The Saw Franchise

Okay, so I'm not reviewing each movie one by one. Because really, I would review Part One and then just review 2-7 because they're basically the same movie. I'll run through them anyway because that's what this blog is all about.

Overall, Jigsaw will go down as one of the most complex, brilliant and fucked up horror villains of all time.

Part 1 was an original. Let's put two guys in a room with a dead body and see if they can figure out what the fuck is going on. Do you have any idea how difficult this is to pull off? It's fucking hard okay? Trust me, I know from experience(*I've had no experience with this and you should never ever trust me). Little by little they find clues and begin to piece together why they're trapped in this room together with a dead body.

Meanwhile, Danny Glover goes psycho trying to figure out who Jigsaw is and where he is keeping people captive. The cop storyline is necessary in order to get out of the room. Flashbacks with the two main characters also help. We learn that Jigsaw is giving people a way out, a chance to redeem themselves. The chance is dependent upon massive personal sacrifice(usually in the form of some horrific bodily harm, which is where I get my fill of gore/appendage loss).

The story is decent here. It's not as good as say Shawshank Redemption or Children of Men, but it's decent. The acting is better than you'd expect. I'm a fan of the Cary Elwes(Robin Hood: Men In Tights anyone?) but he still has some trouble losing the accent.

Saw changed the game a bit for Horror. It broke the mold, but it also gave way for Torture Porn which I'm not always a fan of. See Saw and check out the sequels if you like, but none compare to the original.

The sequels follow the continuing saga of Jigsaw. Different people help him with his traps for different reasons. After a few movies, things get confusing. The idea of Law Enforecement is reduced down to bumbling people who have no instinct whatsoever. Even the FBI gets involved, but nobody can seem to pin down what's going on.

Part 2 did not have much to do with the overall arc, but it was shot very well, with washed out colors and a great setting. From what I've heard, the script came from a re-purposed script by Darren Lynn Bouseman whom also directed. This film upped the ante in the gore department, but still came nowhere close to the level of the last couple of films. Overall, fun, graphic, nasty little horror movie but not the mental thriller the first film was.

Part 3 did move the story along a bit. We have an ailing Jigsaw looking to make a trap happen in order to prove a point and to test his loyal helper. We're also introduced to Hoffman, whom as we know becomes the successor. We have another jump in gore with one trap turning a guy's body parts and killing him quite graphically. Also, a pointless scene where a woman drills into Jigsaw's head to help relieve pressure on his brain. While medically accurate and better suited for a reality show involving the ER or surgery, pretty fucking pointless for a Saw movie except for shock value. It's worth it to note that Part 4 happens along the same timeline as 3. Part 4 also moves the story along with Lync being the man going on the journey of the traps. Jigsaw dies at the end of 3 and technically 4 as well.

The low point is definitely part 5. Part 5 is unnecessary pile of dogshit and only serves as a shitty, rickety bridge between parts 4 and 6. In 5, Agent Strahm walks around and figures out how each trap went down from previous films in his mind. That's it. Nice job writers, you really couldn't come up with anything clever? "Let's just have this dude walk around and figure shit out, it'll be awesome!" No it won't, it will suck huge, genital elephantitis balls. There's a trap going on, but it's pretty boring and doesn't make much sense. The people involved all needed to die, they sucked. You know you're in trouble when your victims are shallow asswipes that garner zero sympathy from the audience. Even Julie Benz couldn't save this one. The only interesting part for me is the end where Hoffman traps Strahm and Strahm is killed. Strahm was an overacting jerkoff, he knew Hoffma was the guy but it didn't matter. He still needed to walk through every crime scene. Take a gun and blow Hoffmn's fucking brains out, end of story. Hoffman covered everything up and framed Strahm, I'm sure Strahm could have covered uo his shooting and killing of Hoffman. But no, we have this shit-festival instead.

The series improved with part 6. The sixth entry atacked the healthcare industry and actually had something to say. In this trap, Jigsaw is punishing all those who worked to deny his medical claim for an experimental treatment that could save his life.

The writing is sharper, the traps are cool and the film moves the story forward. The directing is a bit pedestrian and clearly, at this point in the series, we just care about being as graphic and gory as humanly possible without actually murdering actors on film. Give me some atmosphere, some real scares. Don't just try to turn my stomach. If I want that, I'll go rent a Rom-Com from the 90's. Having said that, watching victims plead for their lives as a merry-go-round spins around with a shotgun attached to it. Someone has to die and these people truly make you feel like they are really going to die. There's a nice twist in this one at the end, one I did not entirely see coming.

Then we come to the finale. 6 did not do well enough to merit an 8th film, so they decided to make 7 the final film. 7 has the highest body count and is by far the mosr graphic. From people getting destroyed by a car to the famous head snapping trap taking a life, this film somehow managed to grab an "R" rating. Also, shot in 3D, but they took no advantage of that. Just a lot of gore and blood and shitty follow through on a good premise. A guy claims he was saved by Jigsaw but he wasn't and as a result, he has to survive the traps in order to save his wife. Also, Hoffman is up to hisold tricks killing hordes of cops and FBI people to keep them off the trail, but a surprise appearance changes all of that and ends the series. A rushed script, pieced together from a few deas killed a good concept. After the improvement of 6, the filmmakers took a big shit into a pile of puke and rotten vegetables and came out with Part 7.

Overall the Saw franchise was needed. Horror needed a new franchise that could last a few movies and let's face it: we needed a new villain. Jigsaw is smart and isn't just out to slaughter people. There's some thought to this concept and that can go a long way in horror. Most people write-off the Saw movies as just mindless gore and shock value. They aren't though. Give the early films a shot and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

As a last note, the reveal in Saw is amazing. It's a reveal that is right on par with some of the best reveals like Sixth Sense and Shawshank Redemption. Each movie in the series has a reveal and they are decent, but none match the first. Part 6 has an interesting reveal that I did not see coming and Part 4 definitely surprised me but I don't think anyone could have really known what was actually happening. The soundtracks to these films are awesome as well, check them out or fuck off. Either way.