The opening
scene of “Saw” hits home to viewers as the introduction fades to black and see
a light color shining through a dark mucky scene. Quickly a face an awakened
face emerges and the man in the water appears to be in total shock. Trying to
gain back his sense, the man rolls out of the bath tub and onto the dark room’s
floor. Soon after, what opened the scene is quickly removed as the key gets
flushed down into the drain when the man awoke. From the very beginning,
viewers are introduced to a dreary, dark, and mysterious bathroom. Just like in
most horror movies there are plot twist that takes viewers on a roller coaster
ride throughout the movie. “Saw” incorporates an element of question and doubt by
flushing the mysterious key within the first minute of the movie. This leads
viewers to believe whether or not that key was vital for survival, release, or
completely useless. Once the shaken man regains his senses and mind, he finds a
light switch. As soon as that light switch was turned on, the new murder room
takes place, a character is born, the plot thickens, and the movie essentially
ends.
As the first scene develops so does
the plot, in the first “Saw” film the plot revolves around two characters that
mysteriously end up in an old, rustic looking bathroom. The first character
shown is Adam, a free lance photographer, who awakens in a cold dreary bathtub
with water flowing to his mouth. Awaked by the sheer coldness of the water and the
bathroom Adam quickly realizes that he is a long way from home and that he is
main stage of a murder plot. Opposite of Adam is Dr. Lawrence Gordon, who is
seen to be in a complete sweat or has been in water just like Adam. Just like
Adam, Dr. Lawrence quickly realizes that he is a pawn in a room. As both
characters attempt to simply walk out of the bathroom, they realize that they
are shackled to pipes by one foot. Director James Wan and Leigh Whannell only
shackled one foot to allow for movement in the room, as the two of them are a
pair of pawns in a game.
The scene develops as Adam and Dr.
Lawrence see what appears to be a dead body in the middle of the room, holding
a tape recorder and a shiny silver revolver. The viewers are first introduced
to the bloody body, by a close up that quickly twisting towards the ceiling to
a wide shot showing the body. The video recorder and revolver are quickly revealed
as back-to-back close-ups are shown. Within the first minute, two clear
character differences appear. Dr. Lawrence is shown in a total panic attempting
to push walls and scratch them for a sign. Adam searches his person and finds a
small tape, which says “Play Me” written on the top of it. Once Adam retrieves
the tape player, the tape tells him “You might be in the room that you
die in. Up until now you've simply sat in the shadows, watching others live out
their lives. But what do voyeurs see when they look in the mirror? Now, I see
you as a strange mix of someone angry, yet apathetic, but mostly just pathetic.
So are you going to watch yourself die today, Adam, or do something about it”
(Saw I the Bathroom Trap). Soon after, Dr. Lawrence finds a similar tape and
throws it over to Adam to be played. His tape reveals the plot of the movie, “Your
aim in this game is to kill Adam. You have until 6 on the clock to do it. If
you do not kill Adam by 6, then Allison and Diana will die, Dr. Gordon, and I'll
leave you in this room to rot. Let the game begin. Follow your heart” (Saw I the
Bathroom Trap).
With the movie
and plot setup within the first handful of minutes, the audience is drawn in
from the very beginning. The mystery of the room, the two characters held in
captivity, and faced paced editing, leads viewers get emotionally attached to
the film. The opening scene sets up the entire movie, as the main setting is
the bathroom, the storyline revolves around how these two random people are
connected, and who is doing this to them. The opening scene in “Saw” is very
powerful as it indulges all viewers to a movie that they most likely have never
seen before.
Mast, G., &
Kawin, B. F. (2006). A short history of the movies (9th ed.). New York:
Pearson Education Inc. .
Wan, J.
(Director). (2004). Saw [Motion picture]. North America: Lions Gate
Entertainment.
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