Rube Goldberg machines are awesome. There's nothing quite like watching an absurd, elaborate series of actions and reactions. It's tricky stuff, making sure disparate mechanical parts that weren't designed specifically to work together operate in concert. Can you imagine what it's like setting up one that could hurt you? Hell, what about one that's intentionally designed to kill somebody, like the ones deranged killer Jigsaw sets up in the "Saw" movies?
Imagine the hours upon hours it takes to set up those elaborate deathtraps. How many tetanus shots he must need after sticking himself with rusty power tools. How many vaccinations he must require from handling all those used syringes. Hell, how many times the poor bastard has stubbed his toe after dropping that damn puppet. He's bound to have set up some traps that plain don't work, schemes that looked great on paper but just didn't prove up to the challenge of potentially killing an FBI agent. So let's take a moment to reflect on what are undoubtedly Jigsaw's greatest failures, those wily death traps that just didn't cut the mustard. Read more...
Welcome to Gore Girls! MTV contributor Terri Schwartz doesn't know crap about the horror genre, and she's volunteered to be our Movies Blog guinea pig. She has a good guide too. Fellow contributor Jenni Miller is a bonafide horror enthusiast, and she's willing to walk Terri through her formative experiences with blood, guts, monsters and maniacs. Together, this dynamic duo are horror's own odd couple, THE GORE GIRLS!!! Good luck Terri... you're definitely going to need it.
"Saw" really needs very little introduction. The series has come a long way since the original hit theaters just a couple days before Halloween in 2004, but that first movie is still ingrained in the minds of anyone who saw it. Two men awaken, chained up on opposite sides of a sealed room. Between them lies a corpse with a tape deck in one hand and a handgun in the other. They soon learn that they are pawns in a deadly test put to them by a sadistic serial killer known as Jigsaw. Blood-letting ensues. See what the Gore Girls thought after the jump. Read more...
Today's eBay Prop-Watch pick is kind of a gimme. "Saw VI" is out on Friday. So what better item to feature than a prop from "Saw V"? Not that I can really speak from a position of experience; those "Saw" movies are far too gory for my fragile sensibilities to endure. I've got to give it up for the franchise though; all five previously released films in the series have grossed five times or more than their budget.
So today's Prop-Watch pick is from "Saw V." It might come as a surprise to learn that it isn't a piece of a Jigsaw puzzle/death trap. Nor is it a Jigsaw doll, an item which appears to be fairly popular on eBay. No... today's item is something completely different. And wholly terrifying. If I caught a glimpse of this on the street late at night, I would quickly run in the opposite direction. Screaming would be a distinct possibility. Hit the jump for a look at what might inspire such madness. Read more...
With “Saw VI” bleeding its way into theaters this weekend, not only is it time once again for the annual October franchise, but it’s also time for another autumn tradition: chatter about the production of the next film. And now that word is out on “Saw VII” being filmed in 3-D, the series stars are eager to talk to us about how it might impact Jigsaw’s master plan.
“I’ve never acted in a 3-D film,” explained Tobin Bell, a veteran actor looking forward to diving into the realm many consider to be the future of blockbuster moviemaking, but promising he’ll still be the same old John Kramer. “I don’t plan to do anything different than I always do.” Read more...
"Saw VI" isn't out until next week, but that doesn't mean fans can't start looking ahead, towards the future of the franchise. For all of the mixed critical response each successive "Saw" release tends to foster, it's the box office that tells the real story. People come out to see these movies, and in large numbers. We're five movies in -- soon to be six -- and each one has grossed more than $50 million apiece. Considering that the combined budgets of the first five movies don't amount to $50 million, that's not too shabby.
It's no surprise then that plans for additional entries in the series are already in motion. I imagine that the folks at Twisted Pictures are kicking themselves for not delivering a 3-D version of "Saw VI," but it's a mistake they'll be correcting in the years to come. IGN recently had the opportunity to chat with some of the key franchise players -- producer Mark Burg and writers Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton -- and they were more than happy to talk a bit about next steps for the series. Read more...
Maybe it's just that my search skills aren't up to snuff today, but there's not a lot of stuff popping Around the Blogosphere at the moment. I suspect it has something to do with the post Comic-Con comedown. As fun as these events can be, they're also incredibly draining. Especially if you're looking at a schedule crammed with appointments and panels from sunup to sundown. When do the writers write, you ask? In transit and in lieu of bed!
Slow day or not, you will find Kung Fu Cyborgs after the jump. And a "Saw"-themed Las Vegas attraction. TWO of them. And of course the usual helping of opinions and lists. So what are you waiting for? Click through already! Read more...
Alright, I admit it: I’ve been a bad, bad boy.
We have a pair of wonderful, eager-to-please, eternally optimistic interns who work in our newsroom named Summer (she goes to USC) and Kristen (she goes to UCLA). And when I heard that Lionsgate and AMC Theaters were hosting “Saw Fest” events across the country that would unspool not one, not two but all the “Saw” movies (including the new “Saw V”), I had to wonder: What does 10 hours of torture porn do to the human mind?
Naturally, I just had to send our duo of happy interns into a darkened theater to watch all those decapitations and dismemberments until 2 in the morning. You can check out their demented diary here, and the two girls are now back in their dorm rooms fast asleep, hopefully not dreaming of waking up with keys hidden behind their eyeballs. Read more...
Ten women, trapped in a house, each battling the other for the chance to break out.
The plot for the next “SAW” movie? Nope, just a way to win a part as an ingénue in “SAW VI,” thanks to VH1’s new reality show “Scream Queens,” co-hosted by “SAW” star Shawnee Smith (who plays “Amanda”), "Dawn of the Dead" writer James Gunn, and acting coach James Homa.
“That was a great opportunity for me, in the ‘SAW’ movies, the twist that Amanda took a turn,” Smith said. “Still I looked for the human being in her. The idea at first was just to turn her into a super killer, which maybe I could have done, but Tobin Bell and I, we just got together and asked ourselves, ‘So how did they spend their days between then and now?’ We took walks and talked and that’s why the first thing you saw of Amanda in ‘SAW III’ was how I came in with a grocery bag. You gotta eat.” Read more...
He’s one of the most successful horror directors of all-time. But where does guy who brought us three “Saw” films and the upcoming “Repo! The Genetic Opera” go to find his dream project?
Would you believe at the end of a rainbow?
Believe it, Darren Lynn Bousman insisted, telling MTV News that the project he most wants to do next is “Leprechaun.” No, seriously.
“I would do ‘Leprechaun’ in a second,” the amiable Bousman laughed. “If Lionsgate is listening, give me ‘Leprechaun.’” Read more...
Another week ends, another batch of our links of the day, this time with news on "Dallas", "Step Brothers", and more.
- "Hitman" gets a new trailer. (IGN)
- Rainn Wilson is a "Renaissance Man." Will headline comedy about a troupe of actors who think they killed a co-star. (Hollywood Reporter)
- Betty does "Dallas." Series adaptation takes on a comedic tone, will be directed by Betty Thomas. (Variety)
- Adam Scott and Mary Steenburgen join Will Ferrell comedy "Step Brothers." (Hollywood Reporter)
- 30 Second Bunnies take on "Saw." (Starz)
