"Saw" is an original, sharp and tense thriller of untold proportions...

Rating: 10/10 (4 November 2007)

Every once in a while, you may encounter a film that has the power to captivate and mesmerize you from its first seconds, all the way through the finale. 2004's "Saw", the original film that has sparked one of the most well-known franchises in modern history, is one such film.
Looking at it now, it is hard not to compare it with its (so far) three sequels, and the slew of other hyper-violent copycat films that have emerged since its initial release.
The film was written by James Wan (whom also directed) and Leigh Whannell, two young filmmakers from Autstrailia, whom obviously have talent beyond their age. And while the other films they have worked on ("Dead Silence" and "Death Sentence" so far) have not quite attained the success they deserve, you can tell they have bright futures, and I predict they will soon become the go-to guys for classical and modern suspense.
But, back to the film.
"Saw" is a movie that grabbed me from frame one. Mind you, I was very unimpressed by the add-campaign Lionsgate had put together, which made the film seem like nothing more than an out of control gore-fest, but once I finally sat down to view the film, I realized it was just the opposite.
In a nutshell, two young men, Dr. Lawrence Gordon (played a bit over-the-top by the excellent Cary Elwas) and Adam (co-writer Leigh Whannell) awaken, to find themselves chained to opposite walls in a secluded and unsanitary (to say the least) industrial bathroom.
In between them is a dead body, killed by a suicidal gunshot, with a tape-recorder in one hand and the murder weapon in the other. They fish the tape recorder away, and play two tapes they find hidden on their persons.
The situation is not merely a simple scenario... it is an elaborate and terrifying "game" set up by a figure known only as "Jigsaw." Jigsaw is a wanted man, being pursued by a troubled cop (played by the always fun-to-watch Danny Glover), whom is infamous for putting his "test subjects" (aka, victims) into horrifying situations, where they must make unimaginable choices to survive, or die trying to escape. He is not a true killer, but rather, a misguided figment that thinks he is helping those who have become wayward in their lives.
As it turns out, Lawrence must kill Adam within the next few hours, or his wife and daughter will die.
That is the set up for the film. And I can promise you, it is a chilling exercise in brutality and moral choices...
What makes the film so visceral and terrifying is the human aspect that is given to the characters. As opposed to the "disposable" fodder most horror/suspense films provide, you actually get to know Adam and Lawrence as real human beings.
Whannell and Wan also expertly set the stakes very high, making the film more tense and tight as it goes on, almost like a wire ready to snap at any instant. One of the most well-known, and disturbing scenes revolves around the one person who escaped one of Jigsaw's games, the drug-addicted Amanda (played chillingly by Shawnee Smith of "The Blob" fame), in which she recalls her "game", in a scene that is almost indescribably eerie.
This film should be considered a lesson to Hollywood. It has a relatively simple plot, and yet manages to deliver more thrills and chills than any big-budget "horror" film I have seen in the past 10 years.
I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. It is really a miracle for the suspense/horror genre.
10 out of 10.