- Director: James Wan
- Written by: Leigh Whannell, James Wan
- Starring: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover
Spoiler Warnings for a Twenty Year Old Film!
I didn’t watch Saw when it first came out. This was during my pretentious horror phase, which for me, mostly looked like binge-watching all the international horror I could get my hands on, and telling everyone why it was better than the American studio movies that were coming out at the time. I was the worst! To be a little fairer to myself, the previous couple of years of international horror had given us Tomie Rebirth (2001)—still one of my favorites; The Grudge (2002); and A Tale of Two Sisters by Kim Jee-woon and Haute Tension by Alaxandre Aja, both 2003. American studio movies were still big on remakes and sequels, while zombies and cannibals were about to have their moment.
How I became a Saw Fan
And then came “torture porn”. It’s almost funny to me now, looking at how extreme horror films have gotten (Hi, Art), how much these films were vilified. I can’t say that Saw is a bloodless movie, and the sequels certainly became more extreme. But, years after Saw came out, and after reading the screenplay—which is excellent on its own—I was finally convinced to watch by the clever use of cuts that cause the viewer (or reader) to fill in the blanks with their own imagination.
My journey to Saw fandom was a longer process than just watching a few movies. While the first one is undeniably clever with a jaw-dropping ending, plot-wise the others can get a bit uneven. I kept coming back due to the ever-shifting chronology and expanding narrative. Regardless of how well-reviewed they are, finding the space to fit more story and lore in the existing framework is an impressive feat, but it wasn’t enough. What really won me over was the fans themselves.
I love when people care about something—art, music, a TV show that aired for 6 episodes in the late 70’s and only 4 people watched—and they express that in positive way. For example, making thousands of hours of deep-dive YouTube videos dissecting Jigsaw lore and clues, and theorizing about what could be next for the franchise. The types of fans always surprise me too; I have met more non-horror fans who really love the Saw movies, or maybe just Hoffman. Their excitement made me view the movie and franchise with new eyes.
Hero to Some
But what makes Saw so compelling, besides the Rube Goldberg-style complexity of Jigsaw’s intricate traps? Is it the gore, or promise of gore alone, that keeps us coming back to this twenty-year-old franchise? Or is there something more noble about John Kramer’s mission, his drive to make the ungrateful appreciate what they have lost, and the way he influences others? Obviously, the traps are a large part of it; the first movie gives Kramer very little screen time.
2004 was not a very good year for the U.S. Still recovering from 9/11, prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib started a continuing conversation about the U.S.’s role as peacekeeper, and eventually led to a permanent shift in the perception of America globally. Let’s be honest: we were on shaky ground already. Faked news reports were uncovered, and people we trusted to report the news were outed as liars. The internet was quickly connected a world that was growing more cynical. Saw’s themes of voyeurism and punishment immediately found their audience.
The Price of Gratitude
Among all this, Jigsaw challenged us to be grateful; to remember that people are watching how we treat our families, our clients, and the people who depend on us… or else. As a horror movie icon, John Kramer occupies a more morally grey area than his contemporaries. Racking up a significantly lower body count than Jason (24,810), or Michael (183, all inclusive), and most of them through his apprentices, his 80 kills aren’t motivated by revenge or an insatiable blood lust.
Combined with victims who have squandered their lives or committed their own crimes, John’s desire to teach people lessons about their own failings could almost take on a noble air. But only if one is willing to ignore all the ways his apprentices go overboard, and the Eye Vacuum Trap in general (I don’t care that it was imagined, or that it probably wouldn’t kill the victim, I still hate it). John Kramer isn’t the hero here. His position is, in some ways, understandable; he’s rebelling against a callous society in his own way, and we dig that, but he’s a killer and he creates killers, despite any arguments to the contrary. He’s Charles Mason and the Joker rolled into one, but with a much more compelling argument.
Saw has a lot more to enjoy than just John Kramer and his traps. Directed by the now-legendary James Wan, Saw has a visual style that is both innovative and jarring. Rapid cuts and stylized framing make the most of the low budget. It’s this precise technique that gives the impression that the film is bloodier than it is. That, and the grimy quality of all the sets, makes you feel like you’re watching something you really shouldn’t be. Cary Elwes and Danny Glover give nuanced performances in a franchise that, if I’m honest, skews towards overacting.
Box Office Success
Saw II came out in 2005, having been greenlit immediately after the opening weekend of the first. It was a reworking of an earlier script from Writer/Director Darren Lynn Bousman, as the original team were unavailable. Whannel returned to provide additional rewrites. They shot the final draft in just two months to hit a release date in October of that year. Saw II is the highest grossing movie of the franchise, making over $87 million. The other movies were less successful, although the box office didn’t take a serious dip until Saw V only brought in $56 million. This was not low enough to slow down the yearly releases until Saw 3D in 2010. After that, we would have to wait until 2017 for John Kramer to make his return in Jigsaw.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw was the next attempt to breathe new life into the Saw mythology. This is a side story, heavily influenced by the events of the Saw movies, but not directly connected to them. While I appreciate a lot of what this movie attempts, I have very mixed feelings about it. The rest of the world was not as mixed; without a strong tie to Jigsaw, Spiral failed to make an impression at the box office and it seems unlikely that we will see more from this branch of the universe.
Finally in 2023, John Kramer returned in Saw X, an interquel that shows him fully active as Jigsaw and fills in the gap between Saw and Saw II. I love this continuity; someday I’ll do a timeline viewing—I usually watch them in the order they are filmed.
It’s a rare thing to find a horror movie that improves after repeated viewing. Thanks to its narrative and twist endings, Saw delivers.
Three Saw Traps I Think I Could Survive
(but probably not)
Eyeball Vacuum (Saw X): I’ve broken fingers before. It hurts, but I would break all my fingers before I would let that thing turn on.
Razor Box (Saw II): Don’t stick your hands in a box in the booby-trapped death house. I’m smarter than that. Probably.
Glass coffin(Saw V): I’m good at following instructions when I’m not overthinking things. Odds are in my favor here.
Traps That Would Totally Kill Me:
Water Cube: Yeah, even using the solution from the movie, I’d blow it.
Death Mask: I hate eye stuff.
Pretty much all the rest: The later traps alternate between un-survivable on purpose and “nope, I’m a weenie”. Fortunately, I love my life, I’m very grateful for everything I have, and I’m totally not a candidate for any trap-style shenanigans.
So, which Saw traps would you survive, or do you fancy yourself more an apprentice?
Saw is currently streaming on Max
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