Chillingly excellent. An absolute must-see!

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2004)

I must admit, I went and watched 'Saw' because there was little else on offer at the cinemas; apart from the typical mind-numbing Christmas movies which I try and avoid at all costs until they come out to hire on DVD. But I was most pleasantly surprised with this thriller, written by Australian's James Wan (who also directed) and Leigh Whannell (who also stars).
The film opens with a man in a bath-tub. He climbs out and finds himself in a large, dirty bathroom, chained to a pipe along with two other captives; one alive, and one with his brains blown out. And so the film begins... the audience is completely in the dark as to how the two men, Adam (Leigh Whannell) and Dr.Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes, from 'the princess bride') came to be imprisoned. Small clues have been left by their tormentor, to help the men slowly piece together their predicament. As they follow the prompts, Dr Lawrence notices a chilling connection between their situation and that of several other victims before them. The Dr, it seems, had recently been suspect in several killings where people found themselves in a 'do or die' situation; A woman woke to find herself with a bear trap locked to her head, and was told via video from the mad-man that she had only a few minutes to cut the key for the trap's lock out of a dead man in the cell with her, or else a timer would be set off and the head gear explode. Another man woke to find himself in a barbed wire maze, a timer was set to go off in three hours, after which the only door to the cellar he was in would be securely locked and he would rot. All of these sick tasks, the mad-man tells his victims, is designed so that, IF they survive, they appreciate their lives more.
Now Adam and Dr. Lawrence have till six o-clock; or else meet a fate similar to that of the victims before them. Its a race against the clock, and many twists along the way ensure this film is a thrilling watch, if not a haunting one...
This movie is so well written, and will keep you guessing the entire way through... not a moment goes by when you are not entertained or scared senseless! And no amount of guessing will prepare you for the HUGE twist at the end, just to entice. All round, this is a great film. The flash-back scenes of the crimes are well done; with speed up's and close up's, making everything that little bit more intense.
My one complaint is perhaps the casting of Cary Elwes; sometimes his cardboard performance makes you chuckle during even the most intense and terrifying scenes. It just seemed to me that this role didn't suit him at all; or he just didn't have the chops to pull it off. But I was pleasantly surprised by Leigh Whannell; delivering a very natural and gripping performance with a role that could have become very mundane and miniature if not for the right casting.
Look out for this Aussie duo; James Wan & Leigh Whannell. This is a fantastic debut film and I wouldn't be surprised if Hollywood came knocking again to see if they could come up with another horror as gritty and intense as "Saw".