something missing

Rating: Null/10 (31 October 2004)

My expectations for "Saw" were reasonably high. I have been disappointed in the weak period horror had been in during the late-90's, and have begun to see a shift in the execution of horror in the early-21st century. "28 Days Later" and a few other recent horror films have re-set the bar once again on the visual and psychological levels of the genre. Things are changing, and I expected "Saw" to ride that same wave. In a lot of ways "Saw" really works, as it rekindles the memory of "Seven" and all of the twisted gruesome killings devised therein. It also works decently well as it deals with the isolation of the two major characters. The interplay between the two is mostly interesting. The major problem of the film is that it gets claustrophobic. Or should I say, the film plays out as if the first twenty minutes solely devoted to screen time in that isolation was too much for the audience to handle and we just needed a change. This isn't the case really. I think the build up of tension is really the kind of horror that was key in this film. Throwing in a myriad, and occasionally poorly segued, flashbacks really felt kind of awkward. The shift of focus seemed somewhat unnecessary. I think what really worked for this film was its simplicity, and that big question mark that plagued its main characters. Overall I did enjoy this film. It was hardly in the league of Fincher's "Seven", but I really don't feel that I wasted my hard earned cash.