Movie: Saw
Production Company: Twisted Pictures
Director: James Wan
Producers: Gregg Hoffman, Oren Koules, Mark Burg.
Scriptwriters: Leigh Whannell
Main Cast: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Tobin Bell
Release Date: October 29, 2004
Running Time: 1hr 43min
Certificate: 18
Introduction
What can I say about ‘Saw’ that hasn’t already been said? Most people watch the ‘Saw’ franchise for the elements of gore, but after rewatching this classic horror film, I have to admit, I was impressed by the depth of the story that was portrayed and explored, especially for a film that most people just watch for the thrill of the kills. Not only is there a compelling story, but it’s told in such a fascinating way through flashback scenes interwoven with scenes of the present day- this honestly is one of the most complex films I’ve had to review so far.
Synopsis
Following a number of deaths, the police begin a manhunt for the infamous ‘jigsaw killer’. All the evidence points towards a Doctor Lawrence Gordon, until he too is captured by the ‘jigsaw killer’ and is forced to participate in his sickening games. The only way for him to survive is to play by the rules.
Analysis
Narrative
This film focuses on three main stories, which are all linked together to form the overall main story of the jigsaw killings.
The first story focuses around Doctor Lawrence Gordon, a doctor who is the protagonist of the film. Lawrence is locked up, chained in a bathroom for the majority of the film, forced to play Jigsaw’s game. He was captured and put forward for the game as Jigsaw wanted to test his respect for life, after Jigsaw discovered he was cold, uncaring, and unfaithful towards his wife. One of his main tests is to go against his Hippocratic oath as a doctor and kill another man, Adam who is also chained to the bathroom.
The second story is centred around a man named Adam, who is trapped in the bathroom along with Lawrence. Adam was locked in the room as he was a private investigator, and Jigsaw saw this profession as immoral as he had to follow and take pictures of people. The reason Adam is locked in the room specifically with Gordon is because Adam photographed Gordon cheating on his wife, so Jigsaw hoped it would cause some conflict.
The third story of the film is based on Detective David Tapp, who is trying to identify and stop the jigsaw killer. Through most of his investigation, all of the evidence is pointing towards Doctor Lawrence Gordon as he’s being framed, but obviously this isn’t the case.
The majority of the film follows realist film form, watching the two characters Adam and Gordon in the bathroom, trying to escape the trap. This trap is portrayed with minimal background music to add to the awkwardness and tense moments they are facing in the film.
However, the rest of the film follows a formalist film form approach through time jumps and flashbacks, which make parts of the film difficult to understand.
The Traps
Most people watch Saw for the gore, so I couldn’t write a review of the film without mentioning the traps. Besides the main trap in the bathroom, there are two other memorable main traps shown in the film.
The reverse bear trap is the trap which introduced the character Amanda Young into the film franchise. In this trap she had a bear trap locked onto her head. She had one minute to use a scalpel to retrieve a key from inside the stomach of an unconscious man in the room with her. She then had to use the key to unlock the trap and take it off before it crushes her skull.
The razor wire maze was quite a disturbing trap. A man named Paul was trapped in the razor wire maze, where he was in a room filled with razor wire. He had two hours to get to the other side of the room and escape, otherwise the doors would lock, and he would be left for dead. The only problem is that the gaps were very small between the wires, so he would cut himself every time he tried to move, so he would have to escape before he cuts himself too deep and bleeds out.
Summary
To summarise, most people watch Saw for the gore and horror aspects, yes, but there is also a deep story and meaning behind the film which is actually quite interesting to look at and analyse. However, the use of time and editing in this film makes it quite difficult to follow, as the bathroom scenes are very slow and sometimes drag, but the flashbacks sometimes seem a faster pace, and sometimes we don’t know whether they’re flashbacks of a scene in real time.
Overall Rating: 6/10 – Reasonable
Recommendation: Yes (if you don’t mind a bit of gore)
