By Spike Hemans, Staff Contributor

Devils in disguise. Preteen vampires and soul-stealing demons. This fall’s slate of horror movies offers fans of the genre tons of different choices for terror, but the real show stealer is yet to arrive. The blockbuster that perhaps everyone expected, “Saw 3D” hits theaters next Friday, and billing itself as “The Final Chapter,” it is sure to ratchet up the gore and suspense.

Perhaps the reason for the success of the “Saw” series (“Saw 3D” is the seventh installment in seven years) is the movies never promise more than they can deliver, which is usually a multi-layered plot featuring bad guys disguised as good guys (“Saw II” and “Saw IV-VII”), bad guys disguised as victims (“Saw V”), and the eventual good guy who gets decapitated / crushed / shot in the throat (pretty much every “Saw” movie). The “Saw” series leaves out both the supernatural and the superhero, giving audiences human nature and sadistic creativity as a vehicle for mayhem.

But the real show stealer isn’t the often campy acting and broadly drawn characters, but the complex machines and scenarios they create to deliver maximum carnage. While the writing staff has largely changed since 2004’s “Saw,” newcomers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan have been consistent since they led the writing team for “Saw IV.”

In “Saw 3D,” a group of survivors seek the support of self-help guru and survivor Bobby Dagan, played by Sean Patrick Flanery, of “The Boondock Saints” fame. Despite the death of the Jigsaw Killer in the third installment, his torturous work is carried on by various disciples whose confrontation has been building through the previous three films.

Director Kevin Greutert (“Saw IV”) ups the ante by shooting entirely in digital 3-D, offering another dimension —literally — that builds on the previous films, and should be a fitting conclusion to this successful horror franchise.

Movie: SAW 3D

Directed by: Kevin Greutert

Release Date: Oct. 29

Starring: Tobin Bell, Cary Elwes, Sean Patrick Flanery