The Saw Series

[rappites]

Lionsgate has announced that they are going to release Saw IV for October 2007. With success of Saw III in it's opening weekend.

Can they keep it going?

[sickness]

They're treading on thin ice, IMHO. Most movie series tend to suck after the third entry, sometimes starting with the third entry.

Personally, I have no desire to see Saw III. I didn't see the first one until about 6 weeks ago. I was avoiding it because I have very little desire to see massive amounts of gore and that's all I saw in the ads. Some friends finally convinced me to watch it and I was impressed. There was very little in the way of actual killings and most of the gore was less than straight forward. It was very Hitchcockian in that it set a tone and created a disturbing feeling in its audience by ratcheting up that tone rather than replacing it with slice-and-dice and that's what I dug about it. I've since heard that Saw II is more the slice-and-dice I expected and that Saw III follows in its footsteps. Slice-and-dice is so played out. Why couldn't they go with the suspense style of the first movie??

And...

SPOILER

...if they don't catch/kill Jigsaw at the end of III, I'm outright boycotting IV no matter what my friends do to get me to watch II and III. There's got to be a pay-off at some point. But I've already heard that Tobin Bell has signed to play Jigsaw in both IV & V so it looks like I'll be boycotting any future Saw installments.

[rappites]

I agree. They are getting greedy with the only thing that has made them money.

I have a feeling they will get to gory in the next ones. The first one was great because it left it to your imagination. I do not need to see the gore.

[KingVoyeur]

Ok, just got back from Saw III, and I very much enjoyed it. Before I go into it, let me backtrack.

Saw I. Saw it the day it came out, and I was very much impressed. I was expecting tons of gore with not much plot, but what I got was a character study interjected with squirm-in-your-seat-I-can't-believe-what's-about-to-happen shockers. The tension comes from how the two main characters deal with each other and try and escape their prison. In Jigsaw, we have a new breed of villain. He doesn't actually kill people. Instead, he places them in predicaments meant to test their will to survive. Their fate is completely in their own hands. Unfortunately, most don't measure up, and they pay the price. The ending was completely unexpected and left me wanting more.

Saw II. I didn't make it to theaters for this one, not sure why, so I had to wait for it to come to On Demand. Again, I was impressed. The stakes were raised, the traps were more elaborate and a new dimension was added. Instead of just having to deal with each individual's own personal will to survive, now a group of people had to deal with each other, depending on each other to escape one big Jigsaw trap. While there were fantastic and horrific deaths, again the focus was on characters. The ending was again unexpected and horrifying, giving us a twist that made me eager to see how this would develop in the next installment.

Saw III. Easily the best one yet. The traps are even more elaborate and horrifying, with a few very difficult to watch. However, the most bloody ones are dealt with at the beginning of the movie, and then gore gives way to an intense human drama, but don't worry, gruesome traps are still insterspersed throughout, including what has to be the most brutal device in the series so far, Jigsaw's own version of the rack. The characters are very well-written, with backgrounds given in flashbacks that never drag the main story down, only heightening the tension. Not only do the characters have Jigsaw's traps to contend with, they must now face the demons within themselves and their pasts if they expect to pass Jigsaw's tests. The traps now not only test their will to survive, but their humanity. You can figure out the twist about 20-30 minutes before it actually happens, but surprisingly, it only makes the situation even more tense. The filmmakers were very smart the way they pulled this one off, it's a very tight film, making this one of the best horror movies in recent years (although, granted, with the slew of teeny-bopper PG-13 "horror" dreck that's being churned out lately, that's easier to accomplish than you'd think) as well as a fantastic horror trilogy.

Saw IV. Slated for 2007, I'm interested to see how they work this one out. Spoiler time!

SPOILER

Ok, so Jigsaw's dead. Amanda is most likely dead, being shot through the neck and all. However, they threw in some stuff in III that I'd like to see explained. Who was the woman that Jigsaw was with in the park with and was obviously very much in love with? Donny Wahlberg's character plot is continued on from II in III, so will they continue the story of the father now having to find his daughter? I'm interested to see what they come up with!

Those're my takes on the Saw series. These films may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you can look past the insane traps and horrifying (but not always bloody) deaths, you'll find yourself with a decent study on human nature.

[rappites]

Oh, thank-you for that review. I am soo excited now.

[KingVoyeur]

Hehe I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not...

[rappites]

Far from it. I am totally serious. Thank-you.

[KingVoyeur]

Oh, ok, right on, you're welcome!