A story with lots of potential but lacking realisation by economies in the scripting, editing and acting departments

Rating: 6/10 (4 October 2004)

lots of publicity on its release, an ingenious storyline about a psychopath serial killer who gets his victims to kill themselves or each other in insidious ways, awful acting, and over-reliance on a loud soundtrack / jerky cameras to make it scary when mostly what we want to see is limbs being removed with a hacksaw . . . Most US & UK horror is so incredibly formulaic that it lacks scariness. The best horror seems dominated by Japan with such masterpieces as Audition and The Eye, but the French are creeping up steadily with original films like Irreversible, In My Skin, Trouble Every Day and Switchblade Romance. Saw, whilst it has some gory moments for true horror fans, lacks the talent to make it a truly great movie.