The strange and horrible world of Saw
Anthony Pert
One of the more interesting horror films to be released in the past decade would be the original Saw film. While many are more familiar with the more recent sequels and the very disappointing final chapter, it was the original film which truly was a standout horror film.
There are quite a few elements that made Saw such an effective horror film. The ingenuity of the victims having to solve their way out of ingenious traps replaced the boring "stalk and slash" formula so many horror films have followed since the late 1970s. And of course, Jigsaw was truly one of the most original—and incredibly creepy—horror villains to appear in years. He was not a rip-off of other classic characters and his presentation as an intellectual psychopath truly allowed him to stand out.
The employment of a puppet as a proxy stand-in for the real Jigsaw was another brilliant touch. The use of the puppet added a strangeness factor that made the film quite original. It also left the audience guessing as to what this bizarre character would be capable of. Among the most tired problems with horror movies is their predictability. It can be difficult to breathe life into the horror genre when the nature of it limits its narratives, and the box office potential for such films limits the types of productions which can be made. With Saw, the public was treated to a horror film that twisted many of the old cliches of the genre and delivered something totally unexpected. This is why it should not be surprising that the film did well over $100 million dollars in worldwide box office receipts. Ironically, the film was originally slated as a direct-to-DVD production with the decision to release it theatrically coming at the proverbial 11th hour.
One major element contributed to the first Saw film's success. That would be the nerve that the film struck in viewers. The victims in Saw were chosen because they all suffered from personality flaws and weaknesses. They were forced to confront their weaknesses and their humanity when placed in Jigsaw's nefarious traps. The reason this resonates with audiences is because audiences are, after all, human. That means we, the audience, have our own frailties and weaknesses. Upon watching the proceedings in Saw, we are forced to come to the realization we have these weaknesses and one day we may have to address the negative effects they have on us.
The traps that Jigsaw employs in the film symbolize such a notion and this contributes to the unnerving psychological impact the film delivers. No, Saw is not a run-of-the-mill horror film by any means. This is why Saw is considered a modern classic of the horror genre.
You could say that Saw was the right film at the right time. It capitalized on a sense of bleakness in the nation and presented a strange upside down world which captivated horror fans who did not expect the film to deliver the impact that it did. While many horror films are instantly forgettable, Saw is a film that truly stands out as a classic.
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