Lyzsi SinclairGAME OVER: A look at "Saw", the film that started the franchise...
***WARNING - THIS ARTICLE MAIN CONTAIN SPOILERS, & IMAGES AND INFORMATION NOT SUITABLE TO THOSE OF A NERVOUS DISPOSITION***
October 2010 saw the final instalment in the seven-year movie horror franchise “Saw”, and for many people it was a relief. What had started as a uniquely inventive horror thriller, had transformed over the years into a simple Halloween money-making tradition; one that had lost its sway with the legion of fans that were dedicated to it after viewing the first film, really feeling like something new had hit the market. It was a horror film that was made by horror fans, for horror fans - and one that had taken itself seriously after years of the post-“Scream” tongue-in-cheek films of the genre. In the first of a seven-part series of articles looking at the franchise, I’ll be taking you on an in-depth look at the original “Saw” film, with lots of trivia, cast and crew details, an insight into what was right with the film, and what positive effects came with this 2004 horror.
Released on October 29th 2004 (December 2nd in Australia), “Saw” was a film that appeared to have come out of nowhere. An Australian-American feature; it was put into production after an Australian nine-and-a-half minute short of the same name was released in 2003, in order to promote the film’s idea to potential film studios and actors - and hopefully get it made. Director James Wan and writer/actor Leigh Whannell’s short presented an idea which went on to be used in the feature-length version (Amanda Young’s reverse bear-trap scenario) - with Whannell taking the lead role. Shot over eight days, Wan and Whannell took it with them to Lionsgate Studios as soon as it was completed, and received the green-light and a $1.1million budget, in order to make the feature-length version. Originally it was intended to be a Direct-to-DVD film, but after a positive reaction at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2004, the feature-length version was soon released into theatres all over the world.
Leigh Whannell & James Wan, the men who started it all...
With James Wan directing, and Leigh Whannell writing and starring (in a different role to the short); producers Gregg Hoffman, Oren Koules, and Mark Burg took a risk by putting their own money into making the film. It’s a risk that paid off however as on it’s opening weekend, “Saw” made $18, 276, 468; going on to make a gross revenue of $103, 096, 345 – which is roughly eighty-times the production budget. Charlie Clouser, known from the band Nine Inch Nails, took control of the score for the film having previously created the music for the original short – with the theatrical version also containing more commercial music to push the sales of the CD soundtrack. David A. Armstrong was the director of photography, and future franchise director Kevin Greutert helmed the editing suite in order to give the film its distinct look. In an unusual step, Wan and Whannell were not paid in advance – instead choosing to wait and receive a share of the profits, which resulted in being a lot higher than expected; a move which showed that both were only concerned with making a great and enjoyable genre film.
Horror had a new face in "Saw", albeit a slightly wooden one...
Running at 103 minutes long, the finished film was a real collaborative and variety-filled affair. With such a small budget compared to other big films of the horror genre (1996 film “Scream” for example had a budget of $14million USD), the film had a time-limit of 17 days to shoot with only 18 actors; using a singular warehouse in downtown L.A. for all of the different locations. Production designer Julie Berghoff had a mammoth task on her hands – often having to completely transform a set overnight, from a hospital to a car parking lot, to an apartment or a family home, or even to the main bathroom setting of the piece. The bathroom setting which was the main trap for the entire film was a solid 7 day shoot; with lead actors Cary Elwes (“Liar Liar”; “The X-Files”) and Leigh Whannell spending most of their time chained to the pipes. Whannell has said in the commentary for the film that the set was often a lot of fun, with laughter all the time; but that he also took a very method approach to acting for himself – often resulting in bruising and cuts due to very physical acting exertion.
Whannell chained to the pipes in the infamous bathroom trap of the film...
Director James Wan wanted a claustrophobic, almost Hitchcock feel to the film. The theory was that with less actual gore on the screen, that the tried-and-tested idea that the audience is the best instrument of fear for a film, would pay off with each viewer imagining different and more terrifying things than could be seen. The film actually comes across to me, personally as having a more thoughtfully stylised, yet low-tech claustrophobic feel to it. Rather that worrying about effects and profits – serious thought was taken into how to present the idea of a killer who leads his victim’s to kill themselves through moral-judgement. With the want of a Hitchcock-feel to it, both Wan and Whannell have also mentioned in the past, the many references included to one of the masters of the horror genre, Dario Argento. The black gloves of the masked killer and the heightened – actually slightly comic-book feel – to the villain, paired with a small amount of “Whodunnit” all helped create this. My first viewing of the film had me truly believing that Cary Elwes’ Doctor Gordon character was the villain of the piece; at least up until that absolutely fantastic twist the audience gets at the end of the film.
Who can forget that iconic catch-phrase uttered at the climax..? "Game Over."
