Saw (franchise)
| Saw film series | |
|---|---|
| File:Saw Logo.JPG Saw logo | |
| Directed by | Darren Lynn Bousman James Wan |
| Written by | Darren Lynn Bousman Marcus Dunstan Thomas Fenton Patrick Melton James Wan Leigh Whannell |
| Produced by | Mark Burg Daniel Heffner Gregg Hoffman Oren Koules James Wan Leigh Whannell |
| Starring | Tobin Bell Shawnee Smith Leigh Whannell Cary Elwes Donnie Wahlberg Dina Meyer Lyriq Bent Bahar Soomekh Angus MacFadyen J. Larose Costas Mandylor Betsy Russell Scott Patterson Justin Louis |
| Cinematography | David Armstrong |
| Edited by | Kevin Greutert |
| Music by | Charlie Clouser |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate |
Release date | 2004 — present |
Running time | 4 Hours 58 Minutes (Theatrical cuts combined) |
| Countries |  United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15.2 million (Combined Total; Exc.IV) |
| Box office | $415,660,072 (Worldwide to Date - July 15, 2007) |
The Saw film series is a popular grusome horror/thriller film franchise created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, beginning in 2004 and continuing to the present. The current Saw trilogy is one of very few film series where each new film has earned more than its predecessor, along with The Lord of the Rings series and the Austin Powers series.[citation needed]
Premise
The main plot of this film 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. The films tend to conclude with a twist-ending that wraps things up, but also creates more questions to be answered in the following film. There have been three Saw movies in total, with a fourth one already filmed and being edited for its upcoming October 26 release.[1]
Media
The main media of the Saw series consists of three movies, with a fourth installment coming soon. Each film was originally rated NC-17. However, only Saw II's rating was appealed. Saw III suffered the worst, having to be cut 7-14 times before receiving an R rating. Each film is released on DVD as a theatrical cut, with a directors cut or uncut version being released the following October. Saw III had an unrated version released at the same time the theatrical version was released on DVD, but it has been confirmed a director's cut will be released October 23rd, 2007, with some of the uncut material left out of the unrated version. The films are as follows:
- Saw, released on October 29, 2004 .
- Saw II, the first sequel, released on October 28, 2005.
- Saw III, the second sequel, released on October 27, 2006.
- Saw IV, the third sequel, will be released on October 26, 2007.
Outside these films, the following have also been released:
- Saw (2003) short film, which served as a promotional tool in pitching the films potential to Lions Gate.
- Saw: Rebirth, a comic book prequel to the first film.
- Brash Entertainment LLC has licensed the film property from Lions Gate Entertainment to develop a video game based on the Saw series.[2]
- The horror film-spoofing series Scary Movie parodied the first two Saw films in Scary Movie 4 - taking the Bathroom Trap from Saw and the Venus Fly Trap from Saw II.
Prominent characters
Series plot
John Kramer, a toy factory worker, was left by his wife Jill as he was too timid and afraid to make a full commitment to her.
John became sick. During a check-up, John was diagnosed with colon cancer, which spread and lead to a frontal lobe tumor which would slowly kill him. After waiting in the hospital, he began to notice many people that seem unappreciative for the life they'd been granted, such as Dr. Lawrence Gordon (John's doctor who had been cheating on his wife), Zep Hindle (an orderly who spoke with John about Dr. Gordon's cold reaction) , Paul Stallberg (a man who worked with John in the toy factory who had slashed his wrists for attention), Amanda Young (a drug addict who overdosed on heroin), and Dr. Lynn Denlon (a doctor who seemed dead on the inside following the death of her son while cheating on her husband and taking anti-depressants).
Utterly depressed by people playing carelessly with the gift of life that John has just been denied, John tried to kill himself by driving himself off a cliff, but survived, gaining a new perspective. John made it a goal to find ways to test people in vicious tests to see if they were deserving of their lives.
John kidnapped his first three victims, Paul, Amanda, and Mark Rodriguez (a man who claimed to be unable to work due to illness). Paul and Mark failed their tests, and Jigsaw left Dr. Gordon's pen-light, which he acquired at the hospital, at the scene of Mark's death. Amanda managed to complete her test successfully and escape alive. Amanda and Dr. Gordon were interrogated by the police; Dr. Gordon's alibi proved he was not the "Jigsaw Killer".
Jigsaw, planning the Bathroom Trap in an abandoned warehouse downtown, was confronted by Detectives Tapp and Sing, who learned of his base of operations while reviewing the tape he had left for Amanda. Jigsaw distracted the police by activating the trap for an old man named Jeff. During the ensuing chaos, Jigsaw injured Tapp and escaped. Sing saved Jeff, only to be killed by the Quadruple Shotgun Trap. Tapp, having led Sing into the warehouse without a search warrant, is dishonorably discharged from the force. Enraged over Sing's death, he became positive Gordon was the Jigsaw Killer.
Amanda was confronted by Jigsaw at her apartment. She agreed to become his apprentice and continue on his life work when he dies. With Amanda's help, Jigsaw kidnapped Lawrence Gordon and Adam Faulkner (a man Tapp hired to follow and takes pictures of Lawrence). Both of them failed their respective tests, but Lawrence still managed to saw his foot off and leave, looking for help. Zep was killed while being tested, and Adam, now alone, was locked away in the dark bathroom to rot forever. Amanda, shaken with guilt, crept back into the bathroom to put Adam out of his misery by suffocating him.
Jigsaw kidnapped a police informant named Michael and placed him in a trap, also starting a test for Detective Eric Matthews (a detective known for setting up criminals), by leaving him a message. Jigsaw kidnapped Obi (a man who helped Jigsaw kidnap others), Xavier (a drug dealer), Jonas, Laura, Gus (an embezzler), Addison (a stripper), and Daniel Matthews, Detective Matthews' son. He put them all in a large, sealed house filled with a deadly nerve gas and traps. With them, he placed Amanda in to keep Daniel alive. Everyone but Amanda and Daniel died in the house. Daniel was placed in a safe in Jigsaw's lair.
