'Intelligent' horror-thriller looking for gullible audience

Rating: 4/10 (5 November 2004)

Put Seven and The Cube in a blender and make an audience drink the dribble that comes out.
There is a clever twist near the end of Saw, but it is hard to enjoy if by then you have lost all interest. This movie wants us to believe in a madman with not only superior intelligence, but also unlimited resources and time to create a world full of electronic gadgets, props and puppets that Q would be jealous of. His opponents/victims are either incredibly stupid, or turn from rational beings into sobbing idiots at the snap of a director's fingers.
Movies like Seven stand out for a reason. It is not hard to think up stuff that shocks and upsets. A good plot twist is a little harder to invent, but anybody can do it. The real challenge is in trying to construct a plot that an audience can believe in. It is like walking a tightrope: set one foot wrong and you're dead. Saw tries to reach the other side hopping, skipping and jumping, but ends up flat on it's face.