Judging by the Trailer: "Saw" 10th Anniversary

By Rev. Adam McKinney on October 30, 2014

Well, here's a rarity for Judging by the Trailer: a movie I've actually seen! Yes, it's Saw, the movie that inspired a decade of tedious and disgusting American, mainstream torture-porn. Thankfully, this appears to be a genre that is dying out with the glut of haunted house pictures that we're currently experiencing, but I'll never pass over an opportunity to express my displeasure with Saw and its ilk, so let's begin.

In addition to inspiring Saw imitators, Saw also inspired a fanbase that would frantically argue with you if you dared to call into question the inherent morality that the franchise hinges upon. You see, the hero of the Saw movies is the murderer himself, known as Jigsaw - but even saying that could get you in trouble. Fans of the series will point out that Jigsaw actually does no killing. Rather, he puts victims into impossible circumstances with elaborate contraptions that effectively force them to kill or maim themselves. Fans will tell you all about the turgid, insincere backstory of Jigsaw (that he is a man dying of cancer who punishes people for not appreciating the wonders of life) and completely ignore the nightmare machines that rip people appendages off or poke their eyes out or whatever.

I can't say for certain, but I'm willing to bet that my first encounter with such a fan was with my brother. There's an impenetrable boundary when it comes to explaining to such people that Jigsaw could be dying of 10 different cancers, and that still doesn't justify putting someone in a device that explodes their head like a watermelon. Luckily, the series seems to have finally died out, so these conversations don't happen anymore. But, with the 10th anniversary re-release, I would advise steering clear of anyone that's seen more than one of these. They are not someone you'd like to have corner you at the bar.