Now that the snooze-fest Transformers: Age Of Extinction is out of
the way, we now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
Originally for the month of October I had planned to do a collection
of widely varied horror flicks covering every category, BUT that
changed when I got my hands on the entire Saw collection on
blu-ray. Seven movies that completely transformed the modern horror
genre, although the big question is was that a good thing or a bad
thing?
Up until the first Saw movie in
2004, the mainstream horror genre had been kind of spinning its
wheels as the trend at the time was a heavy infusion of sci-fi and/or
action, leaving us with “classics” such as Dreamcatcher,
Feardotcom, Ghost Ship, Resident Evil, Ghosts of Mars, Thir13een
Ghosts, and Hollow Man. On the franchise side you had
Friday The 13th and the Halloween
series steamrolling their way towards a reboot with disappointing
outings, while the only new franchise to launch was Final
Destination, which, while being very entertaining, is BARELY
horror.
Sure, some gems did sneak out during
these dark times like 28 Days Later, the American remake of
The Ring, and the WAY BETTER than it had any right to be
reboot of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but for years it was
just crushing letdown after crushing letdown. Saw changed ALL
of this, bringing horror back to its low budget roots with a film
that was harshly violent with very sharp elements of suspense and
intrigue to it.
You've seen the formula a hundred times
since then: a film with a SHOCKINGLY tiny budget, usually takes place
in a very small location usually no bigger than a house, and has a
greater focus on character interactions than the eventual torrent of
blood and gore it inevitably erupts into. Saw, a labour of
love from first time filmmakers James Wan and Leigh Whannell, had a
budget of around one million dollars and would go on to make over TEN
TIMES THAT worldwide. Hollywood could not sign contracts fast enough
to duplicate this formula after the box office receipts started
rolling in, and suddenly damn near every horror movie (and plenty of
non-horror movies as well) was emulating Saw until 2007 when
Paranormal Activity threw down its atomic bomb of a
game changer, but we'll be getting to that in due time.
If you can't tell by now, I LOVE this
movie. It's far from perfect (as you'll soon see) but still stands
as one of the most refreshingly original horror movies in my all time
favourite genre, embracing everything suspenseful horror movies are
supposed to be about. Keep an eye out for any suspicious characters
wearing a pig mask as we begin the next film retrospective with A
Ghoul Versus Saw!
Our film opens with a young man waking
up in a bathtub, but unfortunately this doesn't signal the aftermath
of one of the craziest parties of his life as he finds his leg is
shackled to the floor. A quick shot also shows a key going down the
drain of the bathtub as he struggles to get out of it. He starts
screaming for help in the dark room, a male voice quietly replying
there's no point in doing that. The other man turns the lights on,
and we get the full reveal of where the majority of this movie is
going to take place: a filthy old bathroom with each man chained on
opposite sides of it.
But this isn't just any old filthy
bathroom, for lying on the middle of the floor is a man lying in a
massive pool of blood coming from a gunshot wound on his head. In
his right hand is a tape recorder, in his left a pistol. The young
man starts freaking the hell out, the older man trying to calm him
down by getting him to talk. He introduces himself as Dr. Lawrence
Gordon, played by the eternally dashing Cary Elwes, and the younger
man says his name is Adam.
Adam is actually played by the
screenwriter of this movie, Leigh Whannell, one of the main points of
their contract with Lionsgate Films was that he be allowed to play
the main role. Whannell and Wan turned down much more money from
other studios who wouldn't agree to this, but had the final laugh
when this became a runaway hit.
Neither man can remember how they wound
up here, Gordon reasoning whoever kidnapped them did it for a
specific reason or else they'd be dead by now. Adam researches his
pockets, finding an envelope with his name of it sealed in a Ziploc
bag. Inside is a cassette tape with the words “PLAY ME” written
on it. This causes Gordon to do the same, also finding his own
cassette tape with the added bonus of a single bullet AND a key.
They take turns trying the key on the padlocks holding their chains
together, but no luck.
Adam goes for the tape recorder in the
dead man's hand next, and this is where I want to point out how
EXCELLENT the score for this movie is. Wan's already intense
atmosphere is greatly enhanced by the music, which was created by
Charlie Clouser, an ex-member of the band Nine Inch Nails. I know,
this is the WHOLE POINT of a score but this one really stands out
when compared to most horror movies. Using his shirt and the stopper
from his bathtub, Adam is able to snag the tape recorder and play his
tape. A very creepy voice starts playing:
“Rise and shine, Adam. You're
probably wondering where you are. I'll tell you where you might be.
You might be in the room that you die in. Up until now, you've
simply sat in the shadows watching others live out their lives. What
do voyeurs see when the look into the mirror? Now I see you as a
strange mix of someone angry and yet apathetic. But mostly just
pathetic. So are you going to watch yourself die today, Adam? Or do
something about it?”.
Gordon throws Adam his tape, hoping for
some actual information.
“Dr. Gordon, this is your wake up
call. Every day of your working life you have given people the news
that they are going to die soon. Now you will be the cause of death.
Your aim in this game is to kill Adam. You have until 6:00 on the
clock to do it. There's a man in the room with you. When there is
that much poison in your blood, the only thing left to do is shoot
yourself. There are ways to win this hidden all around you. Just
remember: “X” marks the spot for the treasure. If you do not
kill Adam by 6:00 then Alison and Diana will die, Dr. Gordon. And
I'll leave you in this room to rot. Let the game begin.”.
