Some very famous pieces of art portray spikes being driven into Jesus. It's violent, and it's art. Is Saw art - in my opinion it is, because there are people involved with a clear vision, attempting to make an interesting and unique story (and I agree that not all elements of it are unique, though I certainly would never put Friday the 13th in the category of unique horror movies), employing principles of artistic design to create images that will cause a reaction in an audience. So, I guess the answer to your question is, yes. Of course, if it is something that you are offended by, I would completely understand that. Personally, and I'm not sure of the reason why exactly, violent movies don't usually offend me, but violent video games do. It makes me ill to watch someone play a game like Grant Theft Auto. Maybe it is just the fact that the player is actively participating in creating the violence.

You realize I also agree that a film that grosses a ton of money does not make it a great flick. My point about SAW only making 55mil total was to show that it is a diminishing audience. The horror genre does not have the audience it did just ten-years ago and it has been shrinking ever since. I don’t think it’s due to people not seeing these films as art, and I’m mainly talking about the mindless teen-slasher films. I think it’s due to most people realizing the lack of originality behind most of these films. How many times do we have to see a victim fumble for their keys in a car or the car won’t start or a cat that jumps out of nowhere to make the audience jump? Horror creators have been using the same tricks for years thinking they’ll work on a whole new set of teenagers when in fact they’re just digging their own grave. As I’ve said before, some of the best horror films show very little gore to frighten us. Fear of the unknown can be a powerful tool and has proven to make for some of the best films.

No, I’m not one of the elitist snob groupies that sit in local coffee house to snub my nose at mainstream films and call everyone a “sell out.” I’m like many people and enjoy a film for what it has to offer whether it is mainstream or art-house. I’m a person who feels that if the world were full of art snobs we’d all have very, very little to enjoy in the world. I have no problem with any artist selling out because I feel they deserve to make a lot of money for their hard work; plus I personally hate the term “sell out.”

I enjoyed SAW to a certain degree but I was not in love with it. It still has some of the same tricks I’ve seen in other horror-violence flicks even though it tried the cool plot twist. And if you know enough about the genre, even the plot twist was not all that original. I don’t know if I’d dare to call the movie fun, it was thrilling and intense at times, but certainly not fun. Would I call the overall look of the picture art? Yes. Would I call the violent gore art? No. Remember now, that’s just a subjective opinion of mine that I’m not willing to debate and it would be pointless to do so. All I’m saying is I’m one of those squeamish people and that’s it. I loved “Dawn of the Dead” because it kind of adds a sci-fi element to it but even in that film I found the gore a little stomach turning. Guess what? That’s just me folks. All I’m saying about SAW is it’s not anything I’ve never seen in the past i.e. “Texas Chain Saw”, “Scream”, “Friday the 13th”, etc. To me a lot of it is just pointless slasher gore and unconventional violence. I’m not saying these movies should never be made and I’m not out to ban them, I’m just saying I don’t find many of them enjoyable nor would I dare to call them artful films.

Now I feel that I’ve done my best to answer any questions that some of you may have of me. Yet nobody seems to want to answer the questions I have about art. I will ask again. is seeing an axe driven through someone’s skull art? -- or – Do we really need to refer to violent gore in films as art?

It is Miguel those comments were directed at. Sorry. And as for this whole discussion, there is no point anymore. Miguel, all you do is prove me right repeatedly that you as an artist feel that you are superior to everyone else. It shows clearly through your posts, and what's the point in discussing something with someone who will never listen to anyone else anyway, because they are all below them.

Bump

I have a girlfriend and i love this kinda stuff, the more horror movies the better. Halloween will always be the grandest of them all though, uh huh.

Wha ha! Ha ha ha ha!!!! >-:)