Decent horror film

Rating: 6/10 (20 October 2011)

I'm a little late in hopping on the Saw franchise train considering there's somewhere around fifty other Saw movies out now but hey, better late than never. And now that I've finally seen this twisted little flick I can say that I'm glad, because it's not a particularly terrible movie. It isn't great but it is slightly better than your middle of the road horror flick. Saw opens up to two men who wake up in a disgusting old bathroom, each of them chained to pipes with a dead body in between them. They quickly find out that they are part of a twisted game of life and death being orchestrated by the serial killer named Jigsaw. The two men must find a way to escape this evil trap before going insane and killing each other, or even themselves. Saw is a sadistic, cruel, and evil film, but it surprisingly has a little more to offer than the average serial killer flick.
The idea behind the way Jigsaw kills people and the way he chooses his victims is the entire point of the Saw franchise. The idea behind it is that Jigsaw picks his victims by determining who needs to suffer. He chooses people who have done terrible things in their lives and who he feels no longer deserves to live. Through his torturous and somewhat symbolic punishments he causes his victims to suffer to the point of death or they will survive and, as Jigsaw puts it, appreciate life much more. These are ideas we've seen stressed in film and literature before, but never quite to this level of violent sadism. This seems to be that defining aspect which sets Saw apart from other films which fall into the subgenre of "torture porn." Unfortunately, these ideas and motifs could have been articulated a little better than what Saw accomplishes. The problems with this film stem from the writing and acting. It has a great story; one that keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times, never knowing for sure where the film is going. However, the dialogue leaves something to be desired. It is terribly cheesy at times and a lot of the banter between characters is absurd and sickeningly unrealistic. The melancholy melodramatic delivery of this dialogue from the actors doesn't help either. It is also a fairly shallow movie when it comes to characters. It thinks it is much more profound than it is. It wants to be a horror film that psychologically transcends the genre, but it most certainly is not. It is nothing more than an entertaining story with a fun and interesting idea. If Saw had toned back some of the silliness and absurdity it would have been a much better film.
I commend Saw for its themes, its story, and its fantastically unexpected twist ending that wrapped up the film in an extremely satisfying way. But I have to call it out on its many flaws that keep it from being a great film. If you can stomach the gore it is certainly a horror film worth seeing, but don't expect something that will revolutionize the horror genre.