Saw Never Had The Guts To Go Here (WaZ (DVD))

Member Name: spencer_hawken

Product:	WaZ (DVD)
Date:	13/09/08 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Graphic, gory, great

Disadvantages: Even I cringed

WAZ (correctly pronounced or should I say said "Double you Delta Zee") is a really disturbing addition to the world of the vile horror thriller genre becoming known as Torture Porn. Why the porn element I'm uncertain but Torture Porn movies is a category used to describe movies the likes of Hostel, Saw, and the remakes of The Hills Have Eyes. These gross out up close horror thriller movies often show the things other movies would not, for example when a man has a nail rammed under his finger nails 98% of the movie would pan off leaving the horror and the pain to your imagination, Torture Porn movies making up that other 2% would not only show you the result but possibly close in allowing you to get a better look, increasing the chances of you seeing your dinner for a second time.

What is most appealing or if you like shocking about WAZ is that despite its story being set in New York, and having a few panoramic shots of New York, the movie was actually shot in Northern Ireland pretending to be in New York, remarkably enough not only does it pull it off, it looks fantastic. Beyond this except for US financing for a Stateside release the movie is funded entirely with British money. You might be wondering why I go into such detail in this way, well the reason being a big looking British movie is incredibly rare unless of course it just so happens to have Hugh Grant in it.

WAZ begins with a disturbing discovery of a woman on a dockside, she had been electrocuted to death and part of a mathematical equation "WAZ" inscribed in her pregnant stomach. It's only a matter of time before new partnered crime fighters Eddie Argo (Stellan Skarsgard) and Helen Westcott (Melissa George) figure out that this is the girlfriend of Wesley Smith, a despicable low life that runs the scene in New York's gangster related crime. Moving onto Smith's home they find the underground crime lord hanging from a ceiling, a rope round his neck with burnt and broken fingers and the "WAZ" equation again carved into his torso. Mortified by these discoveries Helen is disturbed by Eddie's lacklustre view of things, seemingly having no reaction to the events and more shockingly seeming to know where the next murder in a string of killings will occur, what is the mystery of "WAZ" and what does Eddie know but is trying to hide?

I was enthusiastic to see WAZ I had heard a lot about the movie but had little idea what it was about Guardian Online's Jason Solomon raved about the movie in a recent interview with Skarsgard describing it as a understated masterpiece. I inserted the DVD with little idea about what the movie would hold other than the fact that it was often described as the most terrifying British movie for many years.

WAZ is mortifying and totally un-relentless in the delivery of the horror of the subject matter the story covers, watching it with my partner I lost count of the times that she looked over at me saying "This is horrible!" not in the sense of being a bad movie, more in the sense of being quite literally horrible. WAZ steps in the shadows of the movie Se7en and Saw, but WAZ's intensity goes far beyond both; offering a most disturbing and bleak view of a life where gang culture rules rife and the law seem effectively powerless to stop their increasing control.

As the movie began and possibly for the first 30 minutes you realise that your pretty much watching nothing new or unique, but when 45 minutes in and the discovery of the killer becomes known you find yourself slipping down into something darker, something more sinister, but without a doubt something very, very good.

It's the fact that the movies killer is revealed just under half way through that awakens you to this no holds barred mentality, and this allows you to focus your attentions to other things; not only do you know who the killer is you also understand why they are doing all the killings, but somewhat sinisterly you not only understand the killers you to some degree condone the murders, the reason behind the murders being so totally disturbing just to sit and weigh up the reason is disturbing enough to make you feel sick to the pit of your stomach.

All the way through the movie justice is weighed like a set of scales, the very icon used to represent justice (certainly in the UK) being a set of scales. The scales are rather creepily tipped though, in that while what is technically right is wrong, it becomes right later. For example one of the characters commits two murders, one simply for the sake of it the other because they were forced by the killer. When our detective duo arrive at the characters apartment they are aware of the killing for the sake of it, but due to the second killing turn a blind eye to the event, seeing that the character is rocked to their very core. However associates of the first person the character killed are less reasonable and arrive as the detectives are leaving armed to the hilt. The detectives nod to the arriving killers and sit in their car discussing past relationships while the character back in the apartment is killed by the gang.

I won't say that WAZ scared me, but what I would say is that on a number of occasions I found myself, cringing or nearly looking away. I guess this is sign of the times though that for a British movie to succeed in this genre it needs to go far beyond the realms of a path trod on by others; and this is something that WAZ achieves very well.

On to the cast and Skarsgard is his rather typical aloof style character, hiding much almost like he is on a deeper intellectual plane than anyone else. Melissa George is much hard than you have seen her before behaving rather like the typical stereotypical female role at the movies start, schocked by everything come the end she is hardened beyond normal extremes, and the actress cleverly shows this like she personally took the journey. So Solid Crews' Asher D AKA Ashley Walters stars as Daniel Leone a man close to the gangster circle but somehow safe from police arrest, I was amazed to find someone from the group to be such a talented and utterly convincing actor. Dennis Penis star Paul Kaye appears as a deranged animal doctor, while my award for role of the movie comes from the totally understated Selma Blair as a woman with a very big secret.

WAZ is available to purchase on DVD now. While the DVD's themselves have only a scattering of abysmal special features namely a trailer and a brief behind the scenes extract (about 2 minutes long) what is of interest is the movies sleeve, while one cover shows a shadowy figure, another cover (available for online purchaser only) has an extreme cover with graphic gore on it.

The gore coveris £8.99, while the official retail version will vary from £10.99 - £15.99 depending on if your purchase online or on the high street.

Summary: A murderer seeks revenge against those that wronged them