SAW

Saw is one of those films that I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed here before. Ah well, better late than never. Saw, directed by James Wan opens up with one of the more harrowing sequences in horror. Especially one of the more harrowing movies to have made its way into the mainstream cinema world.

THE PLOT

The movie opens up with a doctor and a lawyer trapped together in a basement / dungeon type set up and they are given a series of clues as to why they are there and how they can escape. They find a tape recorder and upon playback they are told that they are not living their lives to their full potential. After a bit of talk the doctor thinks he has an idea who has trapped them both in the basement. He recalls being taken in for questioning over a bizzare series of murders committed by “the jigsaw Killer”.

From here on in, the film serves as a recall for the fiendish traps and tortures that the Jigsaw Killer has set up to make people fight for their lives. To escape his victims have to commit acts so heinious it either permanently injures or disfigures them or they die trying. Can they escape the Jigsaw Killer? I guess you’ll have to watch the film to find out!

The Jigsaw’s motive behind these fiendish crimes and set ups is to make his victims appreciate their lives. And i guess to see how far they would go to hold on to their existences.

This is some brutal watching and I’d have to give it the usual warning that if you’re new to horror, this is not the place to start. THis is a well thought out and written movie. It is quite gripping viewing and much like a car crash you can’t look away once you start watching. Starring Danny Glover, and then newcomer to horror Tobin Bell, this has some good star power as well despite Wan not being a known director at the time.

PRODUCTION NOTES

Saw is an interesting one. It was James Wan’s directorial debut. As with writer Leight Whannell. The pair had come up with the concept but couldn’t get anyone to back it. They went from Australia to the US to shop it around after creating a low budget version of the same film as a demo. They were eventually granted a measly $1.8m to complete the film and 18 days to do it in. Despite the over the top horror, the film went on to gross just over $100 million at the box office. Subsequent sequels in the Saw franchise pushed this into the realms of one of the most successful franchises ever!

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