SAW

Devil's Advocates #1

by Benjamin Poole

Like all game changers within the horror genre, SAW was an independent success, a low-budget champion that flourished without the patronage of a big studio. Not bad for the most successful horror franchise ever, which has spawned subsidiary media and masses of merchandise, including a theme park rollercoaster ride. What is it about SAW that attracted such a following? In his contribution to the Devil's Advocates series, Benjamin Poole considers the SAW phenomenon from all aspects of Film and Media Studies from its generic pedigree in both literature and film, to the visceral audience pleasures ('what would I do?') of the text, the face of horror post-9/11, to the contrasting representations of men and women and the film's implicit criticism of masculinity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror

119 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2011

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this completely fascinating, and I’m very grateful to Bug for lending it to me. Made me want to seek out the rest of Whannell and Wan’s work.

[Horror DNA · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's to writer Ben Poole's eternal credit that his Devil's Advocates entry really made me want to go and watch Saw again. Following six years of those movies, I had sworn off the Saw franchise for a long time. But no, Devil's Advocates: Saw had to go and make me want to give it a second (or third – maybe fourth) chance.

You can read Joel's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Sam Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting arguments. well written. must read for horror fans.

[Ally · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm going to be honest I didn't read this fully but it was not super interesting