The "Saw" movies

There's a whole class of people who eat these movies up. I am not sure on this fact, as I heard it in passing, but these movies (the 6 that are out now and the 7th one due which is apparently to bring the series to an end) hold some sort of record for the fastest, most popular created film series to date.

I saw the first two of the series. I like horror movies and scary movies. But what I don't like is gory movies. Turns my stomach. But slasher flicks seem to make more money the more gore that is thrown into the films. From what i am told the story line is rather swallow and not very good, which affirms my thoughts that people go for the "gore factor" instead of the story line.

This series is the new Night Mare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th for this generation. And as I remember growing up Night Mare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th were all the hype.

But the problem with Night Mare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th in today's world is that they just wont do any more. They have been come to soft for the youth that has grown up on bloodier and gruesomer films of today, which means it takes more and more for people to squirm in their seats, and everyone loves to squirm. At least those who love going to these kinds of movies. They go, because they want to see how far they will push the line and they want to see if they can handle the new distance the line has been pushed.

I suspect humans have evolved to need a certain amount of adrenaline and sheer excitement.

Life used to be a lot more dangerous back in the eons of our development, and I suspect it provides a lot less in the way of peak stuff than it did for the hunter gatherers...what with being a prey animal themselves, and the rumbles with the next clan along.

We have always tended to enjoy bloody spectacles (see public executions, arena fights, bull and bear baiting and such)

In our countries, we are generally not subjected to them (except maybe within gangs?), so we create them on film and games and such.

Thing is, with such a constant diet so readily available at the press of a button, we develop tolerance, so the things need to get grosser and grosser to get the same hit...same with porn, research is suggesting.

I think there are other ways to get the hit...like more dangerous sports...but horror films etc are just there.

Remember when Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was really scary? Gothic novels? We need a lot more than that now.

I think it's gross, but I see why it sells.

Anyhoo, that's my theory.

I've never heard of "saw" movies.

Watching the "making of" might be suitable. So he understands that it really is make believe.

i would say no

beyond the gore, some of the situations (the films all deal with abduction and betrayal in one form or another) might be a little to much for mo and his trust issues


that being said, i loved the first few (i think i saw the first 3)

That sounds right to me.

"Saw" is the name of the movie.

and not saw as in the past tense of see.

There's several sequels now.

Here's a cut and paste of a synopsis of the original:

Saw plot summary
A young man named Adam wakes to find himself chained to a rusty pipe inside a decrepit subterranean chamber. Chained to the opposite side of the room is another bewildered captive, Dr. Lawrence Gordon. Between them is a dead man lying in a pool of blood, holding a .38 in his hand. Neither man knows why he has been abducted; but instructions left on a microcassette, order Dr. Gordon to kill Adam within eight hours. If he fails to do so, then both men will die, and Dr. Gordon's wife, Alison, and his daughter will be killed. Recalling a recent murder investigation by a police detective named Tapp, Dr. Gordon realizes he and Adam are the next victims of a psychopathic genius known only as "Jigsaw." With only a few hours left to spare, they must unravel the elaborate puzzle of their fate in the midst of mounting terror. The killer has provided them with only a few clues and two handsaws " too weak to break their steel shackles, but strong enough to cut through flesh and bone.



I watched this one, very disgusting. Had no desire to watch any of the others.

When the first "Saw" movie came out, a critic mentioned that it was like an extreme version of a reality game show called "Fear Factor". It is gruesome to watch charcters try to escape the elaborate puzzles in the movie.

For me, horror movies are like junk food. I know they are bad for me, but I occasionally have the urge to see one.

I never allowed my children to watch horror movies when they were young. Even a movie like Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" is not suitable for children.

Saw fans will be treated to watching their torture-porn in 3D with the release of SawVII.

I've watched all the Saw movies. I love them. Everyone who knows I watch/love them is horrified. I don't mind horror movies but find most of them a huge bore. For some reason I like the Saw movies - can't really explain it. The gore makes me extremely squeamish, I have to squint or close my eyes the first time I see the scene but later I gradually see the whole thing. I think it is my squeamishness that makes me watch it over and over until I can actually bear to watch the whole thing. The Saw part of the name comes from the JigSaw character. He is a killer who doesn't see himself as a killer. He has very specific beliefs that people do not value their lives so he puts them in situations where they have to do something horrifying to get through it alive. If they live, they have learned the lesson (according to him). He believes he is helping the undeserving to live an enriched or enlightened life and that he is not a murderer. Of course he is completely disillusioned. He is the most undeserving of them all and by his own rules would deserve to be tested/tortured worse than any of his victims. The main reason I have continued to watch these movies is the actor Tobin Bell who is excellent as the character Saw. I am intrigued by his madness and belief in that what he is doing is right. He sees himself as some sort of savior of these people, who do live through it, but not as punisher or murderer of those too weak to live. He accuses their weakness as them murdering themselves.

