History YMMV / SawI

* FirstInstallmentWins: While the series' fans also enjoy the following films, with ''Film/SawII'' and ''Film/SawIII'' being sometimes regarded by them as {{Even Better Sequel}}s, many people still point to the original film as the best one due to its focus on psycho-thriller elements instead of endless gore, and [[FollowTheLeader paving the way for films in this style to come]].

** While the movie mainly relies on GoryDiscretionShot[=s=] for suspense (as opposed to its BloodierAndGorier sequels), the scene of Amanda fishing the key for the reverse bear trap out of someone else's stomach shows her fumbling around inside the man's chest and pulling out bloody entrails. ''Bleughk!''

* FanNickname: Adam's 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 retconned to Stanheight in later ''Saw'' films. Due to this, he's often referred to by fans as "Adam Faulkner-Stanheight" or other variants.

* {{Squick}}: While the movie mainly relies on GoryDiscretionShot[=s=] for suspense (as opposed to its BloodierAndGorier sequels), the scene of Amanda fishing the key for the reverse bear trap out of someone else's stomach shows her fumbling around inside the man's chest and pulling out bloody entrails. ''Bleughk!''

* LGBTFanbase: The first movie specifically is popular online among the LGBT+ community, due to Lawrence and Adam having a with a fair amount of HoYay between them, and being played by very conventionally attractive actors Leigh Whannell and Creator/CaryElwes.

** At the end of the movie, during the final Jigsaw tape to [[spoiler:Zep]]. The second half of the recording, starting from the line [[spoiler:"Will you murder a mother and her child to save yourself?"]] is very clearly dubbed in later, rather than sounding like it was recorded and actually played on the tape recorder, having a different audio quality, being crisper and not having the echoing or distortion filters.

* HoYay: Believe it or not, it's been suggested by many fans between Lawrence and Adam.

* ShockingMoments: The ending is infamous for featuring a twist that almost nobody was able to see coming, starting with the WhamShot of [[spoiler:the actual Jigsaw getting up from the floor]], and even without that it remained very suprising. Nowadays, though, [[ItWasHisSled given its status as a]] SignatureScene [[ItWasHisSled not only within the franchise but across the entirety of horror movie history]], the shock factor would be drastically smaller for newer viewers than those who watched the film back when it was released.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Adam is by far one of the most popular characters amongst fans of the series, so much so that many maintain that [[spoiler:[[HesJustHiding he's not actually dead]]]], either jokingly or seriously, using prop-related inconsistencies and errors as evidence.