Gordon looks at the clock on the wall,
seeing it is a little past 10:30. He demands Adam throw him the tape
player, listening to the message again. At the very end they can
hear the voice whisper “Follow your heart”, Gordon noticing a
toilet near Adam has a heart painted on it. Doing his best
impersonation of James Sunderland from the video game Silent Hill
2, Adam sticks his hand inside the filthy toilet but finds
nothing of use. He searches the tank next and finds a bag, quipping
he wishes he'd searched that first. Ha!
Inside the bag are two SAWS, the men
trying to use them to SAW through their chains but they're way too
thick. Gordon says their abductor doesn't want them to cut off their
chains but instead their feet, realizing he may know who is behind
this: a killer that the police once suspected him of being. This
segues into a flashback of police detective Allison Kerry, played by
the always good Dina Meyer, guiding two of her colleagues through a
crime scene. It is quite horrific, a man trapped in a cage filled
with razor wire who ended up cutting himself to death trying to
escape. The coroner shows them a tape player they found at the
scene, playing it for the detectives.
The recording details the man, Paul,
had tried to kill himself by slitting his wrists but the captor
wonders if it was only for attention so he's put Paul inside the cage
to see if that was the case. He has two hours to escape the cage or
else the door will seal forever, as we get sped up footage of Paul
trying to tunnel out only to sustain severe cuts.
Detective David Tapp, played by Danny
“I Will NEVER Get Too Old To Be Completely Awesome” Glover,
notices a piece of skin has been cut off the body in the form of a
jigsaw puzzle piece. Gordon narrates this earned the kidnapper the
title of the “Jigsaw Killer”, noting he's technically not a
killer as he always finds ways for his victims to kill themselves.
We cut to another victim, a man who was faking being sick in an
insurance fraud scheme that ended up burning himself alive. Kerry
found a clue at this one: a penlight.
They trace the prints on the pen to
Gordon, who works as an oncologist at one of the local hospitals. He
is detailing the state of one of his patients suffering from a brain
tumor to a class of young students, interrupted by one of the
orderlies who tells him the man's name is John instead of just
“patient”. The orderly is Zep Hindle, played by the EXCELLENT
Michael Emerson of Lost fame. He was already somewhat famous
for his Emmy award winning role as a serial killer on Generic Lawyer
Show #4,290,511 The Practice, but for many, like myself, this
was our introduction to one of the best actors working today.
Emerson excels at playing exceptionally
creepy characters and Zep is no exception, as he has mastered one of
the most unnerving stares I've ever seen. This scene is very well
done, as we learn he cares a lot about the people he's helping while
Gordon is a very detached man who is just going through the motions
of his job. It's also noticeable for one of the young doctors making
googly eyes at the handsome Gordon, because DUH LOOK AT HIM. One
can't help but notice his attention is drawn to her over the rest of
the class. For those of you keeping score at him, this is how you
SHOW instead of TELLING. This barely two minute scene has told us
more about these characters than an hour of a Michael Bay movie could
ever hope to portray.
For what it's worth, we get a very
brief shot of John lying in bed no doubt dreaming about his bitching
soul patch. Gordon is interrupted by a page to his office, where he
finds Tapp and Detective Steven Sing waiting for him. Sing is played
by Ken Leung, not only continuing our theme of this film having
really good actors but he's also an alumni of the show Lost, where he
brought the hilarious Miles Straume to life.
Tapp and Sing question Gordon about his
whereabouts the previous night but he is reluctant to answer so they
take him down to the police station for questioning. We learn his
refusal to cooperate was due to the fact he's having an affair and
that's where he was last night. His alibi checks out, but before
they let him go they have him listen in on the testimony of a Jigsaw
victim that actually survived her trial.
Her name is Amanda Young, played by the
multi-talented and absolutely stunning Scream Queen Extraordinaire
Herself, Mrs. Shawnee Smith. Not only is she an incredible actress
that can do every genre, she's also fronted both a heavy metal band
AND a country band. Amanda details her ordeal, waking up in a chair
to find herself caught in one of Saw's most famous images: the
Reverse Bear Trap. We'll cover the traps in later movies as they
undeniably became THE defining characteristic of the series in the
same way we all have our favourite death scenes in the Friday The
13th and Nightmare On Elm Street movies,
but here they were just an element of a MUCH larger story.
From one iconic shot to another, a
television screen flashes to life across from Amanda as we're
introduced to the face of Saw: Billy The Puppet, a puppet so
creepy he'd send Chuckie crying home to his mum. Billy drops
franchise catchphrase “I want to play a game” as he tells Amanda
she has one minute to find the key to her trap before it rips her
face apart. He helpfully tells her the key is in the stomach of a
dead man lying on the ground next to her, but it turns out he was
fibbing about that part and the man is still alive. With less than
thirty seconds to go and panic in full effect, Amanda starts stabbing
and stabbing until she finds the key to free herself.
This is actually one of the most
contentious points of the series, as the man Amanda killed was never
given any kind of chance to save his life. This goes against
everything Jigsaw stands for, as he always gives his victims an
opportunity for redemption. I suppose you could make the case the
man failed his trial earlier and this was the consequence or that
this was never meant to be a franchise and they didn't put all that
much thought into it, but with the meticulous planning of the later
films this scene does tend to stand out. Billy rides into the room
on a tricycle, giving us the Jigsaw creed:
“Congratulations, you are still
alive. Most people are so ungrateful to be alive. But not you, not
anymore.”.
Tapp brings up how Amanda is a junkie,
reasoning that's why Jigsaw picked her. She admits Jigsaw helped
her, much to the detective's shock. The film returns to the present
where Adam figures out they're being watched by a security camera as
a quick cut shows a mystery figure on the other side observing them
via a monitor.
Click here for Part 2!
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