Generally, I think one of my favourite things about “Saw”, was the way the film was edited together. Not only did the general feel of it have a fairly harsh (almost blinding with the halogen lights) tone to it – but the way it was cut together used fast-paced photograph stills to almost fill in the events in-between scenes - or flash-up a reminder of what had just been witnessed. This effect was actually something that Wan and Whannell came up with creatively as they were shooting. Pretty much all of the footage they shot was included in the film, but even that didn’t quite make it long enough. So Whannell and Wan took a normal stills camera with them to all filming and took shots that could be edited in by Kevin Greutert to fill in the gaps and cut the scenes together – an effect that worked quite well.
The 'X' on the wall was produced using a projection, since Glow-in-the-dark paint is hard to catch on camera...
Finally, I’d like to make a point about the effect of “Saw” as a film. Although at the time the reviews came in mixed (with a below average Rotten Tomatoes score of 46% currently), and with some critics calling the film “vile” and “bleak” and “horrendous” – I feel that the film has actually done a lot of good. For a start it brought the seriousness back into Hollywood horror films. Once again it could start to become about more than just jumps, or mocking the very genre it represents. Alright, so there’s not been that many absolutely astounding Hollywood horror films since then – but there’s definitely (I feel) a wave of new ideas heading our way. There’s also the fact that something so small could work so well given the right start and funding – I doubt either Wan or Whannell could have foretold just what a huge franchise it would go on to become.
Some of Jigsaw's previous traps were compared to 'viewing a snuff film' by critics...
My favourite thing to come from the “Saw” films however, is the annual tradition that started with the first film. I’m not talking about the fact that a new instalment came out every Halloween – I’m talking about the “Saw Halloween Blood Drive”. Every year that a new film has been released, the “Saw” films have teamed up with the American Red Cross, to try and get as many people as possible to donate blood for the, often urgent need, for use in hospitals all around the United States. Armed with such a well-known franchise, a tagline of ‘Give ‘Til It Hurts’, and often iconic “Saw”-inspired Nurse posters; it has become something that has proved to be an important part of the “Saw” legacy for not only myself – but also the countless lives that were saved due to the blood donated. It’s a good thing when a film can do something more than just make money.
The 'Saw Halloween Blood Drive' is a great way of tying a film's promotion, with a good cause...
So there was a look at the first “Saw” film in detail. I didn’t write a summary, since a lot of you may have already seen it; and I also wanted this to be a little bit less like a review. Below are some extra treats for you all. First off a little spot of Trivia about “Saw”, then a link to the short that began the whole franchise, next a link to the original theatrical trailer for “Saw”, and finally a largely unseen Australian promotional poster for the film (that I think is just cool). I hoped you’ve enjoyed reading this, and the second part of this series of articles will head your way very soon. Flix Out.
“SAW” TRIVIA:
• Krispy Kreme doughnuts were the only product placement in the entire film.
• Charlie Clouser wrote the entire score in only 3 weeks. Although he came up with a lot of original music – the full original score was only present in the uncut DVD version of the film.
• Oren Koules – one of the producers – has a small cameo in the film as the supposedly dead cellmate in Amanda Young’s reverse bear-trap game.
• Shawnee Smith who plays Amanda Young had a cold during the entire shooting of her role in the film. Not the easiest of things to work with.
• The Uncut DVD version of the film has four slightly-extended parts to it. The first is an actual shot of Jigsaw’s gunshot wound to the head in the first reveal of him lying on the floor of the bathroom. The second is a few seconds more of the character ‘Paul’, trawling his way through the razor-wire trap. The third is a few seconds more of Amanda putting her hand in the dead cellmate’s stomach to retrieve the key to her trap. The fourth and final extension is a more graphic and blood-filled scene of Doctor Lawrence Gordon sawing off his foot at the climax of the film.
• In the extended footage of Amanda Young searching through the stomach and intestines of her dead cellmate – the hands you see actually belong to writer/actor Leigh Whannell, painted up with dark nail varnish.
• Charlie Clouser wrote the entire score in only 3 weeks. Although he came up with a lot of original music – the full original score was only present in the uncut DVD version of the film.
• Oren Koules – one of the producers – has a small cameo in the film as the supposedly dead cellmate in Amanda Young’s reverse bear-trap game.
• Shawnee Smith who plays Amanda Young had a cold during the entire shooting of her role in the film. Not the easiest of things to work with.
• The Uncut DVD version of the film has four slightly-extended parts to it. The first is an actual shot of Jigsaw’s gunshot wound to the head in the first reveal of him lying on the floor of the bathroom. The second is a few seconds more of the character ‘Paul’, trawling his way through the razor-wire trap. The third is a few seconds more of Amanda putting her hand in the dead cellmate’s stomach to retrieve the key to her trap. The fourth and final extension is a more graphic and blood-filled scene of Doctor Lawrence Gordon sawing off his foot at the climax of the film.
• In the extended footage of Amanda Young searching through the stomach and intestines of her dead cellmate – the hands you see actually belong to writer/actor Leigh Whannell, painted up with dark nail varnish.
"SAW" 2003 SHORT:
Saw 0.5 Short
"SAW" ORIGINAL THEATRICAL TRAILER:
Saw Theatrical Trailer
"SAW" AUSTRALIAN PROMOTIONAL POSTER:
