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The first film in the Saw franchise, Saw introduces 'Jigsaw', a killer whose complex and sadistic traps are designed to 'test' his victims.
Exhibitions
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Related Works
-
form
y
Saw II
( dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
)
United States of America (USA)
:
Twisted Pictures
,
2005
Z1872347
2005
single work
film/TV
horror
The sequel to the 2004 slasher film Saw, Saw II continues the narrative of 'Jigsaw', the killer whose complex and sadistic traps 'test' his victims. This film also reveals his apprentice, Amanda.
-
form
y
Saw III
( dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
)
United States of America (USA)
:
Twisted Pictures
,
2006
Z1872351
2006
single work
film/TV
horror
The third film in the Saw franchise, Saw III shows 'Jigsaw' growing increasingly weak from his incurable cancer, and his apprentice starting to add her own twist to the games that they force their victims to endure.
Works about this Work
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10 Years of Homegrown Horror Hits : Talk To Me and the Golden Age of Aussie Horror
2023
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 8 August 2023; -
James Wan : The Fantastic Voyage Of Aquaman
2018
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 24 December 2018; -
Dead Heart : Australia’s Horror Cinema
2018
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 31 October 2018; -
Conjuring Up a Familiar Haunt
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 16 June 2016; (p. 34) -
Paratexts and the Commercial Promotion of Film Authorship : James Wan and Saw
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , December no. 69 2013; 'This article discusses one way Malaysian-Australian James Wan (b. 1977-) (1) can be considered or constructed as an author. Wan is best known for the film Saw (2004), which he co-wrote with Leigh Whannell (2). Saw was made for around $US1.2 million but grossed just over $US103 million worldwide at the box office (3). Saw also turned out to be the first instalment in a seven-part series. Wan and Whannell have both claimed that they did not make Saw with the intention of producing a sequel, even though at the end of the film the criminal mastermind John Kramer (aka Jigsaw, played by Tobin Bell) escapes leaving one of his victims, Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell), locked in an industrial bathroom. In what would become an iconic moment for the film series Kramer turns off the lights and closes the room’s large sliding door saying to Stanheight “Game Over” (not only is this scene directly referenced at the end of Saw: The Final Chapter [2010], but the idea of playing a “game” is developed in various ways across the series)...' (From Author's introduction)
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Shock-Horror End of an Era
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 7 November 2013; (p. 46) -
Bouncing Back into Frame
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 8 November 2013; (p. 5) -
Paratexts and the Commercial Promotion of Film Authorship : James Wan and Saw
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , December no. 69 2013; 'This article discusses one way Malaysian-Australian James Wan (b. 1977-) (1) can be considered or constructed as an author. Wan is best known for the film Saw (2004), which he co-wrote with Leigh Whannell (2). Saw was made for around $US1.2 million but grossed just over $US103 million worldwide at the box office (3). Saw also turned out to be the first instalment in a seven-part series. Wan and Whannell have both claimed that they did not make Saw with the intention of producing a sequel, even though at the end of the film the criminal mastermind John Kramer (aka Jigsaw, played by Tobin Bell) escapes leaving one of his victims, Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell), locked in an industrial bathroom. In what would become an iconic moment for the film series Kramer turns off the lights and closes the room’s large sliding door saying to Stanheight “Game Over” (not only is this scene directly referenced at the end of Saw: The Final Chapter [2010], but the idea of playing a “game” is developed in various ways across the series)...' (From Author's introduction) -
Conjuring Up a Familiar Haunt
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 16 June 2016; (p. 34) -
Time Is Wasting : Con/sequence and S/pace in the Saw Series
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Horror Studies , November vol. 1 no. 2 2010; (p. 225-239)'Horror film sequels have not received as much serious critical attention as they deserve this is especially true of the Saw franchise, which has suffered a general dismissal under the derogatory banner Torture Porn. In this article I use detailed textual analysis of the Saw series to expound how film sequels employ and complicate expected temporal and spatial relations in particular, I investigate how the Saw sequels tie space and time into their narrative, methodological and moral sensibilities. Far from being a gimmick or a means of ensuring loyalty to the franchise (one has to be familiar with the events of previous episodes to ascertain what is happening), it is my contention that the Saw cycle directly requests that we examine the nature of space and time, in terms of both cinematic technique and our lived, off-screen temporal/spatial orientations.' (Publication abstract)
