Saw Movie Review:


One of the most fiendishly inventive thrillers in ages, this disturbing and violent movie gleefully plays with our minds as it twists and turns through its tricky, menacing plot.

When Adam and Larry (Whannell and Elwes) wake up chained to pipes on opposite walls of a gruesome public toilet, they have no idea how they got there or why anyone would do this to them. But as they examine clues in the room (including a body in a pool of blood between them!), they begin to piece together what's happening. And flashbacks tell us more about the sadist who planned this "game" for them, as well as the cops (Glover and Leung) investigating a series of gruesome deaths.

There are echoes of both Cube (a life-or-death game) and Seven (horrifically imaginative murders), and the film also adopts Seven's grimy look as it slowly gives us the puzzle pieces that fill in the story. And as one ghastly truth after another is revealed, the film really grabs hold of us. It helps that the entire thing is firmly based on the characters, all of whom are seriously flawed people. Writer Whannell is very good as the hapless, secretive Adam; and Elwes plays nicely against type as the seemingly straight-arrow doctor who has plenty of secrets of his own, as well as a wife and daughter (Potter and Vega) in danger back home. There's a clever dynamic between these two men who don't trust each other at all, but really need to.

Meanwhile, Wan cranks up the direction to almost unbearable levels. There is a lot of grisliness on screen and yet he knows that keeping some things out of view makes them even worse! The murder-game scenarios are so revoltingly awful that they'd be unbearable if it weren't for a stream of black wit running through the whole film, not to mention the script's striking inventiveness. There are several moments in which we simply cannot believe that a filmmaker would take us to this point. Then Wan and Whannell push us even further. And in the process create a thriller that's truly a classic.

Rich Cline

Waking up in a derelict bathroom with a dead body lying between them, Adam (Whannell) and Lawrence (Elwes) find them chained to pipes on either side of the room. In their pockets they find tapes that have a recording that tells why they are there and that Lawrence has eight hours to kill Adam or his wife and daughter will die.

As Hollywood struggles to be inventive in the horror genre and Asian filmmakers continue to excel, the dream factory fights back with a creepy thriller that will have you squirming in your seat.

Saw is a shining light in a very dark hole for Hollywood. Over the last decade or so all the creative blood has slowly drained out of the horror genre, with only the odd gem, usually a low budget, having any originality at all. Filled with rehashes and remakes, Horror has become the forgotten genre and it really needs someone to come in and shake it up abit. Enter first time writer/director James Wang.

The filmmaker takes all the best elements of Asian cinema, the stylistic look, the sheer creepiness of the environments and then combines them with everything that Hollywood does well, the calculated serial killer and the plot twist to produce a horror movie that will stick long in the memory. Forgoing the supernatural for a more realistic serial killer protagonist, this is the kind of horror movie that is really scary. Someone like the Jigsaw killer could actually exist and this is what makes this movie more frightening that anything from beyond the grave. The film is very reminiscent of David Fincher’s Se7en, in style and look but it is also heavily influenced by Asia, especially through the films of Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike, and his passion for the bizarre and macabre.

All of these influences are rapped up in story that will keep you guessing to the end. In a unique twist, this is a serial killer movie about a madman who doesn’t actually kill anyone. In an inventive move, Wan has created a master manipulator who puts people in extreme situations, leaving them with the dilemma to kill or be killed. As the story unfolds we are shown, in flashback, Jigsaw’s past victims and the extreme situations they found themselves in. Again, much like Se7en, we see the aftermath of the crime and through fast editing and creative cuts we see how the victims came to their grizzly ends. A lot is left to the imagination however, intensifying the scares as your imagination runs riot.

The intriguing premise and riveting story is backed by a mixed bag on the acting front however. Cary Elwes makes a prominent return to the big screen in a role that you would really associate the actor with. Known more for light-hearted, comedic parts, Elwes starts off quite well as Lawrence, giving the character a cool head and a logical mind when it comes to figuring out what they should do and assessing the situation. His performance breaks down when a more emotional and dramatic response is required from the character. His lack of talent in this area is exposed like a gapping wound, as everything looks forced and, at times, laughably bad. Leigh Whannell is the same. His character of Adam again, starts off well but struggles during the tension filled finale. This slightly spoils the impact of the film but doesn’t take anything away from the twists in the story. The support fairs a lot better however. Danny Glover is as good as ever as Detective David Tapp, the investigating officer obsessed with the capture of the killer. Ken Leung is also good as Detective Steven Sing. Monica Potter shows real fear as Lawrence’s wife Alison and Makenzie Vega is exceptional as their young daughter Diana, who actually shows more emotion in her acting than Elwes.

Saw is a clever, horrific thriller that restores some credibility to Hollywood’s contribution to the horror genre. With a plot that will keep you guessing to the end and a suitable level of gore for purists to rejoice, this is a movie that goes some way in restoring your faith in the genre and might just be the film that kick starts a new era of horror.

Star Rating = * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

Where does the barrier between grisly and mainstream films begin?

In the new film, “Saw” that very aspect is explored so much that for more than half the film you aren’t sure what you are witnessing.

Saw’s premise begins something like this:

Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) awakens on a decaying bathroom floor. His ankle is handcuffed to one of the bathroom’s many pipes. In the centre of the room lies a dead body that seems to have died by apparent suicide. Blood leaks from an open head wound and the victim holds a revolver.

On the other side of the room sits another man named Adam (Leigh Whannell, also the film’s co-writer) who seems to be in the same situation as Gordon. On a microcassette, their abductor instructs Gordon to kill Adam or the two men will die and so will Gordon’s wife (Monica Potter) and daughter. Other than the microcassette, their abductor has left the men a couple clues and two badly worn handsaws that are only strong enough to cut flesh and bone. What are they to do? Who is more desperate? What would you do?

We have seen so many of these grisly horror films and some of the better made films have gone on to be critically-acclaimed horror classics which include “Se7en” and “Silence of the Lambs”. That is just it; Saw isn’t even in the same league as those classics.

What “Saw” has going for it is an unbelievable spine-tingling premise that is horrific unto itself. When the film veers away from the room holding the two men it loses its momentum and its horrific impact.

The film tries to allow the audience to see what is going on away from the room with a disillusioned detective named Tapp (Danny Glover) and even allows us to see the long drawn out history between Tapp and the abductor. Not for one moment do we care and all we want to see is more of what is going on inside the bathroom.

I loved this film’s premise and wanted it to slowly uncover the insanity of the situation and its grisly but all too human outcome. I didn’t need to see some bloated detective chase down yet again another serial killer. I wanted more psychology and less grime.

I loved the performance of Cary Elwes as the desperate doctor and he is probably the best actor in the piece. This marks two stellar performances for Elwes who was also incredible in the A&E film “The Riverman” where Elwes played infamous serial killer Ted Bundy. If you haven’t seen that film, seek it out.

As a premise I would give this film a perfect score but in overall execution I give it this …

(2 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer

Dean Kish

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