Saw is the 78th episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Dan Murrell, Ian Weinreich, Matthew Brian Cohen, and Andy Signore. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the 2004 horror film Saw. It was published on October 28, 2014, to coincide with the 10 year anniversary of the film and Halloween. It is 4 minutes 6 seconds long. It has been viewed over 8.0 million times.
Watch Honest Trailers - Saw on YouTube
"A great idea for a student short film that somehow got stretched into six feature-length sequels, two video games, and one super fun roller coaster." ~ Honest Trailers - Saw
Script[]
From a production company that sounds like they'd make porn (Twisted Pictures) comes a film with the same production value as porn, in the low-budget hit that transformed the horror genre into straight-up torture porn:
Saw
See Saw, a great idea for a student short film that somehow got stretched into six feature-length sequels, two video games, and one super fun roller coaster. When two strangers wake up in your typical Taco Bell bathroom, the only way out is to patiently use the various saws, slabs, and guns to weaken their chains until they're able to break free. But instead of the obvious, prepare for a hundred minutes of reminiscing, playing catch (shows clips of Adam and Lawrence tossing things to each other), and dramatically reaching for stuff. (shows Adam reaching toward the middle of the bathroom) Almost...have...another...idea...nope.
Tremble before the Jigsaw Killer, a psychopath who combines the traps of Wile E. Coyote with the terrifying puppetry of Jeff Dunham.
Walter (spoken in the voice of Billy the Puppet): Hello, Amanda. I want to play a game. (an audience erupts with laughter)
Come, saw, and conquer the first in a long line of cheaply-made "gornos" featuring the claustrophobia of being trapped in a room, because there wasn't the budget for more locations; the panic of the fast-paced editing, because there wasn't the budget for better effects; and the cringe factor of watching the movie's screenwriter (Leigh Whannell) try to act, because there wasn't the budget for professional actors.
So settle in for the one that started it all, full of cool, well-thought-out traps that the sequels turn into complete parodies of themselves --
(shows six people trapped on a roudabout inside a cage while a man stands in front of a pair of buttons outside the cage)
Billy: You must press both buttons at once, in the box before you. However, in doing so, you will give a sacrifice of your own. Two can live, four will die.
Ughhh, what the f*ck is this guy talkin' about? -- and horrific violence happening off-screen that the sequels turn into the star of the franchise. (shows clips of blurred graphic violence from the Saw sequels as carnival-style music plays) Gughhh, who watches this stuff? (makes a gagging noise) Go to "Starring". Go to "Starring"!
Starring Kristen Bell (Tobin Bell as John Kramer); Robin Hood: Man in Chain (Cary Elwes as Lawrence Gordon); Dental Plan (Lisa Needs Braces) (Shawnee Smith as Amanda Young); Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 (shows a mini-cassette with "Play Me" written on it); Rush Hour (Danny Glover as David Tapp and Ken Leung as Steven Sing); This Guy (Leigh Whannell as Adam Stanheight); The Bad Guy from Lost (Michael Emerson as Zep Hindle); I Think She's on Parenthood? (Monica Potter as Alison Gordon); Filth; and Cher (Billy the Puppet).
Honest title for Saw - Saw 1: You've Saw Them All. Titles designed by Robert Holtby.
Saw 1: You've Saw Them All
Hey, at least it's not a found footage movie. (shows a clip of Katie and Micah lying asleep in bed from Paranormal Activity)
Trivia[]
- Screen Junkies have produced Honest Trailers for several other horror films including Happy Death Day, The Blair Witch Project, The Conjuring, Get Out, A Quiet Place, The Purge, Split, It and Halloween (2018). See list of Honest Trailers for more.
- An Honest Trailer Commentary for this episode was recorded and was available on the Screen Junkies Plus until the website/app was discontinued. Screen Junkies don't currently have any way of releasing the video.
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - Saw has a 97.7% approval rating from YouTube. JOE declared the Honest Trailer was "on the money and hilarious" and also contained some "brilliant puns." EW found the Honest Trailer notable for highlighting "the film’s porn-like production values to the use of the puppet-as-villain, calling Saw “a great idea for a student short film that somehow got stretched into six feature length sequels, two video games, and one super-fun roller coaster.” The Playlist also noted that the Honest Trailer points out that the film had been "milked to absurd levels in the subsequent sequels." Dread Central said the Honest Trailer was "hilarious."
Production credits[]
Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - Saw
Voiceover Narration by Jon Bailey
Title design by Robert Holtby
Thumnbail art by Husam Hamed
Series Created by Andy Signore & Brett Weiner
Written by Spencer Gilbert, Dan Murrell, Ian Weinreich, Matthew Brian Cohen, and Andy Signore
Edited by Dan Murrell & Jason Inman
External links []
- Honest Trailers eviscerates the ‘Saw’ franchise - The Daily Dot article
- Video: The honest Trailer for 'Saw' is on the money and hilarious - JOE article
- 'Saw' Honest Trailer: Torture-porn premise, actual-porn budget - EW article
- 'Saw' Is Basically Torture Porn, Says Honest Trailer - Huffington Post article
- Watch: Honest Trailer For ‘Saw,’ The First In A String Of Cheaply Made “Gore-Nos” - The Playlist article
- Saw – The Honest Trailer Takes its Shots - Dread Central article