History Film / SawI

The film opens with two men, Adam Stanheight[[note]]His surname is never stated in the film itself; it was Radford in the original script, Faulkner according to the film's producers later on, and eventually [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] to Stanheight in later ''Saw'' films. Due to this, he's sometimes [[FanNickname referred to by fans]] as "Adam Faulkner-Stanheight".[[/note]] (Whannell) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Elwes), [[YouWakeUpInARoom awakening]] [[ToiletHorror in a dilapidated bathroom]] chained by their legs to pipes on opposite sides of the room, unsure of how they got there. Between them rests the body of a man lying in a pool of his own blood with a gun in his hand.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Lawrence survives and goes to get help, and his family is able to evade Zep and live, but Tapp and Sing end up dead, and Adam's only chance to escape was unintentionally lost from the very start, when he drained the key to his chain as he awoke, and he is left to die in the bathroom by Jigsaw.]]

* GoryDiscretionShot: Ironically, the most violent acts in the film -- [[spoiler:Lawrence sawing off his own foot and Adam bashing in Zep's skull]] -- are hardly shown at all, even in the extended cut. We just see the [[spoiler: saw begin to cut into Lawrence's foot with blood quickly pouring out, and Adam smashes the toilet lid offscreen but not visibly into Zep]]. [[spoiler:Lawrence's severed foot and Zep's body]] aren't actually seen until the end of ''Saw II''.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Zep is commonly mistakenly referred to as "Zepp" by viewers and fans due to his name being written as such in "Hello Zepp". Charlie Clouser, the composer for the film (and the rest of the series at that), deliberately spelled his name like that in the song's title as a ShoutOut {{Pun}} to the jazz band Zapp.

** Adam after [[spoiler:bashing Zep's head in, not just because he's just killed a man, but also from all the physical pain and mental trauma he's endured alongside Lawrence]].

** [[spoiler:Adam is ultimately left to die in the pitch-black Bathroom]].

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Although Lawrence survives and goes to get help while his family was able to evade Zep and live, Tapp ends up dead while Adam's only chance to escape was unintentionally lost from the very start, when he drained the key to his chain as he awoke, and he is left to die in the bathroom by Jigsaw.]]

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Adam to Lawrence when he says he's going to go get them help, as they lay there bleeding and clinging onto each other.
-->'''Lawrence:''' I-I have to go and get help... If- If I don't g-get help, I'm going to ''bleed to death''

** Amanda after [[spoiler:gutting Donnie Greco to get the key to escape the Reverse Bear Trap]].

* TheCanKickedHim: The main game is set in a bathroom, [[spoiler:though neither Adam nor Gordon actually die in it. Instead, Zep ends up dying in it when Adam kills him, but Adam himself ends up being left to die too at the end of the movie]].

* GoryDiscretionShot: Ironically, the most violent acts in the film - [[spoiler:Lawrence sawing off his own foot and Adam bashing in Zep's skull]] - are hardly shown at all, even in the extended cut. We just see the [[spoiler: saw begin to cut into Lawrence's foot with blood quickly pouring out, and Adam smashes the toilet lid off screen but not visibly into Zep. Lawrence's severed foot and Zep's body]] aren't actually seen until the end of ''Saw II''.

*** And that's to say nothing of the traps themselves. Whereas the sequels are happy to show us most every single gory detail, this movie was very careful to let the traps be disturbing by leaving a surprising amount to the audience's imagination. The Flammable Jelly Trap shows not the moment where Mark steps on the wrong piece of glass, but rather him searching for the combination before implying the worst...then transitioning to a shot of his burnt corpse. The Razor Wire Maze's flashback shows only the start of Paul's game before quickly cutting, because let's face it -- you already know what's gonna happen. Even the Reverse Bear Trap, the most explicitly-seen trap that has a very gory outcome, only shows gore in a few split second shots, and even then prefers to let the audience's minds do the work.

* YourHeadAsplode: [[spoiler:In his pursuit of Jigsaw, Sing trips a wire linked to the triggers of four shotguns above his head, which end up shooting him in the head.]]

* {{Gorn}}: {{Downplayed}}, considering the massive gorefest that the sequels become. That being said, what is shown of the majority of deaths in this movie is still quite graphic, such as [[spoiler:Sing's death via a shotgun-powered BoobyTrap]] and [[spoiler:Donnie Greco (the [[NotQuiteDead "dead cellmate"]]) being disemboweled by Amanda.]]

* {{Gorn}}: {{Downplayed}}, considering the massive gorefest that the sequels become. That being said, what is shown of the majority of deaths in this movie is still quite graphic, such as [[spoiler:Sing's death via a shotgun-powered BoobyTrap]] and [[spoiler:Donnie Greco (the [[NotQuiteDead "dead cellmate"]] being disemboweled by Amanda.]]

* {{Gorn}}: Subverted to a degree, considering the massive gorefest that the sequels become.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Although Lawrence survives and goes to get help, Adam's only chance to escape was unintentionally lost from the very start, when he drained the key to his chain as he awoke, and he is left to die in the bathroom by Jigsaw.]]

* OrganTheft: Discussed when Adam looks over his body and tells Lawrence that they're in a typical organ theft situation where someone has kidnapped them, took their kidneys and put them on sale in Website/EBay. Lawrence assures Adam that's impossible, because if he had lost his kidneys, he would be in extreme pain or already dead.

->

** [[spoiler: Adam's fate at the end is him being trapped and chained in the dark, abandoned bathroom, with no means of escape.]]

* BadBadActing: Adam's attempt to fool Jigsaw into thinking he was poisoned, consisting of him dramatically convulsing and choking.
* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: Very much so.]]

