Hilarious pun, don’t you think?

Over the last few weekends I’ve been viewing my way through the Saw films. I’ve now seen them all except for the last and I gotta say they are a heap of fun to watch.

I’m a splatterpunk fan from way back – both in film and literature.* And while I’d never say that I find blood and guts, chopped off limbs and sloppy organs a bit sexy, there’s something about the silliness of it all that I find entertaining.** And Saw does some really good gore.

But that’s only a small part of what makes the Saw films so much fun to watch (including Saw 5, which is utter bollocks on a number of levels). No, the real fun is watching the writers pull a number of plot rabbits out of their arses as each movie (except for 5) adds to the convoluted and completely nonsensical backstory. But that’s OK because it makes each of the climactic revelations and plot twists (some of them genuinely clever, such as the twist for 4) all the more funnier.

If you can deal with the gore and Costas Mandylor’s*** acting (mostly from movie 4) then the Saw films are worth the time.***

* Completely off topic but PIG by Gorman Bechard, which featured in Splatterpunks 2 is the greatest splatterpunk story ever written. Yes, even better than Lansdale’s Night They Missed the Horror Show.

** It’s no coincidence that the best splatterpunk stories, like those two above, are also fucking hilarious.

*** It’s OK though because Tobin Bell more then makes up for the pain of watching Mandylor try to emote.

**** I did appreciate the Saw 6’s critique of the American healthcare system, given that the original writers of the franchise were Australian and the films – though set in the US – are a joint production with Canada.