Gorno

Downloaded "Saw III" HD on the XBOX 360. I was curious about the movie download functionality of the 360, and it was one of the handful of movies in HD, so I went for the 24-hour rental. I'd been meaning to see it.

I've always liked horror movies, but now it's a matter of seeing what the other guys are doing. The Saw movies are shaped more like gory mystery movies. Kick-starting a new-ish genre catering specifically to gore-hounds, propelling the success of the "Hostel" series.

Saw III is difficult to watch. It's unpleasant. The camera swings too much. You're inundated with flash shots. And there's an emphasis on gore that goes beyond servicing the story. There are extended sequences that actually resemble pornography.

In "regular" pornography, we get extended close-ups of "insertions". It's why you watch pornography. The shots scream, "Hey, look, they're actually fucking!" But these sequences would look out of place in a regular movie. James Bond might have sex with women in movies, but if there were a 20 minute hardcore sex scene in the middle of "Casino Royale"... well, it would be awesome, but it might alter the tone of the movie.

Saw III dwells on the gore like it's hardcore sex. If it were shot in a more matter-of-fact manner, it might be more effective, but it's not. The gore is held in close-ups, the camera jumping right in as if to say, "This is the only thing you want to be looking at." I'm not squeamish, but a movie like this makes me squeamish because it seems to assume that I'm going to be delighted by this imagery.

That said, I respect what the Saw folks have got going. Beyond the gore, there's actually a plot, and the movies probably inspire "What would you do...?" conversations among the hoopleheads afterwards, gob bless them. I'm under specific instruction NOT to write BUTCHERHOUSE into the torture-porn genre, and that's never been my intention.

Hell, we'll be fortunate to get our script greenlit. Most horror movies get crap reviews, and I'm not gonna trash-talk a lucrative franchise. (Coz I'm a pussy.) Actually, maybe I can work some hardcore sex in my script... I'd buy THAT for a dollar! (100 Microsoft Points)