Saw has Three Letters. Films Have Three Acts.

Hollywood’s “Three Act Structure” has famously been used for decades in a good portion of the films that come from the major studios. All genres can feature this structure, and in honor of Halloween, we’re going to look at how the three act structure plays a role in the 2004 horror film Saw.

Act I, otherwise knows as the introduction, begins with two people, Adam and Dr. Gordon, trapped in a grungy, dirty, disgusting bathroom with a dead man lying in the center. Each is chained to a pipe at the ankle and doesn’t know how they got there. As this is Act I, most of the time is spent trying to set the scene. Much focus is given to the fact that these men are totally trapped in a bathroom that is just not right somehow. After struggling to break free for some time, the two men try to use the saws that have been placed by them to cut the chains. With failure, plot point 1 happens when Adam throws his saw at a mirror, revealing a camera behind it watching them.

This act leads directly into the much longer Act II, or the complications act. At the beginning of this act, the question previously raised of who is watching them is answered. It is revealed that Adam and Dr. Gordon are victims of the infamous Jigsaw killer, who finds ways for his victims to seemingly kill themselves. This act greatly explores who Jigsaw is through a series of flashbacks and police investigations, further complicating things for the two men trapped as it is revealed how they are all connected. The stakes are now higher as a police team is trying to stop Jigsaw, who will do anything to not let that happen. This act ends with plot point two, which is Dr. Gordon trying to fool Jigsaw into thinking that he completed his task of killing Adam. Immediately he is electrically shocked and falls to the floor. This ends with the question of who could possibly be shocking them.

The audience is then thrust into Act III, which is known as the resolution act. This act is the most action intense of the film. The police are breaking into the house where the bathroom is, Adam and Dr. Gordon have become disillusioned, and the deadline for killing Adam at 6:00 as come and gone. As the final act of the film, the stakes are the highest for the two people trapped in the bathroom. In keeping with Hollywood tradition, the final plot point, the climax, happens right at the end of the film. After Dr. Lawrence cuts off his foot and crawls out of the bathroom, the “dead man” in the center rises and reveals to Adam that he is Jigsaw. He explains his fate, walks over to the door, says the powerful words, “Game over,” and slams it shut. The move closes with screams of Adam as he realizes he will be trapped forever. The climax is very effective as it happens right at the end of the film, holding the viewer until that point. Interestingly, unlike most three act structure films, this one doesn’t really have a happy ending.

Happy Halloween… I didn’t do Avatar.