Issue 2: Horror Feature!

With SAW V currently showing in cinemas, here is a reminder of the first four films in the series and the story so far...

THE SAW SERIES

The original concept behind SAW (2004) has succeeded in having the desired shock-factor on audiences everywhere. The series revolves around the ideas and actions of psychopathic ‘Jigsaw’ (the nickname given to him by the police after his puzzle-shaped calling card).
Using sophisticated torture devices and obscure locations, he imprisons his victims and gives them a time limit, during which they are forced to either inflict great pain upon themselves, or sometimes to kill somebody else, in order to escape from the otherwise impossible circumstances they face. They receive their instructions via a Dictaphone or a videotape, with a freakish-looking puppet to deliver Jigsaw’s “rules”. He chooses his test subjects based on research he has conducted into their personal lives and what he sees to be their punishable faults. He sees that he is giving them the chance to appreciate their life: either they do what is necessary to live, by playing by the rules; or they die.

SAW (2004)
The opening of the first film drives straight into the action as two men who are strangers wake up in the old bathroom of an abandoned house. Their legs are chained to the pipes fixed solidly to the wall and each man finds a tape holder in his pocket, containing the “rules” of their game and impending tasks. Through flashbacks, we learn of other victims and mysteries begin to unravel.

SAW II (2005)
Saw II is mostly centred in a booby-trapped house where Jigsaw’s latest captives wake up. They are required to solve clues in order to escape and must do so before the poisonous gas filling the air kills them all after two hours. One of the main questions here though, is how are the victims connected?

SAW III (2006)
In order to continue offering guidance to his new apprentice, Jigsaw needs an operation to reduce the tumour that is killing him. This leads to arguably the most graphic displays of body horror to be seen in the films to date.

SAW IV (2007)
The games become increasingly complex, the traps are still inventive and even more plot-twists are revealed. We learn more about Jigsaw’s life and can begin to piece together the warped thinking behind his “work”. A shocking revelation emerges in the final scenes.



This brings us to…


SAW V
Directed by: David Hackl
Released: 24/10/08

If you have followed the previous Saw films, you will want to see Saw V even if just to complete the story. These films are released every Halloween and have become somewhat of a tradition for many cinema-goers each year.
The ending of Saw IV brings us up to date in the latest addition to the series, with the third apprentice of Jigsaw’s conducting the customary scenes of horror we have come to expect…and these are still just as shockingly disturbing. The plot is simpler than its predecessor’s and works well in tying up the loose ends and cliff hangers from the previous films. Possibly the most impressive aspect, however, is how the films’ writers have somehow managed to devise yet more imaginative, mindboggling contraptions and hopeless circumstances.
Although the number of Saw films seems never-ending to some, this will make great viewing for Halloween and will please fans of the previous four instalments.

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Melanie Ward

Platform Officer
Film Sub-Editor 2008/2009