Saw (2004)

In horror, there exists a constant balancing act: achieve a certain level of transgression while retaining accessibility to a wide audience. Saw weighs every bloody organ with care, achieving legitimate success in the mainstream without losing a drop of blood or sacrificing its brutal trappings and premise.

The entire film is coated in urban grime, from the sets to the color grading to the characters themselves. This effect is furthered by the film's rotten and rusted aesthetic. The props in their crude and unpolished designs suggest the industrialization of violence, which, ultimately, is the true bloody heart of the film.

The movie curiously both demonizes and lionizes Jigsaw, played by Tobin Bell. His philosophy of streamlined mutilation is pushed so far it is almost treated as a potential virtue. Through suffering, gratitude for one's life is achieved; through this gratitude, true change can supposedly begin. Jigsaw sees himself as the ultimate facilitator of this process.

But balancing some of the blood and guts with actual bone, the story of Saw is solid. The plight of Dr. Gordon is captured perfectly by Cary Elwes, with him scheming, screaming, and thrashing about in anguish all performed with equal conviction. Leigh Whannell, also responsible for writing the film, commits with profanity and attitude to his part as Adam, the unscrupulous photographer. He is equal parts annoying and funny, but always entertaining in his sarcasm and chronic irritation.

The ending ties the story in a surprising bow that will leave the audience in awe as the music swells appropriately. One of the detectives even plainly states earlier in the film, “Jigsaw likes to book himself front row seats to his sick little games.”

While still guilty of indulging in violence as its top priority, this remains a design of the film for better or worse. And in all its gore and viscera, Saw still manages to strike the key balance between transgression and accessibility with its humanized characters, flashbacks, and investigation of Jigsaw through police work.

Carefully weighed and constructed with brutish calculation not unlike Jigsaw’s own traps, this film is a violence machine and it is operating flawlessly; the level of appreciation this generates in the audience will depend on the strength of their stomach, perhaps acting as its own testament to the film's success.

With disgusting practical effects and convincing performances by our players, Saw's bloody and exploitative purpose is clear: "I want to play a game."