The Cutting Edge: Philosophy of the SAW Films

by C.J. Patton

If you were a fan of the SAW movies, you will love this book. If you weren't a fan, this will change your mind. The Cutting Philosophy of the SAW Films analyzes the SAW movies, revealing their deeper meaning, comparing their philosophical concepts to the views of many philosophers throughout history, and demonstrating that they convey a fascinating blend of traditional and innovative philosophical thought. The book also examines the primary characters of the movies and includes a comprehensive index of the infamous Jigsaw traps.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Film

200 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2013

Reviews

[becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I think the philosophical connections were actually interesting, they were far too sparse. Patton's fatal flaw in this book is being too big of a defender of John Kramer's actions instead of simply going into depth about his philosophical views. In doing so, she minimized just how terrible Kramer's influence was on Amanda Young, Mark Hoffman, and Lawrence Gordon. It doesn't take anyone with media literacy too long to realize the value of the Saw franchise, but I haven't taken a philosophy course and I did appreciate seeing that aspect of the movies.

My absolute least favorite part of this book was the idea that Amanda's obsession with Kramer had any romantic inclinations. Amanda is very clearly hero-worshiping Kramer as a savior and father figure. Given her past as an addict and whatnot, it's likely that her family life wasn't healthy. There was also no discussion of Adam's character being the perfect example of Kramer showing apathy and malice towards his "test subjects". Adam clearly learned from his test (how he shouts that he wants to live before Lawrence shoots him in the shoulder), and yet was still left to die.

I liked reading about Saw because I like reading "academic" insights into horror movies. This was fine.

[Brandon Robert Patton · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a few details that I disagree with, but overall a great analysis of the first 7 film and their philosophical details! Would recommend for anyone with sawtism.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book title that has the word philosophy in it is usually a pass for me but being a big horror fan I was just too intrigued. This is just a fun book for any fan of the Saw series. The author C.J. Patton basically looks at the moral and philosophical reasoning of Jigsaw (John Kramer)as he kidnaps and traps his victims. It was pretty cool to really try to get into the mind of Jigsaw and I admit I look at the movies a little different now. I need to go watch the series from start to finish again.

Another cool aspect is the "Trap Index" that lists each trap in the Saw series in chronological order. Along with the trap title it includes who set the trap, reason, description, pass/fail, and comments for each one. It was fun to read how the traps would of played out in real time as opposed to what order we actually witnessed them. I had way too much fun reading the trap index and reliving each and every trap. I'm a tad concerned to be honest.

So The Cutting Edge is just a really fun and fast read. Hopefully the author will take on some other horror movie themed books in the future.

[Todd Akira Morikawa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Cutting Edge: Philosophy of the SAW Films * CJ Patton Official Fanpage * Analyzes the Saw movies, revealing the significance of their deeper meanings, particularly in contrast/comparison to historical philosophical concepts; showing that they convey a fascinating blend of ideas which cohere into a unified weave of knowledge. Examines the main characters (John Kramer, Amanda Young, Detective Mark Hoffman, Dr. Lawrence Gordon, Detective Eric Matthews, Officer Daniel Rigg, Peter Strahm) of the series (I-VII), the storyline, with an index of the infamous JigSaw traps. The method to the madness.

Saw VIII (Legacy) is forthcoming this year (Oct 27 2017 release date)
200 pp 2013

[Lucien Welsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was honestly planning on giving this a 4-4.5 rating but it turns out that the “main” book is only 30% of the page count and the other 70% is the trap index…

While the central “essay” of work was insightful and decently written, it did come across as more of a high school level comparative essay than an actual dive into the philosophical ideologies explored within the first seven Saw films. Every time I saw a footnote, I hoped for more details into the point being made but all citation numbers were just that, citations of the text or film being referenced without further comment. Comments were, however, made on the trap index that weren’t bad but I was still hoping for more.

At the end of the day, this was well written and provided some interesting comments about John Krammer but I would enjoy it more if the author would one day revisit this essay and create a fuller version with more room for personal opinion rather than just basic philosophical comparison.

