SAW
MOVIE REVIEW

My Books and Movies!

E.C. McMullen Jr.
RUMOR

RUMOR: People are dying to know the truth

PERPETUAL
BULLET

"'Some People' ... may be the standout story in the book."
- John Grant, Infinityplus

E.C. McMullen Jr.
WILLOW BLUE

"'Willow Blue' will burrow under your skin and stay there long after you've put the book down."
- Jeffrey Reddick, Creator of
FINAL DESTINATION

IN OTHER BOOKS
E.C. McMullen Jr.'s
short story
CEDO LOOKED LIKE PEOPLE
in the anthology
FEAR THE REAPER

"This Ray Bradbury-esque is one of the most memorable and one of the more original stories I've read in a long time."
- Steve Isaak,
Goodreads

HORROR 201:
The Silver Scream

Filmmaker's Guidebook
featuring
RAY BRADBURY,
JOHN CARPENTER,
WES CRAVEN,
TOM HOLLAND,
E.C. McMULLEN Jr.,
GEORGE A. ROMERO,
and many more.

Extensively quoted in

PHANTASM
EXHUMED
The Unauthorized Companion

SATAN'S 3-RING
CIRCUS OF HELL

Forward by
GAHAN WILSON &
FEO AMANTE.
With Comic Art by
ALEX PARDEE,
WILLIAM STOUT,
STEVE BISSETTE,
FRANK DIETZ,
JIM SMITH,
FRANK FORTE,
ERIC PIGORS,
MIKE SOSNOWSKI,
OMAHA PEREZ,
DAVID HARTMAN,
STEVEN MANNION,
JACOB HAIR,
and more!

And In
CINEMA
E.C. McMullen Jr.
Head Production Designer

MINE GAMES
(Starring:
JOSEPH CROSS,
BRIANA EVIGAN,
ALEX MERAZ,
ETHAN PECK)

Dept. head
Special Effects Make-Up
(SFX MUA)

A SIERRA NEVADA
GUNFIGHT
(MICHAEL MADSEN & JOHN SAVAGE).

Production Designer

UNIVERSAL DEAD
(DOUG JONES,
D.B. SWEENEY,
GARY GRAHAM)

Art Director

THE CRUSADER
(COLIN CUNNINGHAM,
GARY GRAHAM)

Review by
E.C.McMullen Jr.

SAW II
MOVIE REVIEW

SAW
INTERVIEW
With JAMES WAN & LEIGH WHANNELL

SAW

- 2003
USA Release: October 29, 2004
Twisted Pictures / Lion's Gate Entertainment
Rated: USA: R

A man wakes up underwater. Surprised by his circumstances, he kicks and fights to get to air. Wouldn't you? But as he thrashes, he unplugs the bathtub, draining not only the water, but a glowing tab connected to a key, which goes right down the drain.

Pity, he might have needed that key.

As it turns out, he did. The man's name is Adam (Leigh Whannell: THE MATRIX: RELOADED), and he finds himself in pitch darkness, chained to a pipe. He hears something. Someone else is with him in the dark. Abruptly the lights come on, and he discovers two things. He is in the room with a likewise chained man, and a bloody corpse. Welcome to an extraordinarily original nailbiter called SAW.

SAW was written by Leigh Whannell, based on a story by Leigh and Director James Wan (STYGIAN). And, save for I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, I've never seen anyone get this dark without going over the top into unintentional humor.

SAW is a Horror Thriller film, but it is also a Suspense Mystery, and as such it feels right at home, though leading the pack, of movies like SE7EN, THE BONE COLLECTOR, and television's, CSI. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS? Not quite the same breed. SAW takes place over the course of less than eight hours.

Adam's cellmate, Lawrence (Cary Elwes: THE BRIDE, DRACULA [1992]), tries in the midst of a freshly dead body, to reason why they are there, and not end up like the corpse, who seems to have shot himself. Little by little they discover clues around the room. Clues that their captor left for them. They are part of a very sick game.

Cary Elwes
The SAW contestants never ASKED to play the game
and the choices they are offered, admittedly, aren't that great.
BUT WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS...!!!

Their warden is a man who despises them both because he is dying, and neither Adam or Lawrence appreciate the life they have. At least, not enough to suit the taste of their captor.

Through conversational flashbacks, which actually add to the tension, we learn that Lawrence knows the identity of their tormentor, or at least knows of him. The media has dubbed him "Jigsaw", and he has never really killed anyone. Instead, he puts his prisoners into traps where they wind up killing themselves. So far, only one person has survived, a girl named Amanda (Shawnee Smith: THE BLOB [1988], THE STAND [TV], THE SHINING [TV], SAW II). After she tells the grisly story of her narrow escape, she surprises the detectives further by insisting that Jigsaw didn't victimize her, he saved her. She isn't a drug addict anymore.

"Most people are so ungrateful to be alive.
But not you. Not anymore."

OFFICIAL SAW

SAW
in 30 seconds and re-enacted by bunnies.

ANNOYING ORANGE SAW

IMPAwards

The detectives tracking down the twisted killer are David Tapp (Danny Glover: PREDATOR 2) and Steven Sing (Ken Leung: RED DRAGON). They along with specialist Kerry (Dina Meyers: STARSHIP TROOPERS, BATS, STAR TREK: NEMESIS) tried to unravel the mystery of Jigsaw once before, and nearly died from it. All they learned was that the criminal's real name is John (Tobin Bell: THE FIRM, MALICE, DEEP RED, GOOD NEIGHBOR), and he's dying from cancer.

So the elements are in play and the film cunningly addresses every perceived plothole and every downfall in other movies that have tried to have this kind of timing. There are twists and turns at every corner, building up the suspense.

Then, just when everything looks perfect, SAW is bootstrapped to a ridiculous ending. Such an incredibly dumb ending in fact, that as I left the theater, the more I thought about it, the more frustrating it was.

Unfortunately, this movie also gets an

!!!UNFAIR RACIAL CLICHÉ ALERT!!!:
What the hell is that?" You ask? Find out at The UNFAIR RACIAL CLICHE ALERT (URCA) page. Then check out URCA/Saw - but beware, there there be spoilers!

Argh!

Still, when it comes to movies, horror fans are a forgiving lot. And if you look at the twenty or so Horror movies that Hollywood alone puts out every year, you'll know that we've forgiven a LOT!

And since this was Leigh and James' own labor of love, I'll cut them some slack and give this movie 3 shriek Girls.