Silly, uninteresting, and badly made.

Rating: 3/10 (26 January 2014)

I viewed Saw this evening after months of putting it off after buying it. I had bought it originally because so many of my friends had recommended it, saying it was amazing, or on a par with The Silence of The Lambs or Seven.
On viewing I can now confirm that not only does it fail to be on a par with those films, it fails to be on a par with even the most incompetent of Lifetime Movies, or even low budget straight-to-DVD crapfests, which is a pity because at times it's underlying story and ideas are genuinely engaging.
I'll start with the good points though, because there are plenty of them. The bathroom scenes are done in a very well shot and claustrophobic manner which adds a lot to the films atmosphere. Furthermore Danny Glover and Monica Potter both turn in very good performances. Two scenes in particular stand out, as well; Shawnee Smith's scene is shiveringly intense and gleefully nasty, and makes for exciting and vomit-inducing viewing. Secondly, the famous climactic scene is so delirious and well made that it almost redeems the rest of the films and makes it worth the price alone (I won't spoil it).
However, I can't even begin to count the myriad of problems I had with this film so I won't list them all, however my biggest problem is by far the editing. Who's idea was it to show things sped up with rock music playing in the background in the films intense moments? What a way to kill the suspense. Almostall the big horror/bloody scenes lose any potential excitement and intensity due to this silly choice, and not only that, they give the film a cheap and silly feel, almost like a bad music video.
On top of that, the acting from Cary Elwes is dreadful and he is woefully miscast. Throughout the film he seems to have two modes; unbelievably calm, thus ruining the realism, and over-the-top-upset, which generates laughs and ruins the drama. The big reveal, however inventively done, is still so pointless it begs the question of why they even bothered to put it in. Again I won't ruin it, but it just made me go "meh".
Overall, as much potential as it had, it's a wet blanket of a film, lacking the thrills to make it a thriller, and the horror to make it a horror. Go rent out Se7en, and save your money.