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The label of porn also implies titillation for titillation's sake. You know, it means no real story other than the hot girl who can't pay the pizza man...at least not with cash. Wan, Whannell and their successors have crafted their stories as a series of puzzles, complete with an annual twist ending. Now the success of these violent head trips is in the eye of the beholder, but there is clearly some thought that goes into their construction. Jigsaw doesn't just torture the girl for not paying for her pizza. He constructs an elaborate game with definitive rules by which she must abide in order to survive.

For that matter, the Saw team put a lot of thought into the continuity of the films and in how they fit together. It's complex and convoluted, but with each installment, we get a new puzzle piece in Jigsaw's master plan, as well as in his ever-expanding back story. It's complicated beyond all probability, but I'm not so concerned with the verisimilitude of Jigsaw's mythology. Hell, he's a brilliant engineer. Maybe he is enough of a genius to have connected all of these myriad dots in advance. Looking for plot holes in such an approach can be fun, but it misses the point. The Saw creators care about the fans and work hard to make all of the pieces fit. If there are holes in the construct, it's certainly not for lack of care. Contrast that with, say, the Friday the 13th sequels, which are just a redundant string of Jason killings, each plot a repeat of the last, showing a contempt for the viewing hand that feeds the series.

And on that note, how awesome a villain is Jigsaw? He's certainly equal to many of the other big horror names. Now I loves me my Freddy Krueger and my Michael Myers. Don't misunderstand me. I like other serial killers like Hannibal Lecter and John Doe. I love Damien, and Jack Torrance, and all of the other big names of the genre. Say what you will about the Saw series, but few would dispute Jigsaw's worth as an addition to the horror baddie hall of fame. He's brilliant, scary, has a flawed philosophy, and a tragic past. He's calculating, thinks about 12 steps ahead of the rest of the world, and is dying of cancer. His master plan is so elaborate, it continues many films after his death. And, as the icing on the horror monster cake, Tobin Bell plays him. This dude has been creeping out viewers in pretty much every television show for the past 20 years or so, but it wasn't until Saw where he became a minor household name. And, he spends most of the first movie face down in a pool of blood. How they got a respected character actor to do that in a non-budget film I'll never know, but he's been the face of the biggest horror franchise of the decade ever since. It's a dubious cinematic immortality, yet a cinematic immortality all the same.

Look, I doubt the series will be reevaluated as some sort of maligned classic in the future. I do think, however, that many critics are being unfair in their harsh evaluation. It's not flawless, nor is it pretty, but Saw aims higher than many other less-hated horror franchises. Does it always hit its mark? Probably not, and, well meaning though it may be...well, the road to hell and all. Nevertheless, it is here to stay, and the creators have inspired a passionate following, far more passionate than other horror series enjoy. Okay, enough being the voice of dissent, back to TV next time. I'm sure Jigsaw would disapprove of my rule breaking.

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