I may be a little biased, but I strongly believe that the "Saw" series is the best series of horror movies in existence. There are multiple reasons I love those movies, so I'll list some of them for you.
1. The directors had to get REALLY creative with their first film
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The directors were fresh out of film school, so they had a pretty tight budget. The first movie was filmed all in one room with three to four characters. This, however, was what made the film that much more incredible, not to mention the short time span available to film.
2. There is a complex story line that carries through all eight films
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The entire plot is circled in making people realize their poor choices and mistakes. The main character suffered multiple traumas inflicted by the people he chooses for the games, and even says in a way that he wanted the people to suffer in a deep way as he did.
3. The puppet, Jigsaw, is especially creepy
Jigsaw's signature move is to ride in on an old tricycle and "talk" to the characters about their game that they are now forced into playing. Jigsaw has become a horror icon, from the exaggerated facial features, the red spirals on the cheeks, burning red eyes, and seemingly worn paint. This puppet was a mask of sorts to our main character, John Kramer, throughout the movies. He uses this puppet and a distorted voice to conceal his identity from his victims.
4. The main character exposes real life examples of mental illness and worst-case-scenarios of the aftermath
John Kramer faced physical illness as well as mental illness. He most definitely showed signs of major depression and he wanted to express how he felt. Unfortunately, he handled it in a very negative way, but it made for some pretty incredible movies. I won't spoil how he got to that point, so you'll have to find out for yourself.
5. The “games” in the movie are extremely gruesome, but expose the characters in a raw way
Each game that the victims are placed in have to deal with some gore and blood being shed to be set free. You can see that the victims are terrified and remorseful, but many were unwilling or physically unable to injure themselves to save their own lives. In some of the films, you see several characters having to work as a team to escape and some internal wars between characters. Most of them don't make it out alive.
6. The actors submerge themselves in their roles so much so that you can feel their pain and struggle throughout the films
This is what I feel makes this series a cinematic masterpiece. When you can feel connected to characters, it pulls you to watch the movie and immerse yourself into the thrill of the images in front of you.
7. The identifying mark on all of the victims is incredibly unique to this series
After a player in the games dies, John Kramer goes in to leave his signature on their body. His identifying mark is to cut a jigsaw puzzle shaped piece of skin off of the body. Every now and then he leaves clues for the detectives trying to crack the case. Alas, they're never successful due to the curiosity of copy-cat criminals and untraceable vocals.
Horror movies and thrillers aren't for everyone, but if you're trying to get in the mood for spooky season, this series is definitely a go-to. Oh, one last thing- "Do you want to play a game?"
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