Posted in: Exclusive, Horror, Interview, Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: interview, Kevin Grutert, lionsgate, Nick Matthews, saw x, tobin bell

Saw X Cinematographer Exploring His Fandom & Revisiting Earlier Films

Cinematographer Nick Matthews (Mob Land) talks to Bleeding Cool about how his franchise fandom led to working on Lionsgate's Saw X.

It's hard to believe it's been nearly 20 years since the original 2004 Saw film came out from director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell that began the complicated story of John Kramer (Tobin Bell), a figure bent on seeking revenge on those who wronged him via his Jigsaw persona rather than his terminal cancer that's out of his control to sadistic results. Despite his grim fate early in the franchise, John's legacy has stretched throughout nine sequels, culminating in Saw X, which takes a surprising step back, revisiting the earlier films that also bring back Shawnee Smith's Amanda Young, one of John's proteges. Cinematographer Nick Matthews, who grew up a fan of the franchise, was already at the point of moving on when Lionsgate called with interest generated by director Kevin Grutert. Matthews spoke to Bleeding Cool about his initial fascination with the Saw franchise, bridging the older fans and expanding to new audiences, and what to focus on going into the latest film.

Saw X: Living the Unlikely Dream

Bleeding Cool: How did you get involved with the 'Saw' franchise?
Matthews: I was one of those kids who wanted to see 'Saw' when it first came out. I grew up in this religious conservative family; we weren't allowed to go to movie theaters, and the media was heavily censored. I kept pushing my parents, trying to find a way to see it, and eventually convincing my dad to let me rent it from Blockbuster [Video] on the condition that I didn't tell anyone from the church we were going to. As soon as I finished, I ran upstairs, turned around, told everyone about it, and then realized there were two families from our church there. I've been a fan for a long time, connected with the franchise, and saw the first three movies in high school.

Regarding getting involved with 'Saw X,' it came from my agent, Alex Franklin. He was involved at Lionsgate back in the early 'Saw' days. My name came up when they were looking for a cinematographer, someone who would have worked in Mexico City and someone with a certain style that would fit the movie. They sent over the script, and I read it and was interviewed by Kevin later that day. It was a fast process. I sent Kevin the names of five directors I shot movies for the day after. We talked for an hour and a half, and it was about 'Saw' about the script, but it was also about filmmaking and actors we had worked with, approaches to storytelling, the levels of darkness, and how this film, like 'Saw,' relies on darkness. There are these pinpricks of light, cutting into dark spaces and corridors, and the theatricality of John Kramer and Giallo [genre] and how it plays out in the 'Saw' films. It was a lot about that and about [Philippe] Jaroussky, [Andrei] Tarkovsky, photographers, and literature.

[The producers and I] covered a lot, including some directors I'd worked with to get a sense of… it's one thing to tell somebody about yourself; it's another thing to talk to people they've worked with and find out if this person is collaborative. Is this person a team player? Kevin values collaboration, and I was hired the day after that. I went to Mexico about two weeks later, which was a quick process. They were already underway scouting, starting to think about sets and prevising that, and they were looking for a cinematographer pretty in earnest at that point. I shot a movie in Mexico City before and was excited to return and work with some great crew there. I was excited about the prospect of the process.

Did your fandom of the franchise affect working with Kevin and bringing his vision of 'Saw X' to life?
One of the things early on was every franchise later in its life is looking to make something that appeals to the existing fans, and it finds a way to expand its base. For me, 'Saw' had been something I loved since I was in high school, but it was something I hadn't followed as I'd gotten older, and my tastes had changed as I explored other aspects of cinema and other filmmakers. It was exciting to use that as an opportunity to revisit the early films and what I loved about them, rediscover them, and see why they've stood the test of time. Not that the franchise is old, and it's not like it came out in the 80s, but it still managed to capture an audience and a generation. It was a chance to revisit some of my past. It helped me go in with a lot of excitement when I read the [Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg's] script that was fantastic, with many twists and turns. It took what the earlier films had done well and interestingly played with those ideas. Having Tobin Bell, who's this beloved character actor, but also the character of Jigsaw, is so special, and focusing on him as a character, his emotional landscape, and his story gave us access to so much emotional material that 'Saw' has never been able to touch.

There was a lot of trepidation going on, and I did not want to disappoint myself, Kevin, and the franchise in a personal way. Every movie I take on is a unique, idiosyncratic storytelling process. It's always terrifying in the beginning because I don't know what we're going to do and how we'll solve all the problems that come up along the way. Prep is the process by which those ideas unfold, and production is the process by which we execute, finalize, and figure out what we can do. A lot of magic happens along the way, so I had some trepidation going in, but we also had a unique opportunity to make the best of the franchise. Audiences must determine their thoughts; part of that process was saying, "Kevin and I both love the early films, and 'One, Two, Three,' and 'Six' were big reference points for this movie." Part of it was I didn't watch any of the others before we shot this because Kevin was like, "Focus on those films and because this is set between 'One' and 'Two.'" It gave us a chance to say, "What will we take from this and use to live within the 'Saw' world?" Kevin has a comprehensive knowledge of the 'Saw' world. We were able to also use our passion for cinema and storytelling in this film, which is a fairly linear story compared to some of the other 'Saw' movies.

How do we take all those ideas, bring them in, and breathe new life into this? At the end of the day, your perspective, point of view, and life experiences all come into play. I went in excited to learn it, excited to grow, and then took a lot of information right up front and sat down with the production designer and the director. When I went to the locations for the first time, I took a lot of photographs, which began the process of uncovering what the movie was and the kind of story we would tell. I have a substantially formed idea by the time we get on set, like two or three days before we start. At the end of the day, every shot is specific, and every element is specific. It would be best if you went along for the ride, and I hope you can do something great.

Saw X, which also stars Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, Renata Vaca, and Michael Beach, is in theaters, available on on-demand on October 20th, and released on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD on November 21st.

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