All that said, these are not movies for children or teens in my opinion. In fact not many people should really watch these movies. They are very disturbing. I will continue to watch, as my secret pleasure, but I do not recommend them to anyone else.

That's an interesting idea, dlowan.

It seems so strange though, since everyone is afraid of everything these days. Maybe movies like this are a way for us to release that hum-drum, everyday fear thing.

"Saw" sounds more interesting than "Saw 2" which is the one currently available -- the one I watched the "making of" video for. It seemed to rely on a lot of gimmicks.

I'm a little more interested in watching it after reading these replies, especially Heven's.

"Hostel" kept me awake a few nights and even now, months later, I'll still get the heebie-jeebies.

I watched the first Saw with my daughter - who was a teenager at the time- and is my scary movie partner - along with my mom and sister - we all love them. But I wouldn't endorse it for any child younger than that - and I found it sort of interesting because at first you didn't know what was going on and you were curious to find out how and why the people were in their situations and then there was the aspect of having to put yourself in the shoes of the victims who were given a ridiculously impossible choice to make - what would you do in the same situation? But I was never tempted to watch any of the others because I figured it was just more of the same - and I wasn't particularly fond of watching people put spikes through their head and on and on.

Same thing with final destination. The concept was interesting - but after you watched the third person get hit by shards of flying glass and or step in front of a bus- it got boring.

There was a really interesting scary movie that I think highlights the inclination and seemingly innate urge people have to watch other people have happen to them what they'd never want to have happen to themselves or the people they love. I can't remember the title but this young guy's father committed suicide and it was taped and played on the news over and over and over. It sort of sent him over the edge and he abducted people who were peripherally involved in filming and showing his dad's suicide over and over - at first they couldn't figure out the connection they were so peripherally involved. Anyway he set them up in these situations with mechanized torture leading to death attached in some way to the internet. If people didn't click on the link to watch the film, these people wouldn't be tortured or die. And the people who were watching knew this. But everytime someone clicked, it would trigger the mechanism which would unreel a chain to lower the body into an acid bath or some other horrible situation - and the gist of it was that millions of people clicked over and over and were compelled to watch these people being tortured and dying- even though they KNEW they were helping to kill them with each click.

It was pretty interesting.

Untraceable! So scary!

Yeah - that's it. Another very interesting concept and well done in that they kept the gore somewhat to a minimum - it was more the thought about what was happening to the people and the thought that something like that COULD happen that was unbearable as opposed to anything they actually showed (if I'm remembering correctly).

I remember thinking, 'I hope there aren't any psychotic copycats watching this and figuring out how to do something like this.'

K watched them as an adolescent. The first one scared her. I don't remember if it was the second one or the third one that triggered a psych evaluation at the ER. I would absolutely not let Mo watch these movies at his age.

actually, she was older than that... early high school age.

Curiosity got the better of me today so I watched "Saw 2" and it wasn't nearly as awful/graphic/disturbing as I had anticipated. It had much more of a plot than I thought it would, more so than most "slasher" flicks, so that worked in it's favor. It even had a good twist at the end that made me curious about the next one.

Still, it was way to awful/graphic/disturbing for any kid to watch. I mean, really, who thinks this stuff up?

Can you expand on this?

If you mean what I think you mean, I don't think pervasive angst revs us up as much as horror stuff (and the perils of an earlier period in our development.)

You're right, angst is probably a better word.

What I mean is that everyone is so angsty about things all the time that when something happens to someone else it's almost like you got off the hook -- this time. Maybe even seeing someone else get it in a movie relieves some of that angst.

That's always my biggest question. I've yet to make it to the end of a horror film. Once the gore starts, I hit 'eject' LOL. Thrillers (with just some gore) I can handle a little better if the plot is compelling.