"How Jigsaw Changed My Life": The Journey of "SAW"

Some time in high school, the SAW series was never thought of and I was curious about it. A friend of a friend had the movie and told me what it was about (including the end, as requested). So, I borrowed it from her and I thought it was very unique and stood out from the garbage slasher flicks that have been constantly brought out in the U.S..

The first movie started off as a big mystery, a question upon questions as photographer Adam Stanheight and Dr. Lawrence Gordon awaken in a dingy bathroom with a bloody body in the middle of the room and their ankles cuffed to an inanimate object in the room. Naturally, they are at a panic and questioned the other about what was going on and how they got to where they are now. They soon came across a cassette tape and played it, learning they are part of Jigsaw's game. Both characters are familiar with the name as his prescence has been buzzing around the media. Amanda Young was a survivor of one of Jigsaw's "tests" and testifies publicly that it has changed her life. On the side, we have Detectives David Tapp and Detective Steven Sing showing us previous victims of the Jigsaw's contraptions while trying to solve the current case.

As the story progresses, we learn more and more about Adam and Dr. Gordon and it leads to many questions being answered. Not only do the main characters' backgrounds become revealed, but we learn a little bit about Jigsaw or shall I say John Kramer and his possible connections with one of the characters in the movie. Even though I knew the ending ahead of time, it was still surprising and well thought out.

Saw gave me hope that the genre wasn't completely dead and I'm not sure if they originally planned for this to become such a big franchise later on. Nonetheless, I stuck by the series since it left such a good impression on me and I was more or less pleased with the results.

By the time Saw IV was brought to the theaters, my thoughts of the franchise was waning and I was more excited about hearing X Japan's "IV" in the ending credits of the film than the actual movie. I was a little skeptical with what they were going to come up with **spoiler** since John Kramer died. The acting was improving which was slightly saddening, since the lack of acting abilities tend to be amusing to my friends and myself. The traps were hit and miss, but I was still interested. I thought it would all be over, but somehow they dug up some more inventions to crank out 3 more movies.

Upon the arrival of the fifth and sixth installment, I was becoming increasingly annoyed and was satisfied with everything stopping at Saw IV. Nearly all of my questions were answered, but, thinking like a money hungry Hollywood movie snob, I knew they were just milking it for all it's worth. Perhaps take the glory of being the highest earning horror movie franchise as well.

Despite this annoyance, I watched both seasons of the VH1 reality show, Scream Queens, a show trying to find someone to be apart of the movie, and I also watched the franchise to the very end. Unfortunately, I failed to see the final installment in theaters and checked it out from work.

Before viewing the final installment, I had mixed emotions toward it. I wanted to stay a dedicated fan, since I've seen the previous movies, but the elements that made the franchise special were lacking and were uncreative. I shifted my focus on the storyline and brushed off the poor games that were set up for the characters in each movie after Saw IV. It was also a shame that the movie was in 3D, fortunately, I didn't watch it in 3D. Upon watching the supposed final installment, I was a little bored with what was going on and I almost felt betrayed by the writers, but then the end came. Oh. My. God! Completely unexpected ending and it made me smile. With a clever ending like that, I hope they leave it there. Otherwise, brace yourself for an assload of angry fan letters.