Susan Granger’s commentary on the re-issue of “Saw” (Lionsgate)
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the original theatrical release of “Saw,” the gruesome, sadistic horror thriller that ignited a franchise is back in theaters for one week.
Encompassing physical and psychological torture, the story revolves around two men – Adam (Leigh Whannel) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) – who wake up in a locked public toilet that’s been abandoned for years. They’re chained by leg irons to opposite walls. Between them is a corpse drenched in blood. A clock on the wall says 2 o’clock. Neither can remember how he got here. Their captor, diabolical John Kramer, nicknamed “Jigsaw,” has left them a tape-recorded message informing Dr. Gordon that he has to kill Adam by 6 o’clock or his wife and daughter will be murdered. There’s also an unloaded gun that’s out-of-reach, two saws, a cell phone and two cigarettes. As the men desperately try to find a way out, they’re wondering who is the maniac behind their kidnapping and why did he trap them in this “test” or “game.” Meanwhile, two detectives (Danny Glover, Ken Leung) are trying to track down this vicious serial killer.
Constructed like a jigsaw puzzle and filled with so much unrelenting gore that it’s been dubbed “slasherporn,” “Saw” marked the first collaboration for screenwriter/actor Leigh Whannel and director James Wan. Together, they’ve since created the “Insidious” franchise, and Wan has gone on to direct high-profile films like “The Conjuring” and the upcoming “Fast & Furious 7.”
Since the seven installments in the “Saw” franchise have collectively grossed $874 million at the box-office worldwide, the Guinness Book of World Records has recognized it as the “Most Successful Horror Franchise” of all time.