Greetings, and welcome back to October Horror Fest! I actually planned to watch this movie on the 29th, but thanks to a miscalculation on my behalf, I missed the 20th anniversary by ONE DAY. Yup. But, it’s okay, since this movie was absolutely amazing, and I had to talk about it. It’s a classic that’s spanned a ten movie franchise that is still going strong. And, be ready to protect yourselves from the traps. Without further ado, sit back, relax, turn off the lights, grab some Candy and Popcorn, and let’s review…
Saw (2004)
Our film begins in a dark, disgusting basement. Even if you haven’t ever seen a Saw movie, if you just imagine Saw, this room is basically it. Within the room rests two men, Adam (a photographer, and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (an oncologist). Between the two men is a dead body of a man, a still bloody headshot present on the corpse. Before we get into our story, let’s keep taking a look at the trap they are in. Adam awakens inside of a dirty bathtub, with his foot being chained to a pipe. Our entire movie takes place within this one room, but we see flashbacks and other events happening around it. Across the room, Lawrence is also chained up by the foot. At first, the two men are obviously both confused, fighting with each other and not really helping each other try to come up with some plan, ANY plan to escape the hell they are trapped in. The men check their pockets, and find a small tape recording. Across the room, the dead man holds the player. Adam uses his shirt to grab it, and the men listen to the disgusting game that a mysterious killer named Jigsaw has out for them…
Gordon listens to his tape, and finds the disgusting plan Jigsaw has for him. He NEEDS to kill Adam by 6:00, or else he fails the game, and his wife and daughter will be killed. Allison and Diana, his wife and daughter, he loves very deeply, but has been in a strained relationship with Allison. Gordon begins to panic, but doesn’t tell Adam his task. He is already keeping secrets. Adam listens to his tape, and although it doesn’t give much in the way of information or even any clues on their whereabouts and how to escape, it does provide two things for the men. Hacksaws. Using the tape’s clues, Adam finds two hacksaws inside the toilet in a plastic bag. Yeah, this movie is very gross. IMMEDIATELY, after only twenty minutes of being inside the room, the two men begin to saw at their chains, until Adam’s saw breaks. It isn’t meant for the chains…
In one of the most famous moments in modern horror, Gordon realizes the chains are meant for their feet. With this, his foggy memory finally begins to clear himself, and he matches the description of the room and the traps to that of the Jigsaw Killer, a psychopath who traps people in games of his own making. How does our man Gordon know all of this? Well, let’s get to our first flashback scene of the movie. Gordon knows… because he was a suspect.
It’s five months earlier, and we see Gordon working in the hospital. He’s a good doctor, top of the order, and loves helping his patients. However, he is always consumed by work, which hurts his family life. We see Gordon working on a man by the name of John Kramer. Kramer has terminal brain cancer. Before Gordon can continue on with the scans, Detectives David Tapp and Steven Sing enter the building. They interrogate Gordon ruthlessly, as they found his pen-light at one of Jigsaw’s games. However, Gordon’s alibi is airtight. The police can’t get him on anything, BUT, they do force him to watch one of the testimonies of one of the Jigsaw survivors. A female drug addict named Amanda. The testimony is horrific, as we see flashbacks to the game, where Amanda wore one of the most famous Saw traps, the head trap thingy. You guys all know what it is!
Gordon is released after the HORRIFIC testimony, but the police, especially Detective Tapp, have their eyes on him. After this, the police are able to track down Jigsaw’s whereabouts, where they invade the hideout. However, Jigsaw is smart, and very powerful. He slashes Tapp across the throat with a blade, and kills Steven Sing in cold blood with a shotgun trap. It’s awful. After we see this, we’re back in the present. In a CRAZY scene, we realize that Allison and Diana are still being held hostage, and their captor is watching the two men through a hidden camera behind a double sided mirror. At the SAME EXACT TIME IN YET ANOTHER CLASSIC SAW TWIST, Tapp (still alive) watches the house where Allison and Diana are being held. After the death of his partner, Tapp essentially went insane. He is OBSESSED with the case, and doesn’t want to let it go. He is convinced, without a shadow of a doubt, that our man Gordon is Jigsaw.
Back in the disgusting room, a locked box is discovered by Adam and Gordon. Using a key, they open it, and find a cell phone that ONLY accepts incoming calls. Inside the box are a few cigarettes. Gordon thinks, and uses the poisoned blood of the dead man in the middle of the room to poison a cigarette. It can kill Adam. He can be free. But, before he executes this plan, he decides against it, cutting off the lights in the room. He recruits Adam to his new plan. He switches the cigarettes, and Adam smokes the non-poisoned one, hoping that the man behind the curtain buys the ruse. However, he does not, shocking Adam (literally, our boy was electrocuted).
After the failed attempt to escape, Adam’s memories finally come back to him. He knows how he knew Gordon, he knows how he got there. READY FOR EXPOSITION EVERYONE??? WELL, HERE WE GO! Before the events of the film, Gordon was going to have an affair with his secretary. BUT, Adam saw this all happen. HE WAS HIRED BY TAPP. Tapp still believes that Gordon is Jigsaw, and recruits Adam into his little detective game. YUP.
After this absolutely massive confession by Adam, the two come to a realization. These are the reasons they were kidnapped. For not appreciating life. For being selfish. We also, finally, learn the name of the man viewing the men through the camera. Zep Hindle, an orderly from the same hospital Gordon works at.
SO MANY THINGS happen at once, but, it all gets quiet. The clock strikes six. They are out of time. Zep sees that Gordon has failed, and moves to kill his family. However, Allison fights him, and a struggle breaks out. At the same time, Tapp enters the scene once more, joining the fight against Zep. Tapp saves the pair, and rushes after Zep, as he himself rushes to the room. Tapp is shot in the chest whilst following. Zep finally arrives, and Gordon, so desperate to save his family, does the unthinkable. He saws his foot off, and shoots Adam. Zep walks in, and draws his gun onto Gordon, screaming the words, “It’s just the rules”. At this exact moment, Adam wakes up, the gunshot entering his shoulder, but not killing him. He beats Zep to death, but things get so, so much worse. He listens to the tape inside of Zep’s pocket. He was poisoned, and had to kill Gordon. He’s just another victim… of Jigsaw.
Gordon runs to find help, as the most insane moment of this insane movie begins. The iconic Saw theme begins to play, as the dead man from the middle of the room… stands. He removes his makeup. It’s John Kramer. Jigsaw. He leaves the room, closing the door, and leaving Adam to die alone…
THANK YOU ALL FOR READING, AND OMG, WHAT A MOVIE! I adored every second of Saw, and there’s so much more I would say about it! It’s literally incredible. But, it is getting closer to Halloween… so get excited. Thank you all once again! And remember, never, EVER, trust anyone. Who knows what horrific plans they have in store for you…
