Saw I-V

It’s that time of year — Halloween, I mean — and I like watching horror movies during this time of year.  I guess I just like getting into the whole festive mood of the season.  Probably the same reason I typically only drink large amounts of alcohol on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.  In any case, over the last 24 hours (between Friday night and Saturday night), I watched all of the Saw movies (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5).  I haven’t watched any of them in their entirety before, so this was something new for me.  I tend to put off watching movies for a long time. 

In any case, contrary to the types of movies these are, there are things here to like.  First of all, John Jigsaw Kramer is a killer like no other.  I user killer in it’s truest sense, no matter what kind of semantics you try to throw into it.  I like his style, and I would have the opinion that if none of his subjects died that I would actually like what he does.  He does end up teaching some pretty important and valuable lessons in these people’s lives.  That is a positive aspect to the stories.  Also, the traps are fascinating to watch and try to figure out before you fully understand what is going on.  I particularly liked the rooms in the 5^th movie, and the irony of it all was very fitting. 

It’s strange the mentality these types of movies put you into.  While watching each one, I never grew overly attached to any of the characters at any point in time, because I knew about 99% of the time they would either end up dead or end up working with Jigsaw. 

I enjoyed watching the transformation these movies went through from the first to the fifth.  The first movie is probably the one that stands out the most in terms of being different from all the others.  The fancy traps weren’t the gimmick.  It channels movies such as Se7en or The Bone Collector.  It was probably the best one in regards to a solid story that kept you guessing, kept you entertained, and piqued your interest.  The rest aren’t bad, but you can tell more emphasis is put onto the traps and the gore, rather than creating a good suspenseful story. 

All in all, I like the fact that these movies have become sort of an annual tradition for Halloween.  It’s something to look forward to and adds to the festive mood of the year.  I hope they go on for several more years. 

Now playing: Cake - Short Skirt / Long Jacket