Eye-Saw (Saw (DVD))

Member Name: utero

Product:	Saw (DVD)
Date:	27/01/05 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A Good Idea, Some grusome scenes, Passable acting

Disadvantages: Poorly Executed, Resorts to cliche

Every once in a while a small movie comes along that shakes up the genre. Saw is one of those movies, it generated a little word of mouth in the months before it’s release and was generally portrayed as a good movie with a decent premise.

You could call it the low budget version of Seven as it has a lot of comparisons to Fincher’s classic thriller. Two men awaken to find themselves in an old bathroom, each of them is chained to a pipe in opposite corners of the room. In the middle of the room lies a dead body. Both of the men can’t recall how they got there and both don’t know whom the other one is. Soon they are introduced to the warped mind of a killer known as Jigsaw. He is watching them at all times, each of them are given clues on how to escape but it would mean killing the other man. While this is going on we find out that Jigsaw has kidnapped one of his hostages wife and daughter putting pressure on him to escape and kill his fellow hostage. All the while two cops are on the trail of Jigsaw who has left other victims in his wake, each of them killed by their own hands when forced to participate in a sick trap.

Saw starts off well; the atmosphere is incredibly creepy and very unnerving. However as the film progresses it becomes a muddled and generally annoying film. I say annoying because it’s premise could really have put the audience through the ringer however it soon resorts to cop clichés and general rip-offs of far better films as well as your usual serial killer traits. One of the biggest problems I had was the way in which the film built up some gruesome murder scenes but then destroyed them with flashbacks that are edited in a car-crash style with music that deafens you rather than heightening your fears.

The acting is generally ok, Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell play the male hostages and together they do a good job of wondering what the hell is going on. Monica Potter pops up as the wife but her role is pretty much a nothing. Danny Glover also stars as one of the cops whose career is destroyed by his obsession with Jigsaw. Again his character starts well but ends with the usual newspaper cuttings on the wall and general insanity.

Jigsaw himself is not seen for the majority of the film, rather like Seven but the way he’s portrayed is somewhat cartoonish. I hate to make comparisons to Seven but when Kevin Spacey finally arrives you’re surprised at his introduction because it’s so low key. Jigsaw reverts to parading around in a black cloak like he’s the phantom of the opera. Of course this film throws in a twist right at the end of the film which set’s up another entry and probably another horror franchise. At first it may seem surprising but then you think about it and it ends up being pointless and slightly silly.

Saw may appeal to those who like anything the genre has to offer. Personally I saw it as a missed opportunity and funnily enough having seen it a few months ago know I’ve really struggled to remember much about it.

Summary: