Great horror, but is ultimately lacking in purpose

Rating: 6/10 (3 March 2005)

Considering it is by some margin the best contribution to American horror since Se7en, Saw is a strangely unengaging film.
It is certainly slick enough. Throwing you right into the action you awake, along with the lead character (Adam) in a Fincher-esque, dingy underground bathroom/dungeon. You soon find Adam is not alone. Across the room another is another man. Both are chained by the ankle, taken by the mysterious jigsaw killer. The room contains a dead body, a gun and two saws. To survive, one of the men must kill the other by 6pm. If not, both die. Problem is, the saws won't cut the chains. To make it out, you must not only be prepared to kill; you also have to saw off your own footNice.
Don't get me wrong, there are some good, if not terribly subtle, twists in the film; told mainly through the flashbacks of Adam's fellow captive, Lawrence. And the film has one or two moments that will be relished by the gore-fest lovers. There is some pretty good acting here too, especially from Leigh Whannell (Adam) and Danny Glover (Detective Tapp).
The problem mainly lies in the fact that the film is such an obvious homage to Se7en - many of stylistic devices very reminiscent of the Fincher film  without any of the substance. Fincher manages the neat trick of wallowing in the murky side of the human psyche while appearing appalled by it as well. Saw just seems to revel in the brutality. If you're expecting moments that force the audience to be introspective, you won't find them here. Saw just isn't interested in discussing apathy, or greed or even the value of life that the killer talks about. The jigsaw killer is just another sick f*ck, complete with Thomas Harris name, eerie doll, dank warehouse apartment and kitsch slasher movie hang-outs (like subterranean car parks).
All this leaves the film feeling a bit devoid of purpose. In style very much life Se7en, in execution, more like Friday 13th. Which is a shame, because there really is much to enjoy here if you're a fan of the red stuff. 6/10