This just feels right. It might be a disaster, but with all the right elements working together, I expect the upcoming SAW sequel to be far better than fans may expect. So bring on the bloodshed, and let’s see what macabre frights that John Kramer has inspired for a brand new decade. What do you think? Are you excited for a return to SAW?