THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
There have been multiples sub genres for horror that there can be a list made out of it. But none was as shocking as the debut of 'Torture Porn' in the 2000s.
PLOT
Based on the 2003 short film of the same name, 2004's Saw follows two men stuck in a bathroom, with a corpse of a man who appeared to have shot himself with a revolver. The men are cuffed by a leg each and are across each other in the room. On one side is a photographer named Adam. The other is oncologist Dr. Lawrence Gordon. Both have never met before met before and aren't sure who put them in the room. When they discover an audiotape in their pockets, they grab the tape recorder from the corpse to hear the message. When Adam hears his tape, he is encouraged by the captor to escape. Gordon hears his and is told to kill Adam by six o'clock or his wife and daughter will be murdered. Based on clues, from the tapes Adam finds two hacksaws in the toilet tank. Unable to cut off the chain, Gordon believes that their captor could be the serial killer named 'Jigsaw'. His motive is to test the victims' will to live by forcing them to fight for their lives in deadly traps. When they fail, the killer cuts off a piece of their skin in the shape of a jigsaw. Gordon admits to knowing this because he was a former suspect in the case. When getting cleared from his alibi, he witnessed the testimony from the only survivor, Amanda Young. When Detectives David Tapp and Steven Sing (Ken Leung) find the hideout of Jigsaw at a mannequin factory, they also find another victim held captive. They do encounter Jigsaw himself, but he gets away when Sing gets himself killed after walking into a trap. He also avoids Tapp by cutting his throat. Tapp does survive the injury but after the loss of his partner, he got discharged. Still believing that Gordon was responsible, he rented a flat across the doctor's house to keep an eye on him. Back to the present, Gordon's family is shown to be abducted by a man named Zep, an orderly at Gordon's hospital, who might be Jigsaw. At the bathroom, the doctor finds a box that contains a one way cellphone and two cigarettes. As this is discovered, both he and Adam come to remember that they were abducted by a man in a pig mask. Gordon gets a call from his wife Alison (Monica Potter), telling him to not trust Adam. When he confronts him of the warning, the latter admits that a black man (Tapp) hired him to spy on him. As a photographer, he admits to his knowledge of the doctor cheating on his wife with his medical student Carla (Alexandra Chun). It was outside her apartment where he got abducted. When looking at the pictures of his family, he recognizes Zep in the background. As the clock is past six, the antagonist prepares to kill his family. Alison breaks free and tries to defend herself before Tapp intervenes, after he noticed the conflict from afar. When Zep fails to kill the family, he prepares to kill Lawrence instead. However, he kills the former detective who chased him into the tunnel network where the bathroom is. The doctor grows worry after hearing the commotion on the phone. He decides to saw off his foot and reach for the gun to shoot Adam. Zep appears right after the gunshot. However, the surviving Adam overpowers him and kills him by smashing the toilet lid on his head. Lawrence leaves the bathroom, promising to go get help. Now alone, Adam checks Zep's body for a key, but finds another tape instead. He plays it, only to learn that he is another Jigsaw victim. Injected with a poison, he was assigned to kill Lawrence's family, had he not killed Adam, being promised an antidote when it's over. As the tape ends, the corpse rises, removes makeup from its head and reveals to be alive. The final flashbacks reveal that his name is John, a man with a brain tumor, who is the real Jigsaw killer. As he gets up, he tells Adam that the key is in the bathtub. However, the key went into the drain when he woke up. When Adam tries to shoot him with Zep's gun, the mastermind electrocutes him with his chain, with the source of a remote. The film ends with Jigsaw leaving his victim for dead, announcing "GAME OVER".
THOUGHTS
I recall how as a child, everyone was watching it as it came out in 2004. The common reaction is that it was one crazy film. I didn't get the chance to see it until 2017. At the time it was over after first viewing, I gave myself the deepest breath as I was in shock and awe of what I experienced. There was no way I would not be horrified of this film. Every second that progressed, I was biting my nails because I could not figure out how it was gonna go. That situation makes it even more scarier. Even Charlie Clouser's score is unsettling to listen. The reason that this movie works so well is because Director James Wan and co writer Leigh Whannell were able to create such complexity for a simple story. Between the gory death traps that behold our eyes, you seem to learn something out of it. What we're seeing is a twisted interpretation of people appreciating life. You don't get this without the presence of the psychological madman that is John Kramer. He is a man that is tired of seeing the disgusting souls around him and wanted to demonstrate his answer to cleanse the selfishness people are consumed with. To me, the scariest about him was not the traps, but his eery voice. Thanks to an astounding performance by Tobin Bell, his voice gave me chills. Whether it was through the audiotapes or seeing it play for his puppet, it was where I am at my most uncomfortable. Jigsaw may be the star of this film and its respected franchise, but there were still an interesting array of performances all around. As an actor, Whannell really impressed me with his performance as Andy. He is a guy who is selfish because he does not like where he is in life, at least before being abducted. Seeing how selfless he became overtime, he is truly the prime example that people can regain gratefulness when pushed in the corner. Those aspects about him made us want to root for him to make it, until he didn't. Cary Elwes was also great as Lawrence Gordon. He's a guy who comes off but is truly arrogant and emotionally distant. He is in the predicament because he stopped appreciating his wife. Once discovering she and his daughter were in danger, his gratefulness re emerged to the point that he was willing to hurt himself to save those he loves. Considering that he crawled out of the bathroom, you can't help but wish he got a happy ending. Shawnee Smith has her 'scream queen' moment as Amanda. The look she has as she was wearing the reverse bear trap, you knew she instantly regretted her past as a drug dealer. Despite making a traumatizing decision to kill someone to save herself, she is indeed grateful with her second chance. For someone who's seen abc’s Lost, I gotta admit Michael Emerson was good for Zep, since he was the most unpredictable figure in this movie. Every look he had, you just couldn't figure him out and that is why it was easy to mistake him for Jigsaw. Last but not least, I really enjoyed Danny Glover as Detective Tapp. He is arguably the only true protagonist in this movie because like any other character who protects and serves, he is 100 percent determined to crack the case. The problem with him was that his eagerness that became an obsession to extract revenge for his partner, made him target the wrong guy. And ironically, that was a blessing in disguise considering that he saves Gordon's family. While the veteran became reckless in his final act, it doesn't take away the heroism he displayed throughout. This movie is phenomenal in its own way but despite my respect, I can admit there were some things I didn't like, story related. First off, I don't understand how Lawrence's pen light makes him a suspect. This does imply that Jigsaw took it at some point, but I feel like it would need discernible markings and the doctor would need a criminal record for fingerprints. If he does have one, that should be discussed. I also respect the attempt to cut the chain before sacrificing the leg, but what about the pipes? They look rusty as hell and almost bound to break. Other than that, this movie feels untouchable. In conclusion, Saw will live as another horror classic for being the most inventive of the decade. If you are comfortable with your boundaries being pushed by bold movies, see this now.
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