More awesome by far than merely seeing a movie after a long drought is going to the drive-in and seeing a horror film double feature. (For one thing, it’ll make good practice for next weekend.) So, of course, that is what I did. The Galaxy Drive-in in Garrett, TX is far enough outside DFW to cut down on the light pollution, and the food is just barely on the correct side of tolerable. Result: an opportunity to step back in time and realize that the old method of watching movies was… okay, terrible, because seriously, who wants to have their windows open during the time of year when it’s dark enough to watch movies at a reasonable time, and then listen to a mono movie-track? But it’s okay, because you can leave the windows up and tune in on the car radio instead. The potentially inferior sound quality versus the cineplex is more than made up for by the ability to control the volume and other sound settings, and best of all, the ability to hold conversations about the movie at any volume you feel up to, with nary a shush to be heard, or for that matter some other rude sonofabitch who won’t shut up during the film.

Although the majority of movies are drive-in acceptable, of course the best options are horror films. So, like I said, I went and… saw a couple. I can already tell where this is going, having had experience with it before. So I’m saying right now, just don’t start. The first movie I, um, viewed, was Saw III, a franchise that is quickly turning into a Halloween staple. Picking up right around the point where Saw II ended (which is sensible when your antagonist has a brain tumor and tends to be hovering right at death’s door throughout the series), the movie follows the actions of serial killer Jigsaw, who to all appearances has started to cheat his victims. In the past, he has always provided them with an escape from the deaths he has arranged for them, if only they have the will to take it. But the last few Jigsaw deaths have been murder, pure and simple.

That’s the backdrop, though. The main plotline is pretty familiar from the original movie: a doctor and this other guy are provided with different sets of information and tasks and are then set on a collision course. And might it be that they’ll turn out to be connected on a deeper level? That’s a broad stroke; the details are quite different. But it’s still a noticeable trend. As usual, Jigsaw has set up a game, with rules, and woe be to the person (perhaps even Jigsaw himself?) who chooses not to follow them. Although this was not as good as either of the other two entries, it still had the flashes of psychological brilliance that are the hallmark of the series. Well, and the naked people and the buckets of blood, of course. And the cringe-inducing death machines.