Has Saw Become The Next Great Horror Film Franchise?

[Mitch Henessey]

Years ago when I first watched Saw, I had very high expectations for the first film because of all the hype and buzz that was surrounding it. I liked the movie, and it's shocker ending, and couldn't wait to see the next one. Personally, I think the the last two Saw films weren't all that good, and even before then, Saw IV wasn't too good either.

Despite what I think about the films, Saw has seemingly become THE horror movie to see every Halloween for the past five years. The films themselves are pretty low budget, but each film has been able to make a good profit. Another thing about the Saw films is, that they have a sophisticated feel to them. It's not like there's one insane murder running around chopping people to bits...no. Jigsaw has a philosophy behind what he does, and that philosophy is to teach people to appreciate life. Saw also has the iconic character in Jigsaw, just like Elm Street has Freddy Krueger, Halloween has Michael Myers, and Friday The The 13th has Jason.

After Saw III, I haven't been to crazy about this series. I like it, but I feel that these films have become too redundant over the past couple of years. Some people feel that Saw films might just be a "torture fest" but I don't think all the films have been that way.Saw has had some great characters(my favorite is Amanda Young) and this film series is something people flock to see every Halloween.

Has Saw become the next great horror film franchise? Or is Saw just for this generation only?

Do you think it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street,Friday The 13th, etc.? Thoughts

 

[Via Armbar]

In my opinion, the only Saw that i have really enjoyed was the first one. The story was unique and it was genuinly creepy. It was well directed and acted, not to mention it featured a newcomer by the name of Michael Emerson who would go on to play Ben Linus on Lost. The series had potential, but the orgininality of the first couldnt be matches by the following releases.

Now if you watch teh rest of them and take them for what they are, gory popcorn movies with a mediocre plot, theyre fun. And to me thats all they are, nothing more. They haven't changed or evolved and i think people are starting to grow tired of it finally, evidence is how the newest one didnt perform nearly as well as the others.

I think they'll make one or two more then stop once they realise people are over it. But as newest trends show, it will be like 10 years down the road or less and theyll decide to reboot the whole thing.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Saw is without a doubt the next great horror film franchise and it already was by Saw III. It's not Halloween without Saw anymore, it's the perfect time to release the next entry in the series every year and people keep wanting to see more. The interest might have died down a little among some, but ever since 2004 there has been a Saw movie released in October, and I see that trend continuing. It's a great series. I think it does deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, and Friday The 13th because those were all great horror series and so is Saw.

People who claim it has a mediocre plot or that it's just another horror movie series haven't been paying close enough attention. The way that the Saw series has been able to keep advancing the plot without it getting too complicated is brilliant. Saw 1 had all those moments leading up to the shocking ending, Saw 2 wasn't that great but was a worthy sequel, Saw 3 left people wondering if there would be more, while 4 through 6 each in their own way added more to the already excellent story of the series and STILL left the viewer wondering what would happen in next year's entry. Few other horror series have pulled off such a thing, and that's another reason why the Saw series is the next great horror film franchise.

 

[HBK-aholic]

I'm a big Saw mark, and even I will say they should have stopped at 3 at the most. Even 1 would have been great. The storyline now is just a 'What the fuck' type thing. I mean, seriously, how did they get to this? It makes little sense to me. I still watch it every Halloween, because I do like the films. But honestly, I wouldn't call it 'great' anymore, it's moved into that place where you can tell they're simply drawing things out and becoming far-fetched to gain a profit, which it will always do.

 

[LSN80]

Very simply, yes. I didnt have much expectations for the first film, a buddy of mine and I just wanted to see a film that had been hyped like crazy everywhere. My friend, a legitimately tough dude, grabbed the arm of the equally scared girl when Jigsaw came out of the closet, and attacked Adam. I thought the plot twist at the end of 1 was freaking amazing, i marked out like crazy for it(God I watch too much wrestling!), and tough to top. And they havent. But they did well with 2 and 3, before 4 and 5 just defacated into utter nonsense and gore, rather then any advancing storyline. I thought 6 rebounded nicely with the involvement of Jigsaws wife in the plot more, and leaves open the possibility for the series to continue, with some semblance of sense. Is it a great horror franchise? It is THE horror franchise.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

I don't really consider Saw to be a horror film franchise, per se. Rather, I consider it to be a Crime/Police Drama / Suspense/Thriller.

I am a huge fan of this series, and I think the key to approaching this franchise is to view it as an episodic series, as opposed to viewing each one as a film in the traditional sense. You will get more satisfaction out of them, with each one revealing a little more of the entire back story as you go along.

Yes, I do think however, it is the most successful drama/thriller ... in at least a category that can be compared to horror, more than any other series out there. How many other successful series are out there in the Thriller / Horror genre to this day? There aren't any.

Saw has done a splendid job in keeping the story going after 6 films, and I don't think any of the films were truly bad. 3 was probably the weakest, which is surprising being that so much happened in 3, which affected the later films, but somehow it still fell a little flat.

5 was not as bad as people said it was and gave tremendous background into when Detective Hoffman met Jigsaw.

And 6 was also a great film, which actually tackled a problem going on in America today, with the Health Care industry debate. Great ending to it, as well.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I thought the first and second movies were very good, along with the sixth. The rest of the movies I felt were so mundane and tedious, and it felt like a chore to watch them. I came into the sixth with a lot of trepidation, but it wound up being really good.

SPOILER ALERT FOR THE SEVENTH MOVIE:

Spoiler

Cary Elwes was listed on the Toronto Film & Television's official list of personnel website for Saw VII.

I'm not sure how they're going to fit Dr. Gordon into all of this now. For all we know, they will probably just be flashback scenes. Maybe he'll be the mastermind with Jigsaw behind all of this, and cutting his foot off was his "test".

It's also said to be the last one in the series. Maybe we'll get a Reservoir Dogs-like ending.

 

[ZeroVX]

I'd say yes, it is. Mainly because it's one of the few original horror franchises in a decade filled with remakes, but also because it's unique on its own terms. The character of Jigsaw has become iconic, much like Freddy and Jason, and the story is different and interesting. But most viewers care more about the kills than the story.

What I find unique about Jigsaw is that he technically doesn't kill anyone. He sets up traps and lets his victims inflict the pain themselves. His motivations are interesting too, claiming that this is to help people understand and appreciate life. This sets him apart from the other monsters, who kill people for more selfish reasons. The traps themselves are unique and twisted, and almost always represent something about the victims. It's this kind of originality that's helped the series make its mark.

So, yeah, I'd easily put Saw up there with series like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street. And for those who say that the movies have gotten bad lately, don't forget, not every movie in other franchises are gems either.