* ItWasHisSled: Nowadays, the twist ending (namely the fact that [[spoiler:Jigsaw isn't Zep but the man lying on the bathroom's floor who's supposed to be dead]]) is one of the most well-known parts of the movie.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: As noted in [[http://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3465779/fault-saws-jigsaw-can-learn-franchises-mistakes/ this article]], the first film had two {{Signature Scene}}s and [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality an acceptable break from reality]] that, in hindsight, foreshadowed the problems that plagued the franchise in its later installments.
** The first was the Reverse Bear Trap's scene. The series' reputation as the TropeCodifier for TorturePorn is so infamous that few people realize just how light on blood the first film actually was, with many {{Gory Discretion Shot}}s instead of even a single arterial spray. Jigsaw's traps were modest in scope, such as being forced to crawl through razor wire, walk barefoot over broken glass, or cut one's foot off in order to escape being locked away forever. The Reverse Bear Trap was among the few exceptions, relying on intricate machinery to tear open the victim's jaw, but even then, it was a small contraption that a skilled engineer like Jigsaw could build in his spare time -- and furthermore, the scene ended with the intended victim Amanda ''escaping'' from the trap rather than being subjected to its violent punchline. There was also the Drill Chair, but again, not only was the device a comparatively simple one and its intended victim rescued, but it was portrayed as an experimental design on Jigsaw's part.\\\
Overall, the scene didn't factor much into the plot (Amanda's importance came entirely in the sequels), but it was still a standout moment that was featured on one of the film's posters, and so the sequels decided to up the ante. The SequelEscalation wasn't too bad in ''Saw II'', but by ''Saw III'' it had begun to stretch WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief as to just how a lone nutjob was able to build these [[RubeGoldbergHatesYourGuts overly-complicated clockwork monstrosities]] that often took up entire rooms, with the Angel Trap that ripped out Kerry's ribcage being the tipping point for many. The fact that the new killers [[LegacyCharacter taking on the Jigsaw mantle after John's death]] weren't engineers like he was (instead being a recovering junkie, a police detective and later on [[spoiler:a military veteran]]) only strained credibility further, even though John ''did'' teach them how to build the traps. Furthermore, the Reverse Bear Trap was the first trap in the series where somebody ''had'' to die, as the only way for Amanda to escape was to cut open another person's stomach to retrieve the key. Jigsaw's original motivation (punishing people he deemed to be wasting their lives, but also giving them a chance to survive and redeem themselves) was lost as later films had far more traps that were either inescapable, required one of the participants to kill the other to survive, or left the victims with no agency and required somebody else to save them. The inescapable traps were initially justified by Amanda deviating from the original plans and seeking to outright murder those they judge unworthy, but even this motivation was eventually abandoned, as Amanda and John were both killed off and Hoffman was introduced as a Jigsaw apprentice with his own agenda too. By ''Saw IV'', it was well-established that the reason people [[{{Pun}} saw]] these movies wasn't to be scared, but rather, to be [[JustHereForGodzilla amazed at what twisted death traps they'd come up with next]].
** The second was the film's twist ending. TheReveal that the seemingly dead man in the middle of the room wasn't only still alive, but was in fact Jigsaw didn't really have much of an effect on the plot once you thought about it, especially given the more important reveal in that scene concerning Zep's tape, but it worked at its intended goal of [[ShockingMoments shocking the audience]], and when paired with Charlie Clouser's downright epic "Hello Zepp" theme, it became a great moment. The plot twists in the second and third films were better integrated into their stories, but they also gave the series a reputation for a complex, overarching storyline. Once Creator/{{Lionsgate}}'s executive producers overseeing the series chose to [[ExecutiveMeddling keep the series going]] [[FranchiseZombie over the wishes of the original creators]] (who wanted to end the series at the third film), the MythArc went from complex to [[KudzuPlot convoluted]] as new twists and killers were piled on in the sequels, while Jigsaw's original motive was slowly forgotten. Perhaps the increasing levels of {{gorn}} were an attempt to compensate for TheChrisCarterEffect...
** Lastly, [[TheBadGuyWins Jigsaw won at the end of the film,]] in no small part thanks to [[GambitRoulette plans that make less sense the more you think about them]] and numerous mistakes on the part of his pursuers, and his victims made a good number of bad decisions as well. But the premise was still fresh enough that the audience could remain engaged and overlook some of these, and the film played somewhat fair by allowing Tapp and Sing to score some victories against Jigsaw by tracking him to his workshop, shooting him, and saving the hostage in the Drill Chair via CuttingTheKnot. Adam and Lawrence also made some good decisions like using their shirts to grab the tape recorder and trying to fake Adam's death. Plus, the audience learned Jigsaw's true identity at the end, giving the story some sort of closure. While a KarmaHoudini villain in one horror film is a good SequelHook, the same villain (plus later {{Big Bad}}s following his death) constantly evading justice and increasing his victim count to dozens despite being only human (not helped by Jigsaw's successful posthumous schemes, including one against another Big Bad) is obvious JokerImmunity that had to be fueled by constantly adding stupid decisions on the part of his pursuers. Combine this with the series' eventual reliance on [[AssholeVictim Asshole Victims]] and the idea that [[MisaimedFandom the executive producers agreed with presenting Jigsaw as infallible and only hurting bad people]], and TooBleakStoppedCaring quickly took hold in many viewers' minds.

'''''Saw''''' | ''YMMV/SawII'' | ''YMMV/SawIII'' | ''YMMV/SawIV'' | ''YMMV/SawV'' | ''YMMV/SawVI'' | ''YMMV/Saw3D'' | ''YMMV/{{Jigsaw}}'' | ''[[YMMV/Spiral2021 Spiral]]'' | ''Film/SawX''-]]]]]

'''''Saw''''' | ''YMMV/SawII'' | ''YMMV/SawIII'' | ''YMMV/SawIV'' | ''YMMV/SawV'' | ''YMMV/SawVI'' | ''YMMV/Saw3D'' | ''YMMV/{{Jigsaw}}'' | ''[[YMMV/Spiral2021 Spiral]]''-]]]]]

** Say what you will about his acting ability, but Whannell gives Adam's final screams everything he has. It's over the top and goes on for way too long, and yet it's also absolutely nightmare-inducing and heartbreaking. It helps that Whannell's screaming was so convincing and terrifying that it drove James Wan, the director of the film and Whannell's best friend, to tears, and he had to leave the room.

