Semiotic Analysis of Saw Trailer

2.  Distributor- Lionsgate films
 Production company- Evolution Entertainment Twisted
Pictures
 Director- James Wan
 Famous Cast- Tobin Bell plays the character ‘Jigsaw’ in
all Saw films.
 Saw is a franchise which consists of seven feature films.
 Financial success at the box office-The Saw films
collectively grossed over $873 million at the box office
worldwide.
 The first Saw film was released in 2004.

3.  Psychological horror film- Contains a high
level of violence and gore.
 Thriller- Intense moments in scenes.
 ‘Slasher’- A subgenre of horror, which usually
involves a violent psychopath stalking and
murdering people with bladed tools. (This
basically sums up the plot of Saw).

4.  Large audience- Saw went on to gross $103 million
worldwide and is the second lowest-grossing film in the
series after Saw VI. At the time, it became the most
profitable horror film after Scream (1996).
 Teenage audience- Clothing, costumes, toys and theme
parks were created to promote the film to advertise to a
younger audience.
 Age restrictions- The age rating was given an 18, for
viewers 18 and over as a result of the high level of gore
and intensity.
 Fan base- Saw has an established fan base because it is a
franchise so fans will want to catch up with the new

5.  “Let’s play a game”- A reference to a line in
the movie by the serial killer Jigsaw. He
would often greet his victims via a sound
recording and he would then force them to
fight for their life.
 Jigsaw- Punishes people because “They don’t
appreciate their blessings”.
 Violence- Wan said the film "played out like a
mystery thriller." It was not until the sequels
that the plot focused more on torture scenes.

6.  “Is someone there?”- The first words included in the
trailer to portray the characters vulnerability and to
put the audience into the character’s position.
 Laughter- The laughter of what sounds like a Jack in
the Box provides a sense of juxtaposition as it is
supposed to be a children’s toy which creates tension.
 “I want to play a game”- Spoken throughout the
trailer by Jigsaw creating suspension and eeriness.
 Taglines- ‘Madman’, ‘Voyeur’, ‘Psychopath’, ‘Prophet’.
Powerful words shown of how people view Saw. The
words are played individually throughout shots.

7.  Flashing camera- Flashes and camera noises to create a sense that
the main character ‘Saw’ is always watching his victims.
 Close-ups- A close-up shot of a white blurry figure in the dark to
startle the viewer.
 Media Institution- Transition to the films media institution ‘LGF’
and ‘Twisted Pictures’ with the sound of the trailer continuing
throughout.
 Television shots- Shots are played between the struggling
characters and the ancient television which reiterates ‘Jigsaw’ being
old. The unpredictability of the television screen builds tension.
 The time- There is a countdown in red numbers which is the time
given to the characters to make their way out of the trap. A clock is
also shown but the footage is sped up to demonstrate that the
characters are running out of time.
 Newspaper articles- Close-ups of writing show ‘Jigsaw’s’ history
which is also incorporated with the characters speaking of him

8.  Gender-The main character ‘Jigsaw’ is
presented as possessive and evil which is
reinforced by the fact that he is male which
suggests why he has a lot of control over people.
 Age- The film focuses on the main character
being elderly and weak which reflects the
stereotype of old people in films who cannot
look after themselves. However, the film also
countertypes the stereotype by making him a
very powerful figure that has control of
everything and everyone.