You could call this a hacked version of the Saw series, but its filmmakers, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, are the two hacks behind that macabre franchise. The plot arc and twist within a twist convention are identical. It even has Donnie Wahlberg as a grizzled cop, which he also played in Saw 2 and 3. About the only difference is the pissed-off ventriloquist subbing for the wooden puppet head known as Jigsaw. But Wan and Whannell do know how to creep you out. The opening, where a young woman is gored by a dummy, hangs masterfully on its own. In response, her husband (Ryan Kwanten) returns to his home town to confront his estranged father (Bob Gunton) about the family’s past with a puppeteer (Judith Roberts) who wanted her dolls to be more than wood and lacquer. Just who’s the victim and where the blame lies gets twisted around to the point of inanity. And the strings of manipulation don’t add up. Still, the duo do cut it on chill points.
