SAW (2004)

With a dead body laying between them, two men wake up in the secure lair of a serial killer who’s been nicknamed “Jigsaw”. The men must follow various rules and objectives if they wish to survive and win the deadly game set for them.

Since it’s Halloween, I thought I would share my thoughts on one of the best horror films I have ever seen. SAW is a 2004 American horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay, written by Leigh Whannell, is based on a story by Wan and Whannell. The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, and Leigh Whannell himself.

The film’s story revolves around Adam (Whannell) and Lawrence (Elwes), two men who are chained up in a bathroom and are each given instructions via a micro-cassette recorder on how to escape. Adam is told he must escape the bathroom, while Lawrence is told to kill Adam before a certain time, or Lawrence’s family will die. Meanwhile, police detectives (Glover & Leung) investigate and attempt to apprehend the mastermind behind the “game”.

The screenplay was written in 2001, but after failed attempts to get the script produced in Wan and Whannell’s home country, Australia, they were urged to travel to Los Angeles. In order to help attract producers they shot a low-budget short film from a scene out of the script. The scene was actually one of them wearing a fully working reverse bear trap, as seen ultimately on Amanda (Shawnee Smith) in the movie.

Producers loved the idea, gave them a small amount of money and after 18 days of filming, SAW was complete. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. 7 SAW films have been made, and whatever your thoughts are on them, there can be no denying the impact these movies have had on the industry. No film franchise spanning this long has the details and accuracy that SAW has maintained throughout all the films, but the first one (as is normally the case) stands head and shoulders above the rest.

The story is strangely both simple and complex. Basically we have 2 guys chained up in a bathroom, with only a handful of things to play with. Cassette player, poisoned cigarette, photos, and obviously a couple of hand-saws which sadly aren’t designed for cutting through their chains, but more obviously their body. They have to work out why they are there and how to escape. With the aid of flashbacks, the story is pieced together and we are taken on a ride full of twists and turns. We get to see other ‘games’ that have been played out, and the way in which the story unfolds and how it all pieces together is just masterful story telling.

The ‘Jigsaw’ killer has become one of horrors biggest icons since these movies have been released. I would say that ‘Billy’ the doll is arguably the poster boy for the series, and is always a highlight when he pops up in the films. I actually own a replica doll, but he is locked away in a box as it creeps the hell out of my wife. I’d love to own the 6ft replica…….one day Billy, one day.

A lot of people simply despise the series and the label ‘torture porn’ often gets left at the door of SAW. It gets the blame for staring this craze, the extreme horror and torture, the directors of films like this, Hostel etc became know as the ‘splat pack’ and as the SAW films went on, critics slammed the series as nothing more than gore and excessive torture. Sure, there are some gruesome moments, but as far as the orignal goes, I would say it’s more in the mould of Se7en and just an excellent horror/thriller.

Acting wise, considering the size of the budget I was impressed. I don’t want to go into personal performances since no one is really as they seem but they are all playing these characters so well. The whole point of SAW and the rules of Jigsaw’s games is that the killer never kills anyone. He makes people kill each other or themselves trying to survive their game, and this is just one of the many clever ideas implemented within the film and the franchise. Everyone involved in a ‘game’ is there for a reason. Adam & Lawrence are the guys we follow here, and as the film rolls on we never know who to believe and who to root for. Even the police trying to hunt the killer down, and everyone involved is a suspect, and the mystery is again just another highlight and shows off the brilliance of Whannell’s writing.

SAW is scary, clever, brutal and different. It has been parodied in Scary Movie, The Muppets and The Simpsons to name just three. Many films have imitated SAW but none have come close to repeating the standard on show here. The theme music from Charlie Clouser has been used in countless things, and is easily one of the most recognisable themes out there. It is full of twists and turns, and the ending is up there as one of the best endings I’ve ever witnessed. I still remember having to pick my jaw up from the floor after seeing it for the first time. I can not rate this film highly enough. I even took it with me to my Desert Island. I can’t believe there will be many people who haven’t seen it, but if you have written it off as a ‘dumb horror movie‘ and never checked it out, if you like your films clever and thrilling then please do yourself a favour and at least try and see SAW. I still watch it a few times every year, and it still holds up as well as it did when it first came out some 8 Halloween’s ago.

Posted by Tysoncarter182 on October 31, 2012

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