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Exclusive Saw The Video Game Interview!
So I got a chance to throw a few questions by Saw The Video Game Producer and Saw freak David Cohen! Check them out! And don’t forget to go see Saw V out in theaters now!
“The SAW video game is set to release in October 2009, in conjunction with the next installment of the film series. SAW the video game will give fans of Jigsaw a reason to live. Collaborating closely with LionsGate and Twisted pictures, the video game will have its own unique storyline, taking place between SAW I and SAW II and focusing on questions left unanswered within the first film, while bridging the gap between the first and second films. In an effort to stay true to the SAW Universe, Brash is working closely with the SAW creators, Leigh Whannell and James Wan, ensuring the game pulls no punches, and delivers the horrifying suspense and disbelief that has floored fans worldwide. The SAW video game is currently in development for next-gen platforms, PS3 and Xbox 360, and will be built using the Unreal 3 game engine.” TJ: How does this game tie into the movies, is it a separate story, would it be considered the 6th movie, or is it strictly based on the 1st movie?
David: Overall the SAW video game will tie in to all of the films in one way or another, but the storyline bridges the gap between the first two films. I like to think of the SAW video game as “SAW 1.5”. On one hand, the video game is a sequel to the first film, as it provides answers to the mysteries that left you hanging, on the other hand it is also a prequel to SAW II, giving explanations to the set up of many aspects of the second film.
TJ: What’s the game play going to be like? 1st person, 3rd? More shooterish? Mystery solving, both?
David: The SAW video game will be a full-on third person horror experience, while maintaining the mystery, thrills and terror of the SAW universe. Players will try to figure out the secrets behind Jigsaw’s plan as well as what is in store for them, but there will also be plenty of action, puzzle solving and of course new and original traps in addition to some of the fan favorites sure to deliver all the gruesome aspects of SAW that we love.
TJ: Do you take on the roll of a cop? Or someone captured by jigsaw?
David: Who you play as in the SAW video game is one of the big secrets that we will be revealing closer to the games release. The game will provide players the same visceral experiences that the films are known for, and as you know from the films, no one is safe from being captured by Jigsaw, even the cops.
TJ: We will be hearing any familiar/famous voices in the game?
David: I can’t go into specific detail at this time – but what I can tell you is that there will be relevant cast involvement, and that we are taking steps to ensure that the SAW video game is as true to the films as possible
TJ: Sound is a big deal in a game like this, will there be a score, familiar sounds from the movie, what are we looking forward to hearing?
David: Alex Guilbert, the sound designer over at Zombie and for the SAW video game, is top notch, and is definitely giving it that SAW-feel while adding to the interactive experience using true 3D surround sound. Many folks who have tested the game have literally jumped at the sound alone. We will also have some other announcements about the score later on next year.
Let’s start with the good news. Lockbox looks far better than its misleading marketing materials suggest, a supernatural horror movie so darkly lit and color graded that you’ll have to squint your way through jump scares. It’s also anchored by reliable genre performers. That’s also about where the good news ends with this rote adaptation of Knifepoint Horror Podcast story “Winthrop.”
The empathetic Carla Gugino gives her all as Ellen, a saint of a woman with boundless patience who takes on life’s hard luck with a kind smile. After giving up her career as a fashion designer to become caretaker for a dying mother, she’s then forced to reinvent herself once more when her caretaker role ends. That catches us up to the events of Lockbox, where Ellen is asked to take in a cousin she hasn’t seen in quite some time who’s dealing with severe PTSD.
Just as Ellen finally establishes a real connection with Winthrop (Lou Taylor Pucci), it’s interrupted by the arrival of peculiar neighbor Vahna (Katharine Isabelle), who spells clear trouble. When Vahna shows up dead, it sets in motion a supernatural battle of possession.
Image Credit: Aura entertainment
Director Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism, Prey for the Devil) and screenwriter Justin Yoffe approach Lockbox in the broadest of brushstrokes, dooming it from the start with clunky storytelling and woefully underdeveloped themes of heady topics like PTSD. Winthrop is a character that comes loaded with emotional baggage and trauma that’s piled on throughout his tragic life, but much like its title, his interiority and history are treated like a tightly guarded secret meant to prolong the supernatural mystery.
The problem here, though, is that Lockbox is too sparse to sustain mystery at all, and it instead robs Winthrop of characterization. It winds up trapping the talented Pucci without anywhere to go, toggling between wounded animal and mentally disoriented.
From there, Lockbox bounds through plot developments without any sense of stakes or purpose, peppered by a smattering of haphazard paint-by-numbers jump scares. The only unwavering constant is Ellen’s resolute faith, and Stamm seems to leave it entirely to Gugino to guide confused audiences through this inconsequential story right up until its supernatural climax.
Image Credit: Aura entertainment
To give more credit, Lockbox at least injects an unconventional exorcism here; just don’t expect much in the way of explanation. When the film finally reveals the meaning behind its title, it dangles a fascinating carrot it has zero interest in delivering. More than a severe lack of fleshing out its characters beyond plot drivers or devices, this faith-based flick also seems terrified to offer any worldbuilding whatsoever.
Yoffe’s script stretches the short story beyond its means instead of fleshing it out, and Stamm fills out the gaps with cheap CGI scares and overwrought performances; Isabelle’s Vahna is beyond cartoonish in her villainy. It’s also pretty nonsensical, treating only Ellen’s faith with the utmost sincerity and largely squandering its typically reliable talent. So much so that the final imagery, pure sunkissed saccharine sentimentality, leaves you with the feeling that this horror movie might be better suited as an entry in Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Lockbox releases in select theaters on July 3, 2026.
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