[Ash Waldron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patton aims to reveal the deeper meanings within the films by comparing their philosophical concepts to the views of various historical philosophers, demonstrating a blend of traditional and innovative thought. However, this is more of a ‘dummies guide to philosophy’ and reads more as a school paper, rather than a deep analysis.

Instead of Patton giving fresh ideas and insight, he provides a summary of the general scholarly subjects. But that being said, this book does raise attention of the character John Kramer and his views on life, presenting starter discussion on the appropriate topics.

If you’re a hardcore Saw fan or just curious about its philosophical side, it might be worth a read—but you might want to check out other sources for a more thorough analysis.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good insight into the movies. Not perfect by any means, some of the academic references are too sparingly used, could use some deeper exploration, so it can feel like hopping from one philosopher to the next, but overall a rather good write up.

Hoping for an update to reflect Jigsaw and the new movie 😛. A little section to describe each philosophical belief system could be quite good too, as a primer for certain sections such as on existentialism.

[tianna ⋆⭒˚.⋆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

was it interesting to read the irl philosopher connections to a character on screen? yes. was there nearly enough of it to justify paying for this book? no.
felt like reading a college freshman’s essay for an ENGL 1010 class. would’ve like to see more in depth explanations, more descriptive opinions, etc.
also a bit annoyed that the other half of the book is just an index of the traps. i’ve seen the movies? i know what they are?? i could’ve googled that. 🫤

[Eva Richman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the formality of this book was a bit juvenile, I thought this book mentioned a lot of excellent concepts and connections between Kramer and various philosophers. It provided me with a lot of educational insight into more of the “why” factor of why Kramer did what he did and what his whole thought processes were.

[John O'Cannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have liked the book more, but there were a few assumptions that took away from one character and focused on another instead. The detail of this carried on for the rest of the book and made everything after it less enjoyable. That aside, being a fan of the franchise, it did get a little monotonous over time, just like some of the later films did.

[Jenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This comes off as a high school research paper. It is not well written. It's also basically just a trap index instead of a philosophy book. It's like this is what you use to research your topic BEFORE you write your paper.

[zuzu · Rating 1 out of 5]

"lynn denlon is clearly unempathetic and unable to feel sympathy towards others."

OR MAYBE ITS THE FACT SHES BEEN KINDAPPED, FORCED TO DO BRAIN SURGERY ON A SERIAL KILLER AND HAS A SHOTGUN COLLAR ROUND HER FUCKING NECK?!?!?

[Eden · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but it reads like an undergrad essay on the Saw movies and offers a very surface level analysis of the series.

[4cchi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did it have interesting topics and relations? Yes. Did it remind me of a high school essay? Also yes…

[erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a graceful combination of two of my favorite things: the Saw franchise, and over-analyzing fiction. Before discovering it, I could feel the eye rolls of those around me every time I spewed yet another monologue on the overlooked symbolism in these films. But now, they're not so much of a bother. This was also my first time reading anything to do with philosophy, so admittedly it was a lot to take in at first. However, once I'd gotten a hang of the writing, I was breezing right through it. I was reminded of just how much I love and cherish Saw, and how much it continues to shape my life. Overall it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who immerses herself in Saw meta like it's a pit of used hypodermic needles.

[Carol Morikawa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cutting Edge: Philosophy of the SAW Films * CJ Patton Official Fanpage * Analyzes the Saw movies, revealing the significance of their deeper meanings, particularly in contrast/comparison to historical philosophical concepts; showing that they convey a fascinating blend of ideas which cohere into a unified weave of knowledge. Examines the main characters (John Kramer, Amanda Young, Detective Mark Hoffman, Dr. Lawrence Gordon, Detective Eric Matthews, Officer Daniel Rigg, Peter Strahm) of the series (I-VII), the storyline, with an index of the infamous JigSaw traps. The method to the madness.

Saw VIII (Legacy) is forthcoming this year (Oct 27 2017 release date)
200 pp 2013

[Natalie]

Ha!! I found you!! Still deciding if I am unwimpy enough for this though.. ;) Should have known you were going to write about the Saw series!! <3

[Arnab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book ever read....