Saw films - What did you think?

Just been watching through the Saw films (1 - 6), as the new one will be being released soon (over here in the UK at least, not so sure about the rest of the world), but what's every ones feelings and opinions about the films. I've watched up to 5 at the moment and despite not being a massive fan of these types of films, have enjoyed them (if you can really use the term 'enjoy' under the subject and content of the films).

Sure they're overly gruesome and the shock values a bit ott, but I find the motives of the jigsaw character to be somewhat justified in his actions, well not to the point of killing someone, but the idea of redemption through ones actions and having that choice, seems to at least give some sort of logic behind it all. So that concept makes these films watchable to me, as some subjects relate to injustices in today's society.

The plot seems to have gone off a bit though, but it'll be interesting to see where it goes from here and obviously ends.

Sure, they're not the best set of films in the world, far from it in fact...but the people behind them...sure brought something different to a tried and tested genre.

So does anyone else appreciate the films to any level? Despite the sadistic nature of the films, I feel there is another layer to them all, what does everyone else think?

I enjoy the films as decent and interesting horror movies, but I don't agree with the message.

Some people are rotten, horrible people who lie, cheat, steal, and do whatever they want because they are selfish. They treat others with a self-righteous attitude and consider everyone else lower them themselves. They are the true definition of douchbag pondscum.

That being said, I don't think it's anyone's 'right' to put someone else 'in their place' no matter how much they deserve it. Who are we to judge ? Especially when serving the comeuppance is by killing them.

The irony being that no matter what terrible thing the person did to end up in Jigsaws trap- he's murdering people. Where is his justice ? What gives him the right ?

Let loser jerks be loser jerks and leave enough alone.

The only one I've seen is Scary Movie 4.

Realistic violence that gruesome isn't for me. (A good messy zombie movie is a fine way to kill 90 minutes, though, but the violence there isn't what I consider realistic.)

as far as message ehh I didn't come away with anything profound.
As far as movie as soon as I saw the dead guy on the floor in the first one and was introduced to all the charaters I knew he was the guy. I have yet to see the others and will probably keep it that way.

6 Is one of the absolute best of the series... Watch it ASAP!

This is what I think of the Saw franchise.

I can't figure out what the attraction is when it comes to these movies. I saw the first two for free - part 1 at Comic Con and 2 at a screening or something - I've caught pieces of the other films, but nothing about any of them dazzled me.

Could be as simple as I'm getting old - well, too old for horror films. The plots and tricks, scare set ups and pay offs are all recycled from other horror films. The "scary doll" is used similar in the film Magic with Anthony Hopkins. And the whole Jigsaw thing has been done a bazillion times before. - I loved movies like "The Funhouse" and "The Car" when I was younger, so I can spot stuff around the corner.

CB2001 said:

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This is what I think of the Saw franchise.

Lol that was pretty funny.

And in regards to the message, I don't agree with it...but all I'm saying is that there is a little thought behind it...which on some occasions, does make you think (a little).

What I'm trying to say, is that it beats horror flicks which have no point to them...where the killer is just a mindless killer for the sake of the narrative of the film.

i enjoyed them all. I liked the first because of the style of them. Kinda like when I saw Hostel and enjoyed the idea of that too

Soundwave said:

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What I'm trying to say, is that it beats horror flicks which have no point to them...where the killer is just a mindless killer for the sake of the narrative of the film.

Unfortunately, that's what the "Saw" films are. A killer just mindlessly killing people. So, your point only validates exactly what the films of "Saw" have become.

Take it for what it is. Really twisted ways on how to kill people. It has became like a Halloween tradition to go see Saw.

yeah everytime I watch one it makes me want to have an abandoned warehouse to trick it out like the first movie with some Joker props included..very cool

Ive thoroughly enjoyed the series and am anticipating and yet dreading the final movie simply because there are so many more things id like explained.

My favorite will always be the first. Its a perfect standalone and the twist had me going for hours afterwards. The rest vary from good (3 and 6) to ok (4 and 2) to bad (5), but ive enjoyed them all so far.

As i said before, ill go see the midnight premiere of 7, but ill go with a sadness that there will never be another installment and the inevitable remake 20 years from now.

Heres hoping its a good finale and doesnt suck

I just can't get into the "torture porn" type of movies. In fact, for as desensitized as I seem to be to general violence, when it comes to very graphically showing extended scenes of people suffering, I just have no stomach and no interest in it. Killing is one thing, but being overly gruesome about it and especially if it involves pain that just goes on and on.... just not for me. With that in mind, I thought the PREMISE of the first film was somewhat interesting. I think I have seen 3 more and they were just worthless in my opinion.

The one thing I do like about the Saw films is every generation needs their own horror franchise to sit through, enjoy and try to cop a feel when you jump. I'm glad this gen got something "new" - I mean we had Friday 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street and a stack of wannabes - Saw at least fills the gap for kids now.

And yeah - it is nice when someone gets behind the keyboard and tosses in a little something smarter than you'd expected for the character - especially in films known to just sort of toss away any real story rather quickly.

I was an EMT for 13 years and saw an incredible amount of trauma during that time. I've seen more people killed than I can remember and have seen them die from just about anything you can imagine; like gunshot wounds, plane crashes, car crashes, dismemberment, fire, falls from buildings, etc, etc, etc.

