Lights, Camera, Action!

A wise person once said that there are two types of “horror” films: those that give you chills, and those that scare you. The ones that give you chills will make you jump while you’re in the theater, but it won’t stay with you on the way out. The ones that scare you, on the other hand, are those that truly freak you out. Those that follow you back to your house and into your bed while you sleep with the lights on because you’re afraid of what can jump out of the corner.

Over the upcoming week until Halloween, I’ll be updating this blog with my top 5 horror films, with short reviews for each.

Before I begin, I’d just like to say that no, I’m not a huge horror movie buff. I don’t line up in theaters to see horror movies on opening night, nor do I go out of my way to rent horror movies when they come out on DVD. But, there are a few that I’ve seen that I can truly appreciate as great films.

First up:

Saw (2004)

Before I begin, I’ll say this: This is a review of ONLY the first film, and not the other ones that have come since, which, in my own personal opinion, have not come close to doing what the first did, that being creating true frights, horror, and suspense.

Now, let’s take a look at the trailer:

If you’ve seen the trailers for the latest Saw movie, then you can immediately see a difference. The original one doesn’t try to go over the top with the traps, blood, and gore. Believe it or not, but this franchise started with suspense!

Adam (Leigh Whanell) wakes up in a bathroom, his leg chained to a pipe. Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) has his leg chained to a pipe on the opposite wall. There’s a bloody corpse with a gun in the middle of the room. There are pre-taped messages that explain their situation, and tells them what they must do to pass this “game”.

This opening scene is one that immediately gives the viewer an idea of what they are being plunged into; the mind of a psychopath who’s identity remains unknown through most of the movie (SPOILER ALERT) until he is revealed to be the corpse in the middle of the room (END SPOILER).

This movie keeps you guessing until the very end, and, unlike those that came after, it gives you an amount of suspense, almost claustrophobia, as the clock ticks on these two individuals. What will they do to survive?  Only time will tell.

This is one of those countless times where the original film in a franchise is great, and the sequels just don’t live up to the expectations. Despite this, I still plan to see Saw VI, just because I’ve lived with this series FAR too long to not know how it ends. Granted, I’m pretty sure that it never will end, and there will be a Saw XXVII 21 years from now, but, I can still get a good laugh out of it every now and then.

Keep on watching!

R.S.

This entry was posted on October 23, 2009 at 6:55 pm and is filed under Reviews, Top Five. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.