Nowadays, Saw is generally frowned upon as one of those franchises that ran itself into the ground through a series of inane and increasingly preposterous sequels (believe it or not, there are plans for an eighth movie in the works at this very moment). Still, Saw's - let's face it - gargantuan legacy cannot be argued with; here's the low-budget flick that single-handily ushered in a new wave of super violent horror movies. Indeed, Saw birthed the now derided sub-genre of horror movies known under the derogatory banner of "torture porn," whereby human beings are killed off, one by one, in gloriously detailed and horrifically bloody ways. And it's the slow burning nature of said deaths that defined Saw, its sequels, and the countless imitators that Hollywood rolled out to cash in on the craze. The original Saw, at least, was a good picture.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
