This week it’s all about Gothic Bite Magazine’s writers favorite Horror Movie! Here’s Kendra’s choice!
*** SPOILER ALERT: In these articles you can expect spoilers about chosen subject and movies. Please consider yourself warned. ***
I Want To Play A Game
Writers of Gothic Bite Magazine were asked this week to name their favorite horror movie. Some of us found that difficult to say the least.
There are so many gems in the horror genre and each is a favorite, even a comfort, for a reason. Maybe it gave you a thrill, the jump scares got you, perhaps the plot twisted your mind as you tried to keep up?
That is what this week is about, which film resonates with you still and why is it your favorite.
For fans of the movie I am about to name, my caption gives it completely away as it was one of the many jewel taglines this movie had. One of my favorite horror movies is Saw. Yes the series but for this article we will just discuss the groundbreaking first movie.
X Marks The Spot
First of all let us get this out of the way, *MAJOR SPOILERS*, so if you haven’t seen the film click away or scroll to why it is my favorite. I hold no responsibility for ruining an ending or major movie plot, you have been warned.
2004 is when Saw was released and the horror genre not only perked to full attention but turned on its head. Everything about this movie was about to be ingrained into the history of horror cinematography as we know it and I do not speak that lightly.
With a stunning 10 nominations and 8 awards given, Saw speaks up quite well for itself.
Saw had a stunning cast featuring names like Cary Elwes ( As you wish), Danny Glover, Shawnee Smith, Michael Emerson, and of course Tobin Bell.
The musical score was an instant earworm and almost everyone knows Jigsaw’s theme. The story and atmosphere were enthralling and visceral, cunning and dark. A word used often but meant in its entire definition here, genius.
Oh Yes, There Will Be Blood
Awakening in a dilapidated bathroom, two men, Adam and Dr. Lawrence Gordon, discover they have been captured by the infamous Jigsaw Killer.
Chained up and told that they must play a game before they can escape, the men must follow the clues to be released before time runs out, otherwise, they will face the deadly consequences.
This is the simple synopsis of the main plot in the movie, but it is the simplest spoiler free version, I already warned there would be spoilers. Jigsaw is a serial killer, one who puts his victims in positions to live but there is a cost.
The cost is not one all are willing to pay. It is all about learning how important your life is by learning from your current misdeeds.
The intricate scenarios that Jigsaw establishes for his victims are quite honestly one of my favorite parts of the movie. Each one is so detailed and captivating in their delicious and malicious conception.
The room in this film, for example, where the two men are trapped becomes a character in itself as you watch the unfolding story and watch them follow the clues.
Let The Game Begin
What makes Saw so great for me was the writing. The concept itself was unlike anything I had seen since The Silence of the Lambs or Se7en in it’s philosophy of a serial killer. The violence was right up there with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the difference being that in one…you had the ability to survive.
The little doll of “Jigsaw” that was introduced with the video recordings was just as haunting as the ones that the audio recordings were when victims played them and learned of their fate.
So many things from this film were not only memorable but became iconic. Fans of this movie were treated to SEVERAL more sequels but for me, I would have been happy even if only given the first.
Those are several of the reasons that Saw is my favorite horror film and I definitely suggest and recommend watching the movie and allowing the woven layers of the story to take you under their spell. So what do you say? Wanna play a game?
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