Saw is akin to The Blair Witch Project in that after opening weekend, an influx of people, upon realizing everyone else was hailing the film, turned against the tide and started to renounce it. I was there (for both), I saw it all (no pun intended). After about a week, I heard discreet whispers of dissent regarding the ending which such people had figured out before the film started (in the wake of the entire audience’s vocal disarray once the killer’s identity was disclosed) and that they had been bored with the movie. I sighed, chuckled, and waited . . . . I waited until a year later and mockingly nodded at the same nay-sayers as they walked into the theater to see Saw II opening night.
Director and co-writer James Wan crafts a film that freely mixes the plot ingenuity of Se7en, the essence of Argento (especially Deep Red), a little Black Christmas with a modest dose of Hitchcock’s Rear Window while maintaining a horror aficionado’s responsiveness yet never allows the film to waver or cater to mainstream audiences, thus sacrificing its potential. Horror is what Wan set out to make and that it exactly what he did. Yet this isn’t to imply that the film only appeals to horror fans. Its masterstroke comes in the creation of a psychological thriller that will consume most every viewer regardless of one’s genre sensibilities. As a consequence, Wan is partially responsible for the resurgence of horror and its continued popularity several years hence.
Adam (Leigh Whannell, also co-writer), a freelance photographer, and Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes), a surgeon, awaken in a dilapidated basement. Each are chained to pipes on opposing walls as they discover a bloody corpse between them with a revolver in one hand and a micro cassette recorder in the other. Adam retrieves the recorder after both locate a cassette tape left on his person and the two listen to the messages which disclose that Lawrence, along with his wife, Alison (Monica Potter), and daughter, Diana (Makenzie Vega) will die lest Lawrence discovers a way in which to murder Adam within a little under eight hours. Thus begins a tale of a serial killer dubbed “Jigsaw” who engineers situations for those he deems unappreciative of the value of life in order for them to test their apathetic convictions.
Many have stated there are similarities between Se7en and the character of John Doe and Saw and the figure of Jigsaw. Both depict moral dilemmas as a result of the killers’ mechanizations but, as a direct consequence of their discrepancies, the theoretical import of the two films shifts, creating vastly different philosophical ramifications. Whereas John Doe directly engages in a form of theological utilitarianism (see Sergeant York), Jigsaw employs tests created to gauge a person’s descriptive ethics. Yes, there is a surface correlation to be made in that both killers rigorously plot their scenarios which serve as mouthpieces for their moral ideologies yet, once examined, the two vary greatly in their ontological significance.
Also, there is a staunch difference in the manner in which the two characters are depicted. Jigsaw is more objective in his planning and it is this coldness which culminates into a more controlled, analytic killer. Conversely, John Doe is personally involved with his victims and seems to exhibit a slight degree of sadistic, schizophrenic delight in their executions. Never once do we see an appeased grin upon the face of Jigsaw and thus are given to believe that Jigsaw finds it crucial, though not necessarily enjoyable, to do what he does. Furthermore, audiences may become divided once they are presented with the impetus for John Doe’s crimes whereas, once we are given Jigsaw’s modus operandi, we come to respect him in a strangely humanistic manner.
Now, I’m not arguing that Saw is the better film of the two, far from it. I am stating that between the killers, I believe Jigsaw is more effective in evoking fear. Aside from the creation of their two antagonists, which I’ll admit Saw probably wouldn’t have seen the light of day had Se7en not come before, the latter is far superior in most every other cinematic aspect. However, I don’t consider Saw as theatrical plagiarism. Rather, I deem it as the offspring of a comparable, but nonetheless, intriguingly singular idea.
Many have cited that the leading characters of Adam and Lawrence fail to evoke a sense of empathy in their audience but, as with many films which are attempting to present a concept of immense ethical proportions, the philosophy of the work becomes the primary character (hence the term “plot driven”) as we become engrossed in the tentative outcome of the dilemmas given to us. This is evident in the seemingly simple assessment of acting prowess and the fact that Roger Ebert states that Cary Elwes’s performance is a disgrace to his career while James Berardinelli applauds it.
I will state the largest deficit the film suffers from is the direction of Wan atop the cinematic work by David Armstrong. They misjudged multiple shots in various scenes which would have otherwise granted the film a more cohesive and consistent psychological impact. For Wan, this is forgivable considering this was only this second film but for Armstrong, having worked on nineteen productions previously, I consider him accountable for not making experienced suggestions to his boss.
Obviously, I haven’t went into any great detail concerning the film for the simple reason that it stands as a masterpiece which should be experienced as vestal as possible but I’ll leave with this. The title alone posits the possibility of three readings all applicable to themes within the film: One, a verb relating to sight, as in “I saw the movie”; two, a verb conveying the action of cutting, as in “I will saw the board”; and three, a noun, as in a nickname for the killer, Jigsaw. Without a doubt, if the creators put this much effort into the title, one can imagine that the production itself might well be worth the time.
-Egregious Gurnow
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
