SAW vs AMERICAN PSYCHO: Which Will Make the Better TV Series?
Recently we hear some killer news on the TV front. No, not Godzilla: King of the Monsters director Michael Dougherty’s Nightbreed series. Or Godzilla vs Kong director Adam Wingard’s planned Event Horizon show. No this is something new. It looks like the powers that be behind the scenes at Lionsgate’s have a potential Saw series in the works. But that’s not all, folks. It also looks like Lionsgate wants to produce a series based on Mary Harron’s adaptation of Brent Easton Ellis’ killer (comedy) thriller, American Psycho as well. Awesome, right? Damn right.
Also Read: AMERICAN PSYCHO and SAW Are Now Being Considered for TV Adaptations
So which Lionsgate movie do you think will make a better Lionsgate TV series? First off, let’s review the basics of each film.
AMERICAN PSYCHO
American Psycho takes place in New York City in 1987. It centers on a handsome, young urban professional by the name of Patrick Bateman. He lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer by night. A sinister secret he must keep from not only an eager detective but his fiance, his mistress, his coworkers, and his secretary. The film is a killer satire examining the elements that make a man a monster.
Mary Harron directed the film from a screenplay she co-wrote with Guinevere Turner based on Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel of the same name. Christian Bale, stars with Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny, Samantha Mathis, Cara Seymour, Justin Theroux, Guinevere Turner, Reg E. Cathey, and Reese Witherspoon.
It sports a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Critics Consensus reads: If it falls short of the deadly satire of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel, American Psycho still finds its own blend of horror and humor, thanks in part to a fittingly creepy performance by Christian Bale.
SAW
Meanwhile, the original Saw told the tale of a photographer and oncologist who regain consciousness while chained to pipes in a filthy bathroom. The two men realize they’ve been trapped by a sadistic serial killer nicknamed “Jigsaw” and must complete his perverse puzzle to live. Meanwhile, through flashbacks, we see the fates of his previous victims until the events in the bathroom come to a bloody climax.
James Wan (Insidious, The Conjuring) made his feature directorial debut with the film from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man, Upgrade). Whannell also stars with Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, and Tobin Bell.
Saw sports a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Critics Consensus: Ensnares audiences with a deceptively clever plot and a myriad of memorable, nasty set pieces, but its ambitions are undercut by a nihilistic streak that feels more mean than profound.
So Which Will Make a Better TV Show?
Let’s look at them individually. First, let’s start with American Psycho. This project could be interesting because there is so much left unadapted from the original novel. Sure a lot of the murder stuff isn’t straight adaptable – it would get whatever the TV equivalent to an NC-17 is. But even if we don’t bother with the rat stuff, etc. There is still a world’s worth of killer dialogue and satire left untouched in the book. This gives us new material for days. Cast a female in the lead role this time around and American Psycho could be a killer weekly addition to our binge.
Then there’s Saw. I think we all agree it wouldn’t take much to turn Saw into a series. What I mean is the original seven-film series basically played out like a seven-season series in the first place. Each year we got a new installment in one ongoing continuous storyline. That said, I do wonder if the series would start fresh or cover ground from the upcoming Chris Rock reboot, Spiral: From the Book of Saw. I can imagine a network and/or streaming site could land Rock or Samuel L. Jackson for a weekly series of, let’s say eight to ten episodes. But if let’s say, somehow, Max Mangelia’s character ends up being the last man standing, maybe they could base a series around him. But it’s doubtful he survives. You never know, though… Another interesting aspect of a Saw series is bringing back old friends such as Danny Glover.
So For Real This Time, Which Makes For a Better TV Show?
I’d have to say American Psycho. Again, recast the lead as a female and this gives you a fresh new angle. Plus the day-to-day ins and outs of following a (real?) serial killer around modern-day New York still sound like something I’d tune in for week after bloody week. And most, if not ALL, of the satire and themes brought up in the novel, are still totally prevalent today. If not more so than when Ellis originally penned his masterpiece back in, what, 1991. Was it 91? Hold on. Yes, 1991.
On the other side of the torture porn coin, Saw has a been-there-done-that feel to it. Sure Chris Rock’s upcoming reboot might be able to keep that at bay – for two hours. An eight to ten-episode series – with multiple seasons – seems like stretching the already thin franchise far too thin for comfort. But maybe I’m wrong. I guess time will tell. Now, Lionsgate, where’s our show based on The Blair Witch Project?!
So which movie do you think will make a better TV series? Saw or American Psycho?
Make sure to let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also hit me up over on Twitter @MikeSpregg325.
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