Guest blogger: Lacey 1

I think the Saw movies are really good examples of character driven movies. The basic plot of these movies is that Jigsaw (John Cramer, played by Tobin Bell), a serial killer – although it’s argued whether or not he’s actually a killer, since he’s never murdered anyone in his life – kidnaps people and sets elaborate, deathly traps of which it is their goal to escape. The people he chooses go hand-in-hand with the traps he sets; he takes their way of life into perspective and puts them through a test AKA a “game”. Usually there is one main character being tested (or “playing the game”), and he/she must sacrifice or help other’s with their “game” as part of their own game. The director(s) of Saw tend to use low-profile actors and actresses that an audience probably have never seen or heard of, with the exception of Cary Elwes (Dr. Lawrence Gordon, Saw I), Danny Glover (Detective David Tapp, Saw I) , and possibly Donnie Wahlberg. (Detective Eric Matthews, Saw I – IV). One would think since the producers use such “nobodies” that the acting would be sub-par, but the majority of the actors/actresses get the point across well, considering a good amount of the movies are scenes set in dark, scary places – they work with what they’re given and they do it in a way where the audience is imagining themselves in the same situation. There are usually two types of characters in the Saw movies, and I would refer to them as the major game players and the minor game players. The major game players are the ones that the film is centered around; there are sometimes multiple major game players. The minor game players are the ones that are seen as “set up” for the major game players to help – or not – in order to finish their game. Since we are seeing the minor game players for a shorter period of time than we see the major game players, the actors/actresses really need to be on their A-game and portray their character virtually flawlessly – it has to be believable, almost REAL, or it just makes that scene boring to watch and it also becomes quite susceptible to heckling. A popular quote that John “Jigsaw” Cramer says in each movie is “Live or die, make your choice”, and I would say this ties to a common theme throughout all seven movies. Jigsaw puts these people through tests so that they can realize the wrong-doings they’ve done in life and to see if they want to change bad enough to overcome extreme obstacles. I personally love these movies even though they’re a little obscene and downright nasty. Critics like to say they’re just your average gore-fest hyped up with mediocre special effects but I think they’re pretty entertaining. Plus, beyond all the blood and guts, there’s a real lesson to be learned.