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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

This Idiot's Guide To The Saw Movies

You might not have seen any of them if it's not your thing, but almost everybody knows about the Saw series at least. If you don't, I want to know where the heck have you been hiding the last 7 Halloweens? The franchise was placed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Most Successful Horror Movie Series" at San Diego's Comic-Con 2010. They've become sort of a pop culture phenom as well as a big cash cow for Lionsgate (over $859 million worldwide, not counting DVD sales). I watch them all every Halloween without fail.

The films are a horror/thriller film franchise created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell. The series revolves around the Jigsaw Killer, a dying vigilante who kidnaps victims and places them in deadly traps to test them and see if they are deserving of the life they have abused. The victims, almost always taken because they have taken their lives for granted (lying, conning, drug-dealing, etc.), are usually linked to each other in one way or another.

Here's some official sites if you wanna check 'em out:


Here's a quick look at how they've done at the US box office:



and some jaw-dropping totals (click to enlarge):



Let's get to the movies themselves...

Saw

Summary: The film is focused on two men who find themselves trapped in a grimy, industrial bathroom with instructions to kill each other, or be killed in turn. The two characters attempt to escape the trap, while police seek the man who trapped them in their predicament, the Jigsaw Killer (Tobin Bell), and his other victims.
Stuff: Shot for just a bit over $1 mil, it earned over $100 mil worldwide... writer Leigh Wannell plays photographer Adam Faulkner... one of the only things I dislike about this film is Cary Elwes and his annoying overacting in the last 20 minutes... pre-production was only five days; it was shot and cut at the same time in 18 days... was originally intended for straight-to-video, but sceenings were positive... best traps: jaw splitter, razor wire maze...
Quote: Jigsaw: "Most people are so ungrateful to be alive, but not you, not any more... GAME OVER!"
Defining Moment: Elwes character gets "foot loose"

Saw II

Summary: The Jigsaw Killer is apprehended, but traps the arresting officer (Donnie Wahlberg) in one of his own games while showing another "game" of eight people in progress at the same time... and one is the officer's son. It also explored the character's back story, explaining why he became a serial killer.
Stuff: directed by Darren Lynn Bousman... made for only $4 million and grossed over $144 million worldwide... Shawnee Smith's character, who had a small part in the first movie, is introduced as Jigsaw's protege... shot in 25 days... Shawnee Smith was actually pregnant, but kept it a secret... The whole film was shot in one building... It took around 120,000 syringes to complete the Syringe Pit sequence... best traps: syringe pit, venus head trap, magnum eyehole
Quote: Jigsaw: "Hello Michael, I want to play a game."
Defining Moment: Amanda is thrown in a pit with thousands of used hypodermic syringes

Saw III

Summary: The Jigsaw Killer is working with his unstable apprentice Amanda to finish the final tests he had prepared and planned before he dies. The film also contains additional back story information on the two antagonists. It adds to the plot of the first film and completes parts of the 2nd film.
Stuff: directed by Darren Lynn Bousman... the goriest and most brutal of the 3 so far... made on a $10 mil budget, it ended up grossing over $150 mil worldwide... the film was toned down 7 times to obtain the "R" rating... First Saw movie to include nudity.... the set was used from Scary Movie 4... dedicated to the memory of late SAW producer Gregg Hoffman after his sudden passing... best traps: chained to the classroom, angel ribs trap, shotgun collar
Quote: Eric: "You're not Jigsaw, bitch!"
Defining Moment:Jigsaw gets brain surgery

Saw IV

Summary: SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game and has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences. Two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in piecing together the puzzle.
Stuff: The first movie in the series not to be written by Leigh Whannell... filmed in 32 days... directed by Darren Lynn Bousman... delves into the origin of Jigsaw and has his first victim and trap... also the origin of the pig mask as John uses it at a Year of the Pig Chinese New Year festival... grossed $63,300,095 domestic and $139,352,633 worldwide... best traps: knife chair (Jigsaw's first trap ever... and it broke), mausoleum trap, hair puller, Ivan's bed trap, ice block trap
Quote: Jigsaw: "Time is an illusion that cannot be given."
Defining Moment: Maybe the defining moment for the whole series is when Cecil slams John's pregnant wife between the wall and the door, making John into Jigsaw.

Saw V

Summary: Following Jigsaw's grisly demise, Mark Hoffman, the final apprentice to the serial killer is deigned a hero. Meanwhile, Agent Strahm is tested and puts the pieces together. While Strahm realizes that Hoffman is helping Jigsaw, five seemingly unconnected people face a horrible lesson about teamwork. Strahm follows all the leads he can get off Hoffman, including the death of his sister and why he joined Jigsaw. Hoffman and Strahm circle each other until it boils down to a gruesome and bone-crushing finale.
Stuff: Directed by David Hackl... writen by Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan from the Feast trilogy... the first sequel not to open at #1 in the US... Seth's trap is inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe short story "The Pit and the Pendulum"... first film of the series in which Billy the Puppet does not appear in person... real animal blood was used for the final trap
Quote: Jigsaw: "If you're good at anticipating the human mind, it leaves nothing to chance."
Defining Moment: Strahm finds himself in the cube trap, a glass cube placed over his head filling with water.



Saw VI

Summary: Agent Strahm is dead and framed while Hoffman continues John's legacy while Jill carries out John's final request.
Stuff: first "Saw" film to use digital timers on body-worn traps... tilization of the Reverse Bear Trap makes this film the first installment to reuse a previously featured trap... the lowest opening weekend of any "Saw" film in the US, only making $14.1 million.
Quote: Jigsaw: "You think it's the living that will have ultimate judgment over you, because the dead will have no claim over your soul. But you may be mistaken."
Defining Moment: The Shotgun Carousel Of Death

Saw 3D: The Final Chapter

Summary: As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror.
Stuff: The first of the franchise in 3D... had the longest pre-production schedule of any Saw film. The complexity of the 3D process inflated the usual 9 week prep into 21 weeks... had to be submitted six times to obtain an "R" rating from the Major Motion Picture Association of America, to avoid an NC-17 rating... has 11 traps, the most in the entire franchise... highest body count of any of the films with 27
Quote: Hoffman: "You wanna know the only thing that's wrong with killing you, Jill? I can only do it once."
Defining Moment: The return to the bathroom where it all began, the final scene of the series.
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