Saw (2004)

The original “Saw” is a thrilling and suspenseful mystery that focuses on two men trapped in an old dirty industrial bathroom who find themselves the current “victims” of the Zigsaw Killer. The movie stars Cary Elwes as Dr. Lawrence Gordon and Leigh Whannell (who wrote the script) as Adam and has support from Danny Glover, Shawnee Smith, and Dina Myer. This film was written as a standalone movie and because of this the story takes its time and really focuses on the complex trap that Dr. Gordon and Adam find themselves in.

The Jigsaw Killer places very people in a situation where they are forced to play one of his “games”. They are chosen because he believes that they are taking their lives for granted or are outright wasting their lives. He feels so strongly about this because he has found a new love for life after being diagnosed with an operable brain tumor.

There are a total of five “games” that are presented in this film.

• 1.       Paul, who tried to slit his wrist earlier, finds himself naked inside a razor wire maze. He has two hours to find his way through the maze before the only door leading out slams shuts and locks him inside.
• 2       Mark is scamming his employer and his insurance company by claiming to be sick and or disabled, but the Zigsaw Killer knows better. Because of this, Mark has been covered in a highly flammable substance and is given a candle to try to read and find the proper combination code that will unlock a safe and give him the key to leave the room his trapped in. The ground is covered in broken glass so his chances of dropping the candle are incredibly high.
• 3.       Amanda, a heroin user the only known survivor of a Zigsaw “game” wakes up to find a reversible bear trap-like device locked on her head. In order to escape, she has to take a scalpel and find the key that is located inside another man in the room with her, who happens to still be alive but is currently drugged. She guts the man and finds the key just in time. This nameless victim is the first person who isn’t explained at any point.
• 4.       Dr. Gordon and Adam – Dr. Gordon is tasked with killing Adam in two hours, by 6:00pm, otherwise his wife and daughter will be killed and he will be locked away in the bathroom forever. Dr. Gordon has been chosen to play a “game” because he was the uncaring doctor who belittled his patient, the Jigsaw Killer, and because he is cheating on his wife. Adam is chosen because he makes his living by taking pictures of people committing acts that they shouldn’t, people like Mark and Dr. Gordon. All Dr. Gordon needs to do is saw off his foot that is chained down and shoot Adam with the gun that the corpse in the middle of the room has. He does so after the deadline.
• 5.       The fifth and final victim is Zep, an orderly who works at the same hospital as Dr. Gordon. He has been poisoned and the only way to survive is to kill Dr. Gordon’s wife and daughter. He is playing a “game” because he is deemed to a murderer who is willing to kill and innocent woman and her child just to save his own life. The would-be killer fails and goes to where Dr. Gordon is. Adam, who was only wounded, kills Zep by using the ceramic top of a toilet to bludgeon him. Dr. Gordon crawls away to get help and leaves Adam alone in the room.

The big twist at the end of this film is the fact that Jigsaw was the corpse in the middle of the room, so when he stands up and looks down at Adam, the shock is genuine. 

Dr. Lawrence Gordon

Adam

Amanda