* FaceDeathWithDespair: At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Adam is shell-shocked when the actual Jigsaw Killer reveals himself before him. After being electrocuted by Jigsaw and watching him shut the bathroom lights and walk out the door, Adam breaks down screaming in despair as the killer seals the door and leaves him to die]].
-->'''[[spoiler:Jigsaw]]''': [[spoiler:Most people are so ungrateful to be alive... but not you. Not anymore. ''[walks out the door as Adam screams incoherently]'' [[PreMortemOneLiner Game over.]] ''[shuts the door]'']]\\
'''[[spoiler:Adam]]''': DON'T! DON'T! [[BigNo NOOO!]] ''[more incoherent screaming]''

*** [[spoiler:Lawrence sawing off his foot]]. We see the very start of it, but we mainly infer how bad the situation is from [[spoiler:the sawing sounds and reaction shots on both an agonized Lawrence and a horrified Adam]].
*** And that's to say nothing of the traps themselves. Whereas the sequels are happy to show us every single gory detail, this movie was very careful to let the traps be disturbing by leaving a surprising amount to the audience's imagination. The Flammable Jelly Trap shows not the moment where Mark steps on the wrong piece of glass, but rather him searching for the combination before implying the worst... then transitioning to a shot of his burnt corpse. The Razor Wire Maze's flashback shows only the start of Paul's game before quickly cutting, because let's face it, you already know what's gonna happen. Even the Reverse Bear Trap, the most explicitly-seen trap that has a very gory outcome, only shows gore in a few split second shots and even then, prefers to let the audience's minds do the work.

* SpaceWhaleAesop:
** Providing methadone and other compassionate care for people with substance abuse disorders? Bad, enabling, creates leaches on society. The best way to treat substance abuse disorder is to bring a person inches away from a gruesome death and make them stab someone in the stomach, look through their entrails and find a key to unlock themselves. Sure, it'll also turn them into murderers in their own right, but hey, better than methadone.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Zep is commonly mistakenly referred to as "Zepp" by viewers and fans due to his name being written as such in "Hello Zepp". Charlie Clouser deliberately spelled his name in the song's title like that as a ShoutOut {{Pun}} to the jazz band Zapp.

* ThatLiarLies: Lawrence, after being told by his wife that Adam is lying. "Stop the lies! You're a liar!"
* ThirdActStupidity: Early in the film, Adam tries to get a tape recorder that's far out of reach, to which Lawrence suggests using his shirt to snag it, with successful results. When the climax begins, Lawrence is trying to reach a phone just inches away so he can contact his wife; he takes off his shirt and uses it as a torniquet [[spoiler:while he saws off his shackled foot to free himself]]. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that the trauma of the situation has taken its toll on them, with Lawrence in particular undergoing visible SanitySlippage throughout the whole scene.

* NothingIsScarier: As the film prioritizes suspense over gore, this trope is utilized multiple times.
** The scene where Lawrence's daughter Diana wakes up and notices there's something beside her. The audience knows just by the shot where the camera zooms into the black void. Zep attacks her later, ''long after she tells mommy and has daddy help her fall asleep''.
** A pig-masked figure silently crawling out of the back of Lawrence's car.
** Adam using the split-second flash on his camera to find the intruder in his pitch-black apartment, considering we know that he's not alone and [[ForegoneConclusion he's bound to get abducted]]...
** [[spoiler:Sing]]'s death via [[BoomHeadshot quadruple-shotgun headshot]] is initially framed from the shoulders down, so we're not able to see [[spoiler:how damaged his head is]]. However, [[BloodyHorror the amount of blood that splatters everywhere]] insinuates nothing good.
** [[spoiler:Lawrence sawing off his foot]]. We see the very start of it, but we mainly infer how bad the situation is from [[spoiler:the sawing sounds and reaction shots on both an agonized Lawrence and a horrified Adam]].
* OhCrap: Adam upon realizing he's been found out as [[spoiler: Gordon's photographer.]] Later, [[spoiler: Zep]] upon realizing a photo of him was left in the bag, and his captives now know he's involved.

* SoleSurvivor: Amanda Young is the only known person who survived a Jigsaw trap.

* GoryDiscretionShot: Ironically, the most violent acts in the film - [[spoiler:Lawrence sawing off his own foot and Adam bashing in Zep's skull]] - aren't shown at all, even in the extended cut. [[spoiler:Lawrence's severed foot]] and [[spoiler:Zep's body]] aren't actually seen until the end of ''Saw II''.

-->'''[[spoiler:Jigsaw]]''': [[spoiler:Most people are so ungrateful to be alive... but not you. Not anymore. ''[walks out the door as Adam screams incoherently]'' [[PreMortemOneLiner Game over!]] ''[shuts the door]'']]\\

* ThirdActStupidity: Early in the film, Adam tries to get a tape recorder that's far out of reach, to which Lawrence suggests using his shirt to snag it, with successful results. When the climax begins, Lawrence is trying to reach a phone just inches away so he can contact his wife; he takes off his shirt and uses it as a torniquet [[spoiler:while he saws off his shackled foot to free himself]]. Apparently, both characters completely forgot Lawrence's earlier suggestion by this point.

'''[[spoiler:Adam]]''': DON'T! DON'T! [[BigNo NOOO!]] ''[more inchorent screaming]''

-->'''[[spoiler:Jigsaw]]''': [[spoiler:Most people are so ungrateful to be alive... but not you. Not anymore. ''[walks out the door as Adam screams incoherently]'' [[PreMortemOneLiner Game over!]] ''[Shuts the door]'']]\\