'Saw's' film buzz is back

The Jigsaw killer is back in "Saw II" to prove that sequels can sometimes surpass the original. Most horror series get worse as the film count increases, but from the get go this sequel shows no signs of letting up. Director Darren Lynn Bousman does a great job of picking up where "Saw" director James Wan left off with this series, which is quickly becoming a must see franchise.\n"Saw II" is about the twisted serial killer Jigsaw and his goal to show people the value of their own lives once again. This time around Jigsaw traps a group of strangers in a house with clues of how to get out, but the catch is they only have two hours to find a way out before they die of a potent gas that floods every room of the house. Along the way the prisoners fall victim to many elaborate deaths the Jigsaw sets up for them and come to the realization that not all of them will have the opportunity to get out alive.\nThe film's DVD is a horror movie fan's dream as it is incredibly detailed and goes through many exciting parts of how the movie was made. While it does not have the typical commentaries and outtakes that most DVDs have, it does take an extensive look at all the traps Jigsaw set throughout the house along with a description on how they created each one of these elaborate tricks. \nThere is also a great featurette that looks over the game that Jigsaw put all these poor souls through. One odd but interesting part of the special features are the numerous storyboards which show each shot as planned out by the director from selected scenes. However, none of these special features compare to the many looks at all the deadly objects and what materials they used to make them. It is interesting to see how Hollywood can make materials such as foam and rubber appear as hard materials such as wood and metal.\nThis movie alone deserves to be applauded as there have been nothing but disasters lately in the scary movie genre. "Saw II" manages to make one forget the recent duds as it takes its audience on a terrifying ride with a sensational twist at the end that will leave the audience speechless. Add the special features and this is one of the must buy DVDs of 2006.