How SAW Became A Generation’s Halloween Tradition
It's just not spooky season without SAW.
By Matt Donato · @donatobomb · May 18, 2021, 3:42 PM EDT
SAW's Billy the Puppet.
Ah, the “Golden Age” of horror – something I haven’t the fortitude to debate in comment sections or Twitter threads. The “Crimson Age” of horror, though? I remember those years fondly when
Saw spawned sequel after sequel of slaughterhouse entertainment that The Saw Skwad™ or The Kramer Krew™ could count on every Halloween. It’s rather remarkable, in hindsight. James Wan and Leigh Whannell introduced Jigsaw and his body-eviscerating traps, then dominated October box office slots reserved for the most ghoulish and ghastly offerings. Over a succession of years, it wasn’t Halloween without another onslaught of cadaverous cave-in carnage, morally ambiguous motivations, and Billy's in-need-of-WD40 tricycle squeaking to the bank.