Ironically, I can look at a real life situations like that and not be affected by them at all. When it's shown in slasher type movies though, for some strange reason I can't stand to watch it. I don't know when it happened, but at one point in my life I just lost all desire to see movies like that. I was even reluctant to watch "28 Days Later", because the whole zombie thing kind of repulsed me. (I did end up watching it though, as well as "28 Weeks Later" and liked both of them)

A few years ago though, I girl I was seeing rented one of the Saw (III I think) movies and wanted to watch it. Being a true guy at heart, I couldn't let her think I was a wuss, so I made myself sit through it. The one thing that struck me, was just how REAL some of the effects looked. The broken bones LOOKED and BLED just like open fractures, and the deep cuts or gunshots bled out just like what I've witnessed.

In all honesty, I found it pretty disturbing. Not in that it turned my stomach or anything like that, but I was more appalled to think there are young kids today who are watching these films and (in my opinion) becoming more and more desensitized to violence.

I was stationed in South Central L.A. during the early 90's and saw tons of gang violence. Over the years though, I've seen that violence spread throughout most of L.A. County and have seen it spread among people who in all actuality aren't associated with a gang. I tend to think it's because of movies like this and video games like Grand Theft Auto, which not only promote violence, but make it so frequent and graphic that it's no longer shocking to a kid when he sees it in real life.

Don't get me wrong though; I'm not one to push for censorship or trying to control what the movie and gaming industry produce. But I do believe parents should know what their kids are watching and set limits for them when it comes to this. As someone else said, it's porn for those who are into torture. It's not my cup of tea though, so I won't be watching anymore of them. One was too much.

JunkSabers1138 said:

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My favorite will always be the first. Its a perfect standalone and the twist had me going for hours afterwards. The rest vary from good (3 and 6) to ok (4 and 2) to bad (5), but ive enjoyed them all so far.

The first did it for me as well. I NEVER saw that twist coming. It was easily one of the best horror movies I have ever seen.

i dont think these movies are at all that impressive.
this real life saw like case is much more scarier:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Douglas_Wells
Official: Pizza collar-bomb case solved - U.S. news - Crime & courts - msnbc.com

I really enjoyed the first one. It was a very well done movie without as much over the top gore and the ending was just great. Everything after that is just torture porn and I haven't bothered to watch them. But that's just my opinion. I have friends who like all of them.

I've never had a ton of interest in the "torture porn" types of films either. I enjoy the old-school slasher films now and then (precisely BECAUSE they're so predictable and dumb and over the top), but those films also aren't all that realistic in their portrayal of violence either. It's almost like watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

I've heard the first film has some interesting stuff going on, but the subsequent films are just gore-gags and f-ed up Rube Goldberg devices. Like, "Let's play a game. I call it 'Mousetrap', except instead of delightfully colorful plastic pieces, we use real people and instead of inoffensive plastic traps, I use all manner of lethal devices." Yeah, pass, thanks.

Only saw 1 and 2 (pun intended) in the theater.

The thing that always gets me about the traps is that 70% of the time they are unfair/no win (door lock gun in 2) or too easy (antidote box and furnace in 2)

But for the pièce de résistance I have to give props to the main bit of Saw 1 because I actually use it every semester in intro geology classes.

Okay you have 2 guys chained to big steel pipes in an old bathroom. Now let's break this down for a second. You have 2 guys chained by steel (hardness of 6-6.5) in a room that is literally plated in ceramic and glass (hardness of 7). Given as much time as they had, I could have just pulled a chunk of tile off the wall and cut my way loose. Hell they could have even mushed up a bit of the more crumbly tile and used it with the hacksaws to get out in record time. That's how rocksaws work for making countertops and gravestones anyway.

So yeah, Moh's scale of hardness. It could save your life one day, or leave you giggling like an idiot in the middle of a horror flick.

I am glad they are saying 7 is the last one. I want to see how it ends and finally be done with it. It really is starting to drag on.

Gee...where have I heard "This is the last one" before...

Ohh yeah. I remember now.

James Kenobi 1138 said:

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I enjoy the films as decent and interesting horror movies, but I don't agree with the message.

Some people are rotten, horrible people who lie, cheat, steal, and do whatever they want because they are selfish. They treat others with a self-righteous attitude and consider everyone else lower them themselves. They are the true definition of douchbag pondscum.

That being said, I don't think it's anyone's 'right' to put someone else 'in their place' no matter how much they deserve it. Who are we to judge ? Especially when serving the comeuppance is by killing them.

The irony being that no matter what terrible thing the person did to end up in Jigsaws trap- he's murdering people. Where is his justice ? What gives him the right ?

Let loser jerks be loser jerks and leave enough alone.

He's not exactly killing them. He's giving these people a choice, like Amanda with the head trap thing. Play the game and be smart and make the right decision, or they can die. "Live or die. Make your choice." - Jigsaw ("Live or die, man?" "DIE." "Wrong...HONK!" -Danielsan)

I know it's wrong to just set someone up like that in a trap and have them brain their way out of a potentially life-ending game, but then again if they weren't such crooked and bad people they wouldn't have been there. I think the message was pretty good and some of those people were definitely REAL bad ones. You can't say the guy who was the rapist should have continued to have been able to do what he'd been doing to people.

I really love the Saw films. They seem to get exceedingly more grotesque and in some cases partially look away from how extremely graphic the gore is. In #6 the steam room alone was just unbearable to imagine the pain. Some very wicked minds at work on these films that's for sure.

On another note of having the right to determine someone lives or dies, this is what I love about the show DEXTER. He's the serial killer I would root for anytime from what his moral standards are. Aside from one season where he made an unfortunate goof, I can't see society missing those bad guys that have gotten away with murder.

I think I seen part 1 and some of part 2 and it appears I'm all caught up.

you seen 1 you seen em all...