Horror Origins: Saw

            I have to say, with this being my 12th Horror Origins review, this is my first time encountering a series that has clearly, flagrantly and painfully wasted the original film’s potential.  But here it is:  A good movie with wretched, terrible, no-good shitty sequels.

            On to the review!

            In 2004, a new, long-lasting horror franchise was born the moment Saw hit theaters.  While not a groundbreaking film, it had all the hallmarks of an entertaining, well-done horror/thriller.  There was a genuinely mysterious villain, gruesome deaths, dark and gritty camerawork and plenty of people who were not what they seemed.

            While the killer, Jigsaw, would later go on to become the ‘star’ of ever-more-tepid sequels, in this one he's merely the catalyst.  Yes, a mysterious killer is kidnapping people and forcing them into life-or-death situations.  Yes, many of the scenes show what happens to said victims.  However, in the first film, Jigsaw just was.  We didn’t care about why or what or who.  They had not yet started to try and justify his motives or develop his past.  He was just an evil, merciless killer.

            Thus, when the movie opens to two people waking up in an abandoned room, both chained to pipes, it’s a mystery for both them and the audience to solve.  The two men, Adam (Leigh Whannel) and Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes) aren't familiar with each other, yet they must both try to survive a twisted game.  Meanwhile, a driven cop played by Danny Glover is trying to catch Jigsaw before anyone else dies.

            The story is told in a deliberately disjointed way, constantly flashing back to past victims and important events.  This way, we are allowed to ever-so-slowly figure out just what Jigsaw is after, and why these two specific guys have been chosen as victims.

            What stands out about Saw is just how little it resembles the sequels.  As Jigsaw's character becomes more fleshed out, the movies themselves become less interesting, less well written, less intense and too stupid.  The murders in the original are creepy and inventive.  It seems that the writers quickly ran out of inventive and moved on to the profoundly ridiculous.

            Plus, while there is some gore, much of the violence is left to the imagination.  There are not gallons of blood flowing freely.

            Specifically, I want to mention the scene where a man is trapped in razor wire and must painfully crawl his way out or die of blood loss.  The scene is shown sped-up, with lots of eerie lighting and frantic screaming.  While we do see a few quick close-ups of the razor wire and skin, the cameras never linger on the gore, instead focusing on the crazed, mental anguish of a desperate man in his last moments.

            As a movie, Saw holds up surprisingly well.  As a horror film, I believe it's still better than a large number of horrors new and old.  As a franchise, well, Jigsaw should consider the writer's room for his next victims.