Saw

The Franchise That Shocked The World

Director: James Wan

Release Date: 2004
Rating: 18
Running time: 103mins

Genre: Crime/Horror/Mystery
Actors: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Tobin Bell

'Hello, I want to play a game.'

“A load of constant blood without any story or point to it” is the usual response from people when Saw comes into a conversation. The thing that attracts me to this grizzly franchise from ‘Twisted Productions’ however, goes much deeper than just the blood and guts pouring onto the screen. A word of advice I wish someone had told me before I watched Jigsaws wicked story would be “remember everything you've ever heard about Saw and forget it and just enjoy the film with an open mind”.

The main thing that I find so fascinating about Saw is its plot line. The fact that it’s able to keep the audience transfixed and terrified the whole way through the film shows just how successful the idea was. I doubt there are many people around who wouldn't associate the words ‘I want to play a game’ with the films. It amazes me what a successful franchise the Saw series has turned out to be given the small budget it was given and shot in only 18 days. This is further extenuated as the story line is just simply about two guys chained up in a bathroom with two hacksaws and a dead body lying in the middle of the room. The way the film managed to keep the audience so keen right to the very end earned itself a phenomenal following and an astonishing 6 sequels each more disgustingly gruesome than the last. As the films progress furthermore the story line keeps on expanding providing the audience with more shockingly brilliant twists and disgustingly inventive new traps.

The first three instalments were written by Leigh Whannell, who also plays the slightly pitiable character Adam in ‘Saw I’ from my guess he most likely set out to write ‘Saw’ as a trilogy rather than a seven part torture porn gore-fest it later turned out to be. Furthermore, like any good trilogy Whannell was able to hold the audience in complete suspense throughout and was able to lay it out in traditional trilogy style. Having said this I think it’s a fair judgement that the first ‘Saw’ was by far the unsurpassed film given that the idea was so wonderfully original and simple. The simplicity of the original idea made it really captivating and subsequently made me want to see more. As well as this it was also able to reassure me that these films do in fact have a narrative driving them forward rather than just Jigsaw racking up an unnecessary amount of corpses. From what I've seen of Whannell’s work, when you watch one of his films you a guaranteed a shocking twist and you will most likely be left asking questions. So it’s safe to say that the ‘Saw’ films did not lack suspense or shock and they did literally have me captivated right up until the very end of its horribly ingenious conclusion. The films really were able to give an insight into what ‘Saw’ is really about and why we see all these people pushed to the absolute limit to survive. Nevertheless both ‘Saw II’ and ‘Saw III’  also had very intriguing and exciting story lines whereby at the same time the producers were allowed to really freak out the audience and do their best to make them wince and even feel physically sick as much as they could. One of the most inventive traps appeared in ‘Saw III’ when a man was tied to the floor of a large basin that was slowly filling up with liquidated pig guts, really gross stuff! But fans of the fist ‘Saw’ it may not necessarily be able to follow such a brilliant narrative and may have even be put off the film altogether. None the less I think it’s fair to say that there’s something in ‘Saw’ for all horror/thriller fans and if the first one kept them guessing then they definitely will not be disappointed with II and III.

Another factor that deserves to be credited about 'Saw' is Tobin Bells portrayal of the character 'Jigsaw'. The name 'Jigsaw' was given to him as from each of his victims he removes a piece of flesh in the shape of a jigsaw piece, representing the survival instinct that people lack. The film mostly revolves around his characters past and the audience being to discover why he chooses to make the victims 'Play the games' and we are finally shown the big picture developing. With 'Jigsaw' I find that there's something weirdly likable and perhaps even admirable about his character in a bizarre sense. Despite his inherent evil he is a very moral character  unlike others in the franchise, and he does his best to follow 'the rules' laid out which he expects others to follow as well. Given that he is the only actor to appear in all 7 films, it is arguably Bells franchise given it's the story behind his character that carries the story forward.

So there must be something about people slashing their limb off and fighting for their lives that audiences all around the world find so appealing whether it is the gore or the sheer madness of it people just can’t resist finding out for themselves. Whether you’re a twisted horror fanatic or not, my advice would be if you enjoy a good film check it out cause it might just change your opinion.

"Game Over".

6/10