Though “Saw VII” is considered one of the worst entries in the franchise, the final entry in the original “Saw” series doesn’t know the meaning of the word “subtlety,” and, as a result, the traps are some of the most tortuous. In an act of pure stupidity, Bobby (Sean Patrick Flanery) decides to fake a Jigsaw attack on himself, somehow believing that he can get away with his plan to use his story for publicity and a book deal. Ironically, this made him the exact kind of target that the real Jigsaw would be interested in.
As a result of his faked encounter with Jigsaw, Bobby and his entourage are abducted by John Kramer, where Bobby’s publicist, Nina (Naomi Snieckus), gets the worst deal. Confined in a straightjacket, Nina’s only escape is a key on the end of a string within her stomach. The issue is that the key is also attached to a fishhook, and the only way to get it out is to pull the string out as the hook tears her insides apart.
This trap is the worst of the franchise because of what you don’t see. Imagining a hook ripping through Nina’s insides is revolting, and the experience is made all the worse thanks to Snieckus’ visceral acting. Viewers can practically feel the hook thanks to her performance and pain-filled screams, to the point where it’s a relief when she gets impaled by the apparatus, just to end it all. The key to horror is suggestion, and despite its flaws, “Saw VII” accomplishes that to an excruciating degree.
