13 Frustratingly Underrated Horror Movie Sequels
6. Saw VI
Original Film:
Saw, which is still one of the best Torture Porn horror films of all time and a modern horror classic. The sequel was a little weaker but still good, while the third, fourth and fifth installments weren't good at all and got progressively worse.
Plot:
Jigsaw's apprentice puts an insurance executive through a brutal test as the FBI closes in on him.
Saw VI is generally acknowledged as one of the best in the series, but it's still somehow only got 39% on RT and 6.0 on IMDb. This is a good horror film; it's not as good as the first and second films since the acting is weak and there are still too many flashbacks but it's comfortably the third-best Saw film and makes for a thoroughly enjoyable viewing.
The critical reviews dismissed this as gory and derivative of the earlier films, which aren't fair criticisms. Just because it's gory and derivative, that shouldn't prevent viewers from seeing what this movie actually is: it's a twisted satire of the American health care system which brings back the moral ambiguity of the first two films.
This is a reasonably clever and suspenseful horror sequel with some excellent traps and a dark, thought-provoking story. Remember: never write a film off just because it's gory.
Unfortunately, a terrible seventh film a year later dragged the series back into the gutter. It's been lifted out again (sort-of) by the reboot, Jigsaw, which was perfectly OK.