Breathes new life into domestic horror

Rating: 10/10 (28 November 2004)

In a time of tired gore and predictable thrillers that are anything but thrilling, Saw brings youthful creativity and exuberance that has long been missing from the genre.
Equal amounts of time are spent in a claustrophobic bathroom and in flashbacks that give context to their predicament. The aesthetic choices made by James Wan recall the spare, grating minimalism of Cube, the frenzied cinematography of The Cell, and the dark grit of Se7en. These elements are masterfully combined to create an altogether immersive, disturbing feel. The protagonists are largely straight men, but manage to come off with some type of depth. The psychopath, while not really a developing character, is brilliantly conceived. He places his victims in situations designed to make them decide (or perhaps realize) how much they want to live. In a sense, the serial killer is something of a apolitical Tyler Durden. At one point in the film we are acquainted with someone who survived one of his orchestrated tests. Cognitive dissonance has brought her to 'appreciate' what the psychopath did to her. At the same time, it's not entirely clear that in the absence of the experience she would be better off. Brilliant!
Wan has gone beyond Rob Zombie's boring caricatures of inbred southerners, beyond gimmicky blair witch devices. He's created a singularly engaging film that breathes new life into domestic horror.