When you ask a group of genre fans about their favorite franchise, you’ll get a wide variety of answers. You’ll get a few classic 80s slashers, that weirdo who ‘jokingly’ says The Human Centipede, and someone will definitely say the MaXXXine trilogy. On top of those great choices, you will most definitely find someone who lists Saw as their favorite franchise. Taking a step back, and looking at the first film for what it was, it seems like the ultimate gateway film to introduce people to the idea of extreme horror/torture porn.
At its core, Saw follows Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and Adam (Leigh Whannell), who wake up in a disgusting rest-stop-looking bathroom. Their legs? Chained to a pipe on the wall. With two saws, a cellphone, a tape player, and a poisoned cigarette, Dr. Gordon and Adam must play by the rules of Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) if they have any hope of getting out alive.
The Saw franchise quickly won the hearts of genre fans with its gratuitously mean violence and questionable moral teachings. Some of my fondest memories were going to the theater in the aughts every October to see the next installment of my favorite franchise. As with most franchises, Saw got weirder and bloodier with each installment and slowly became a genre mainstay. Say what you will about the later entries in the series, but the first Saw film is a true work of art. Like The Human Centipede, Saw is nowhere near as gory or brutal as you may have thought it was. Think of it like a Berenstain/stein Bears thing.
Saw is a disturbing film and is terrifying on concept alone. Someone thinks they’re judge, jury, and [in most cases] executioner? What if his morals aren’t what is actually correct? I mean in Saw VII, there is a woman who is put in a trap with her abusive husband, and they are forced to fight until one of them falls onto a pile of running lawnmower blades. So you’re telling me this woman who was illegally abused by her husband must kill him just to escape? And if she slips and falls, he lives? It’s ridiculous. But something always brings me right back to this franchise.
James Wan and Leigh Whannell created an incredible story, even when it falters into the absurd. One of the most impressive things about Saw is just how un-gory it really is. Granted, it’s no lovely stroll through the park. Saw is the perfect film for someone who wants to dip their toes into the more extreme and dark side of horror. However, it would be recommended to have someone watch a few Saw films to gain an understanding of their gore factor. Before you show your friend Inside or Martyrs, maybe show them Saw first, just to make sure they can handle the… craziness!
When it comes to extreme horror, the first Saw film is going to be far down on the list. But it’s an incredible litmus test for how someone can handle the more transgressive of horror films. Saw still stands as one of the genre’s greatest films, even if the franchise gets ridiculously silly as they go. Why do we think Saw is gorier than it really is? Could it be because of the direction the franchise takes as it goes? Or is it because it singlehandedly kicked off the supremely successful stint of torture porn?