* FirstInstallmentWins: While fanbases of the films seem to also enjoy the others such as Film/SawII with fanbases of their own, Many people still point to the original film as the best one due to its focus on psycho-thriller elements instead of endless gore, and [[FollowTheLeader paving the way for films in this style to come]]. This is justified by the film's $1.2 million budget.

* CreatorCameo: Producer Oren Koules plays Donnie Greco in an uncredited role.

* FirstInstallmentWins: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]], as fanbases of the films seem to also enjoy the others such as Film/SawII with fanbases of their own. Many people still point to the original film as the best one due to its focus on psycho-thriller elements instead of endless gore, and [[FollowTheLeader paving the way for films in this style to come]]. This is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the film's $1.2 million budget.

* ValuesDissonance: This first Saw film cruelly treats the [[MenAreTheExpendableGender male characters only.]] This was considered dramatic, cinematically appealing, and even comedic at the time of this film's release, but nowadays its considered sexist to put PlotArmor on only female characters. Especially the ones who are [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished good-looking]].

* FirstInstallmentWins: Many people still point to the original film as the best one, due to its focus on psycho-thriller elements instead of endless gore, justified by the film's $1.2 million budget.

** Lastly, [[TheBadGuyWins Jigsaw won at the end of the film,]] in no small part thanks to [[GambitRoulette plans that make less sense the more you think about them]] and numerous mistakes on the part of his pursuers, and his victims made a good number of bad decisions as well. But the premise was still fresh enough that the audience could remain engaged and overlook some of these, and the film played somewhat fair by allowing Detectives Tapp and Sing to score some victories against Jigsaw by tracking him to his workshop, shooting him, [[CuttingTheKnot and saving the hostage in the Drill Chair]]. Adam and Lawrence also made some good decisions like using their shirts to grab the tape recorder and trying to fake Adam's death. Plus, the audience learned Jigsaw's true identity at the end, giving the story some sort of closure. While a KarmaHoudini villain in one horror film is a good SequelHook, the same villain (plus later {{Big Bad}}s following his death) constantly evading justice and increasing his victim count to dozens despite being only human (not helped by Jigsaw's successful posthumous schemes, including one against another Big Bad) is obvious JokerImmunity that had to be fueled by constantly adding stupid decisions on the part of his pursuers. Combine this with the series' eventual reliance on [[AssholeVictim Asshole Victims]] and the idea that [[MisaimedFandom the executive producers agreed with presenting Jigsaw as infallible and only hurting bad people]], and TooBleakStoppedCaring quickly took hold in many viewers' minds.

** Lastly, [[TheBadGuyWins Jigsaw won at the end of the film,]] in no small part thanks to [[GambitRoulette plans that make less sense the more you think about them]] and numerous mistakes on the part of his pursuers, and his victims made a good number of bad decisions as well. But the premise was still fresh enough that the audience could remain engaged and overlook some of these, and the film played somewhat fair by allowing Detectives Tapp and Sing to score some victories against Jigsaw by tracking him to his workshop, shooting him, [[CuttingTheKnot and saving the hostage in the Drill Chair]]. Adam and Lawrence also made some good decisions like using their shirts to grab the tape recorder and trying to fake Adam's death. Plus, the audience learned Jigsaw's true identity at the end, giving the story some sort of closure. While a KarmaHoudini villain in one horror film is a SequelHook, the same villain (plus later {{Big Bad}}s following his death) constantly evading justice and increasing his victim count to dozens despite being only human (not helped by Jigsaw's successful posthumous schemes, including one against another Big Bad) is obvious JokerImmunity that had to be fueled by constantly adding stupid decisions on the part of his pursuers. Combine this with the series' eventual reliance on [[AssholeVictim Asshole Victims]] and the idea that [[MisaimedFandom the executive producers agreed with presenting Jigsaw as infallible and only hurting bad people]], and TooBleakStoppedCaring quickly took hold in many viewers' minds.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: As noted in [[http://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3465779/fault-saws-jigsaw-can-learn-franchises-mistakes/ this article]], the first film had two {{Signature Scene}}s that, in hindsight, foreshadowed the problems that plagued the franchise in its later installments.

* FanPreferredCouple: Lawrence is married to Alison, but next to no fans like their pairing. Instead, most ship Lawrence with Adam, mainly due to them being the only two people in most of the film, the two being forced to work together, and Adam being a fan favorite. Even after many sequels and [[spoiler:Adam being long dead]], Adam/Lawrence (also known as [[IdiosyncraticShipNaming Chainshipping]]) remains the most popular pairing from the franchise as a whole.