CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF SAW (2004)!!!

SAW (2004) d. James Wan (USA)
SAW II (2005) d. Darren Lynn Bousman (USA)
SAW III (2006) d. Darren Lynn Bousman (USA)
SAW IV (2007) d. Darren Lynn Bousman (USA)
SAW V (2008) d. David Hackl (USA)
SAW VI (2009) d. Kevin Greutert (USA)
SAW 3D (2010) d. Kevin Greutert (USA)
JIGSAW (2017) d. Michael Spierig / Peter Spierig (USA)
SPIRAL (2021) d. Darren Lynn Bousman (USA)
SAW X (2023) d. Kevin Greutert (USA)

**CLICK HERE TO WATCH FULL YOUTUBE EPISODE**

Before there was “The Saw Franchise,” there was just SAW (full DVD review HERE), a relatively low-budget thriller from a pair of Australian horror kids who wanted to make a good impression. Strapped for cash but no shortage of imagination, the duo of actor/screenwriter Leigh Whannell and director James Wan whipped up a short-film scenario that could take place in a single room. The movie, shot in a mere 18 days, exploded at the box office in October 2004 to become one of the most profitable horror features of all time, much to the surprise of its participants and creators. The rest, as they say, is history.

SAW (2004) Movie Review

Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:

Total Movies Watched: 29
Total First Time Views: 14
Amount raised for BOXVILLE: $2,462.68

Saw (2004) d. James Wan (USA) (103 min) (4th viewing)

A pair of strangers, Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and photographer Adam (Leigh Whannell) wake up in a grimy underground bathroom, each chained by his ankle to a drainpipe. Also in said bathroom are a dead body and two rusty hacksaws, too dull to cut through their shackles, but sharp enough to cut through… other things. As the narrative proceeds down its flashback-riddled path, we learn that they are captives of the Jigsaw Killer, whose calling card entails intricate scenarios designed to force victims to kill themselves or one another. It is in these flashbacks that the film’s power lies, depicting hellish scenarios and apparatus from H. R. Giger’s worst nightmares.

THE BRIDE (1985) Blu-ray review

The Bride (1985) d. Franc Roddam (UK) (118 min)

An inspired extension of James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein, this sumptuous costume drama captures the Gothic look and feel with fine production design and sturdy acting even as it fails to engage emotionally. The film begins on course, with great-looking laboratory scenes of mad doctor Charles (?) Frankenstein (Sting) animating Eva (Jennifer Beals) to be his first creation’s (Clancy Brown) mate. But the seams begin to show when the plotline splits in two: One half following the original creature (dubbed “Viktor”), shunned by both mate and creator, in his travels while the other observes Frankenstein as he dresses up his newest creation as an independent society lady at home.

HELLGATE (2012) movie review

Hellgate (2012) d. Penney, John (Thailand)

Sappy spiritualist ghost story featuring a typically lame Cary Elwes as a victim of a car crash haunted by visions from beyond and William Hurt slumming as some kind of hoodoo guru. So completely meh, I can't even manage to finish this revie...