I dare you!

Rating: 8/10 (28 October 2005)

I am graetful for the absence of major Hollywood talent here, (not the Elwes and Glover are not talented actors) the lack of A-list names in a movie like this allows the story to be the star. And what a star it is.
This is one of those films that it is almost impossible to talk about without spoilers so if you have not yet seen this film, look away now.
There were times near the beginning of the film where even a seasoned film-goer like myself felt a little uneasy at some of the 'games' that the 'Jigsaw Killer' employed but I am glad that I stayed through hose for the story proper.
Jigsaw's careful selection of his victims and the meticulous planning that went into his schemes unnerved me because the people he selected were not the usual whiter that white companions of the hero we were to be rescued in the nick of time, as is usually the case. These people were all the morally tarnished characters who are the ones who usually fall prey to the killer to prove what a difficult task the goody-goody hero is going to have to face to get out in one piece.
Usually we don't care when these axe fodder fall as it is all part of the journey, but without the stock hero character, we are drawn more into these other characters only to discover that they are in fact just normal people like we the audience, this is where the true horror lies. The safety of the 'Rules' has been thrown out. The young survivor we are introduced to appears happy that Jigsaw put her though this ordeal as it made her appreciate her life more muddies they waters still further, is Jigsaw the evil character we expect? His methods may be twisted but his desires appear benign, do the occasional successful ends justify the sometime rather messy means? After all, the young survivor appears cured of her addiction more thoroughly than dramatically than any humane counselling could have archived in years.
At times the flow of the story is a little hard to follow and it can take a little while into a scene before you know where it fits in the overall timeline and the pace doesn't let you spend a great deal of time trying to figure this out and you can get lost for a while but this may have been intentional as it did open up a certain degree of empathy with the leads as neither you nor they really have a clue what s happening I'll close the way I opened, the story is the star, and that is a style that I hope to see more on in the future, Another triumph for substance over style. Hurrah!