Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 12

Day 12: Saw

Probably the biggest horror movie that I had never seen before, Saw was undoubtedly a cultural phenomenon that's still adding new films to the saga today. 

The premise is simple but clever: two guys wake up in a room, chained to the wall, and figure out that they only have a few hours to get out before they're killed. The problem is that the rest of the movie isn't as clever as the premise. 

There's lots of "plot twists", but none of them are particularly shocking or interesting, and the dialogue is very plain and forgettable. 

Okay, so it isn't smart, that's not a surprise. But what about the torture/gore? That's what the fans want to see! Well, there's really not anything that gross or violent in the movie. 

No death in this movie is more shocking or disgusting than anything in films like Se7en, or creatively violent like Dead Alive. A guy has to put his hand in a dirty toilet. Great. A lady gets a giant bear trap off her face by fishing the key out of a dude's stomach. Okay. Nothing that interesting. 

Visually, the movie looks like an anti-piracy ad from the early 2000's. James Wan clearly watched Run Lola Run before making this, cause there's lots of fast-forwarding and quick pans that became huge during this period in film. 

The acting isn't anything to write home about, though it's not like the actors had a lot to work with. What's really disappointing is that Cary Elwes, who's normally great, is really stiff and awkward throughout the entire movie while trying his darndest to do an American accent. 

Overall, I really didn't care about this movie. It wasn't awful, but it definitely doesn't live up to the hype. 

So then the big question: why was this movie such a huge deal? 

I think the reason Saw was/is so popular, and the reason that it's the first example anyone thinks of when they hear the term "torture film", is pretty simple: it's a really accessible, inoffensive, unscary, generally kinda bland horror movie. 

People who are easily scared can still enjoy this movie without getting nightmares; horror junkies still get some bloodshed but it's not too gross for a scary movie date night; kids can feel cool having seen a torture film without having to see Salò. It's serviceable. 

I don't plan on seeing the sequels, but I'm glad I can finally check it off my list.