Eric Matthews and his SWAT team arrived at Jigsaw's lair, and intended to arrest him before he informed Eric that his son was in the house. Jigsaw told Detective Matthews that all he had to do to get his son back in a safe and secure state is to listen to Jigsaw. Eric failed his test and assaulted Jigsaw, nearly killing him. Jigsaw took him to the nerve gas house, where Detective Matthews believed his son to be. There, he found the bathroom in the foundation of the house, and was attacked by Amanda, who knocked him out and chained him to a pipe before closing the door and informing him that she was taking over the role of Jigsaw. Eric managed to break his foot and escape the chain, confronting Amanda in the hallway outside of the bathroom. A brutal confrontation between the two occurred, culminating with Amanda kicking Matthews' broken foot and leaving him to rot.
Jigsaw's condition worsened, and he was on the verge of death. With the help of Amanda, he began his last tests. Amanda began her own traps, kidnapping Troy (a man who continued to go back to prison) and Kerry (a detective who studied Jigsaw and his methods), leaving each of them in traps that had no escape. Amanda then kidnapped Jeff Reinhart (a man who had been dwelling on his son's death for the past three years), Lynn, Danica Scott (the only witness to Jeff's son's death), Judge Halden (the judge who presided over the trial of Jeff's son's killer), and Timothy Young (the drunk driver who hit Jeff's son), all players in Jigsaw's last test.
Lynn was forced to keep Jigsaw alive long enough to see Jeff make it through his series of tests. Amanda began growing jealous. Jeff was forced to wander through a warehouse, finding Danica in a trap of her own. He had the choice to help her, which he tried to do, but failed. Jeff then found Judge Halden in another trap, which Jeff managed to save him from. Lynn began operating on Jigsaw's brain, keeping him alive a while longer. Jigsaw experienced flash backs of him and his ex-girlfriend Jill. Jeff and Judge Halden found the last trap in the warehouse: Tim, the drunk driver who killed Jeff's son. While trying to save him, Jeff accidentally activated a trap that shot Halden in the head. He also failed to unlock the device in time to save Tim.
Once Jeff had completed his warehouse tests, Jigsaw ordered Amanda to remove Lynn's trap. Amanda refused, and rebelled against Jigsaw, stating that nobody ever learned anything from his traps. She shot Lynn in the stomach just as Jeff left the warehouse and entered Jigsaw's lair. Seeing this, he used his only bullet to shoot Amanda in the neck. Jigsaw informed her that it was another test for her, to see if she could cope with the pressure of carrying on his life's work. It was revealed that Jeff was Lynn's husband.
Amanda bled to death while Jigsaw gave Jeff a choice to either kill him or forgive him. Jeff, thinking he could have it both ways, seemed to truly forgive Jigsaw, but then cut Jigsaw's throat with a circular saw blade, not knowing that if Jigsaw died, Lynn's trap would automatically kill her. Jigsaw played a tape for Jeff, revealing that his daughter was trapped somewhere with a limited air supply. The exits to the warehouse slammed shut as Jigsaw flatlined, and Lynn was killed by her trap, leaving Jeff alone. The tape also revealed that Jeff might have to play another game or series of games if he wants to get his daughter back.
Future development
Tobin Bell has stated that he was signed on for a total of five sequels,[3] and Producer Oren Koules confirmed on June 22, 2007 that both Saw V and VI are currently being written, quite possibly for a Halloween 2008 and 2009 release.[4][5]
Records
- With each year bringing a new dose of Saw, Saw IV will mark a Hollywood record for the most films to be released consecutively - one each year - in a movie franchise.[6]
- Saw III gave Lions Gate its highest-grossing weekend in history, outdoing the previous record set by Saw II of $31.7 million to a bettering $33.6 million.[7]
- Both Saw II and III broke records when they were released in the holiday period of Halloween. Both movies managed to top the "Halloween Weekend Openers" in 2005 and 2006.[8]
- All the movies in the Saw series have managed to gross over $50 million, putting them in the top 5 all-time highest total gross for Lions Gate.[9]
- Saw II currently holds the record for highest total gross for the "horror - torture" genre according to Box Office Mojo[10] with Saw III and Saw following in 3rd and 4th.
References
- ^ Saw 4 News. The Official SAW Website and Fan Club. Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
- ^ http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118092768266523504-lqfrcBq0HGHviWqd_LyeyBmgIA4_20070704.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top The Wall Street Journal: "A Start Up's Risky Niche: Movie-Based Videogames", June 4, 2007
- ^ http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/7464 Tobin Bell and 5 sequels
- ^ http://movies.ign.com/articles/798/798800p1.html IGN: "Getting Jiggy with Saw IV (Saw IV Preview)", Retrieved June 29, 2007
- ^ Interview with the Makers of Saw UGO retrieved 2007-06-10
- ^ http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/saw_4/news/1649688/ One year release patterns set to break records
- ^ http://www.thewebnewsroom.com/?itemid=826 Saw III breaks previous Saw II record for Lions Gate
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/weekends/halloween.htm Halloween Openers - Saw II and III highest gross
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/chart/?studio=lions_gate.htm All Saw films reach Lions Gate top 5
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=horrortorture.htm Saw II is the highest in "Horror - Torture" genre
External links
- Official Saw movie site
- Official Saw II movie site
- Official Saw III movie site
- Official Saw IV movie site
- Official SAW Website and Fan Club
- Official SAW Props, Wardrobe and Autograph Auction
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| Characters | |
| Video games | |
| Miscellaneous | |
