Jigsaw is dead, but his legacy lives on.
That’s the idea behind the recently released Saw V one-sheet, which portrays a swarthy man – presumably (SPOILER!) Detective Hoffman (end SPOILER!) – wearing Jigsaw’s face. Like most of the Saw one-sheets, it sounds ridiculous on paper, but the execution is almost…beautiful. In a “dude wearing another dude’s face” kind of way.
I admit it – I’m a sucker for art.
I know nothing about it, much like Futurama’s Zoidberg demanding to purchase “one art, please.” But I know what I like, and I like creepy stuff.
Zdzisław Beksiński, whose paintings would make Danté wet himself, is a personal favorite. So if you present me with a poster where a dude is wearing another dude’s face, I am in.
The Saw series, which peaked at III, is definitely on a downward slope. Saw IV (while still enjoyable) was a mess, and stubbornly refused to pick up the best plotline from III until the VERY VERY END. Then, it killed the guy the plotline centered around. Thanks, movie.
Conceptually, the Jigsaw story is still pure gold. A missionary killer keeps the audience wondering who to root for, while the MPAA feels good about the message and doesn’t raise a fuss.
These one-sheets are part of what makes the Saw series not-quite-horror – more like a thriller for people who have trouble following complex plots, like me. Thrillers for Dummies. The main appeal is not the “whodunnit” (because it’s always obvious, or completely inscrutable) but the way Jigsaw practices his craft.
In general, the posters have always hinted deftly at the horror and gore that might lay beneath this peaceful, sterile scene. In this way, they hearken back to the original Saw, which had so little blood that the jump to Saw II’s juicy death scenes was slightly jarring.
In fact, one of the biggest problems with Saw IV was the incredibly unnecessary and protracted autopsy scene. They were just showing off their massive budget, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Although, maybe that was Jigsaw’s stomach contents.
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