Saw (2004)

Rating: 7/10 (13 March 2005)

A delightful little horror/thriller, whichever you like, with an interesting set-up. Two men wake up in a bathroom, chained to pipes, with a dead body between them. The two then work on a way of getting out of their, while one of them recalls an investigation from five months ago. Some of the ideas in this film are morbidly brilliant, such as the ways in which the killed "kills" his victims. The razor wire, and the combination on the safe being two priceless moments. You may have already noticed however that this film borrows heavily from "Se7en", with original ways of killing victims, the whole purification of the victims, a scene where two cops nearly catch the killer and the overall dark and macabre feel. This is in no way an insult towards the film, as it does have enough originality to keep you interested, and if you are going to borrow from any dark serial killer thriller, make it "Se7en". Cary Elwes and newcomer Leigh Whannell are the two unfortunate souls stuck in the khazi together, and start off suspicious of one another and then forming a rather endearing bond. Things get a bit too intense for Elwes at the end, meaning he loses all rational thought, and starts screaming and shouting but with a high level of authenticity making the film very almost 'moving'. Some characters seem pointless in the film, and a lot of situations are shoved in purely for red herrings sake. Some of the actors are just underused, such as Danny Glover, which is a shame because apart from his character being pointless, he is very good. The film is good for at least a few watches, the first racking your brain to work everything out, the second to see what you missed and even after that it is still enjoyable. Do not expect anything too different, but with a little low budget class. Wan is a brilliant first time director, never showing too much (could blame the budget) gore, and keeping the tension high. He dos however give in to some music video techniques with spinning cameras, screaming heavy metal, and sped up footage. We can ignore this though, because we just want a dark, spooky and bizarre horror with more than a few memorable set-ups.