♥♥♥♥♥
+ Best Horror Movie of the Year
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| A terrified woman wearing a contraption that doesn't appear benign around her head, encompassed in darkness, and the curt title in screaming red color makes up this striking poster for James Wan's Saw |
Two men wake up in a large, dilapidated bathroom, accompanied by a corpse. They are chained but learn through clues that the one responsible for their situation want them to fight each other. - But there is more to it than meets the eye in this sadistic puzzle...
Saw is written by writer/star Leigh Whannell (Insidious (2010)), with great Malaysian director James Wan (Furious 7 (2015)) contributing story elements.
An outstanding, brutal horror, Saw was also a game-changer for the modern horror genre. Despite the common conception, Saw actually doesn't have enough gore to qualify as a gore movie; but it did inspire a wave of other torture-filled gore movies that tried to copy its rapid-fire, flickering editing style. That style isn't my cup of tea, but Wan and editor Kevin Greutert (The Strangers (2008)) get the technique - along with many of the other ploys of Saw, - to work in their own right here in a plot that's rich on horror ideas and enthusiasm about the genre.
As the two central men in the bathroom, Cary Elwes (Indiscretion (2016)) is nearly unrecognizable, and Whannell is intense.
The lies run thick in Saw, and the film doesn't inspire feelings of great human warmth, but as horror it is excellent. The reveal in the film's end is fantastic, and the theme from Charlie Clouser's (The Collection (2012)) score is exemplary and helps elevate the entire film. Saw is a solid horror-thriller ride.
Related posts:
James Wan: Aquaman (2018) - Wan delivers a majorly satisfying, gung ho action-adventure splash
The Conjuring 2 (2016) - Wan's sequel is a long horror treat with terrifying periods
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess
The Conjuring (2013) - Best horror film in 7 years
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Insidious (2010) - Wan's thrilling, scary ghost horror
Saw III (2006) - Good performances in Bousman's grisly third trappings (story contributor)
2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Cost: 1.2 mil. $
Box office: 103.9 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 86.58 times its cost)
[Saw premiered 19 January (Sundance Film Festival, Utah) and runs 103 minutes. Inspired by Pi (1998) and The Blair Witch Project (1999), Wan and Whannell set out after completing film school in Australia to make a low-budget feature primarily set in a single location. Not securing finance in Australia, they traveled to Los Angeles and shot a 7-minute short for 5k $ around the 'jaw trap scene' from the script, with Whannell in the part wearing the trap, which helped hook talents and financiers to the movie. The two went ahead with a little independent company who promised creative control and 25 % of the net profits. Shooting took place in Los Angeles for 18 days from September - October 2003. Some of the film's style, incorporating still images for instance, was developed to cover for shortage of footage and other issues due to the short shoot and low budget. Lionsgate's initial plan to release the film direct-to-video was altered after great screening responses, and the film was edited from an NC-17 rating to get an R. It opened #3, behind holdover hit The Grudge and fellow new release Ray to an 18.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#4) and grossed 56 mil. $, including a 800k $ gross from a domestic 10th anniversary re-release (53.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 12.6 mil. $ (12.1 %) and Italy with 6.4 mil. $ (6.2 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to 3 notches harder than this one. The film made in excess of 89.1 mil. $ on domestic home video sales and rentals. It spurred a franchise of 7 sequels (2005-2017) and an 8th, a reboot, in the making currently for a 2020 release date. - All of the films have been wildly commercially successful, with only Saw VI (2009) making less than the first film (68.2 mil. $). Wan returned with Dead Silence (2007). Elwes returned in American Crime (2004, video) and theatrically in Ella Enchanted (2004); Danny Glover (Toxin (2015)) in The Cookout (2004); and Monica Potter (Parenthood (2010-15)) in 4 TV credits before her theatrical return in Lower Learning (2008). Saw is rotten at 49 % with a 5.53/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Saw?
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