How far the horror genre has fallen

Rating: 6/10 (6 November 2004)

After seeing Saw, which played at the Sundance Film Festival and actually has received some glowing reviews, the absolute best thing I can say about it was that it wasn't boring.
It also wasn't even in the least bit suspenseful, looks so much like a bad heavy metal video during the thriller sequences that you would swear it was directed by a member of Spinal Tap, and features a script that not only completely squanders a fairly nifty premise but also becomes embarrassingly stupid after a while, filled with lapses in logic and gaping plot holes that are pretty unforgivable when you consider that the movie barely even has a plot to begin with.
The simplest way to sum up the movie is this: Saw is to Seven what Urban Legend was to Scream.
The best part of the movie actually was the trailer at the beginning for the French slasher pic High Tension, which is supposedly coming out for Valentines's Day. High Tension is the genuinely visceral, squirm inducing movie that the makers of Saw wanted their flick to be, so in that respect, at least, a theatrical viewing of Saw gives horror fans some reason for hope.