Saw II- Not just blood and gore

This past weekend was Bryn Mawr’s traditional Halloween weekend. As a Mawrtyr, I vowed to make the most of it- and I did! I saw a scary movie, I went to a party, and I got my pretty red lantern. But the movie I saw was much more than just a scary movie. On it’s opening night, I saw Saw II . I know many remember the first one. The premise of the film was that two men were left trapped inside a room with a saw. I’m sure you can all guess what that was meant for. I know these films seem unappealing and bloody but I swear, there is a method to the madness.

The killer in Saw II (whom the police like to call Jigsaw in this installment) always leaves his subjects with a message and other clues. He always explains that each of them are there for a reason and that they are being tested. They are “playing his game” because they have lost their way in life- they no longer appreciate themselves or the opportunities they have been given. This could appear in many forms- drug abuse, drug selling, cutting yourself, being “unethical” in your line of work, or committing crimes that warrant jail time. Throughout the film, the killer says that there is no understanding of “survival of the fittest.” People simply disregard the little things, and as a consequence lose their appreciation for their lives as a whole. According to the killer, they no longer deserve the life they have been given.

Just to give an example (I promise, I’m not ruining the movie) Xavier is “playing the game” because he is a drug dealer. In a tape left for Xavier, the killer says that Xavier makes a living by giving false hope to junkies. He actively deepens the hole the junkies have made for themselves. Thus, to survive, he must jump into an actual hole of dirty syringes to find a key. The key opens a door that is on a timer. Behind the door, is the antidote that will let him live. Once the timer runs out, the door is permanently locked. His task is to “find a needle in a haystack” but in this case, the haystack is completely made of needles. They are meant to represent the hurt he has allowed others to feel.

Obviously, the killer’s methods are ridiculous, but is his concept? We have all heard (from the indistinguishable “they”) that we should not take life for granted. They say we should live every single day as if it were our last. The killer in Saw II is basically saying the same thing: to value each thing about the life we have been given, even if they are sometimes unpleasant.

I don’t believe we are able to truly live each day as our last, but within our individual domains, it is possible.

I spent the entire movie with my hand over my face so if you can handle some blood, I suggest that you see the movie. It makes you want to close your eyes but opens them at the same time.