The typical horror sequel offers more blood, more guts and less plot. Saw II avoids this convention – at least when it comes to its story line.

Saw II focuses on former police hero Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), a serial killer who masterminds a string of grisly deaths. There is no mystery as to who the killer is, and Jigsaw is caught near the beginning of the film.

But he’s got one last trick. He has trapped eight people, including Matthews’ son (Erik Knudsen), in a house filled with a pathogen that causes fatal internal bleeding. The film progresses with many gruesome deaths as Matthews tries to free his son – and its conclusion is not without a twist (and some familiar scenery).

The death scenes in Saw II are reminiscent of those in the original horror flick from last year. Choppy camera cutaways, strident music and painful screams accompany shots of imprisoned characters listening to the rules of Jigsaw’s game from an audio tape as they frantically try to free themselves from the device and ultimately meet a gory end.

Although Saw II lacks the whodunit element of the original, it uses the same scare tactics and provides the audience with a tighter story line with fewer loose ends and illogical coincidences.

Saw II also offers some slightly better acting and dialogue (one of the film’s writers, Leigh Whannell, was thankfully not cast as the lead again).

Don’t expect too much, though. The acting isn’t the focus of this film. Its charm lies in the carefully constructed rooms of the film’s set – an abandoned house filled with hypodermic needles, a deadly oven and various other traps.

In the realm of horror films, Saw II is refreshing in its clever story line and intense scenes. But it lacks enough depth to be a real cinematic achievement.

– Anna Prior