Great moral in a great movie

Rating: 9/10 (28 July 2006)

This was really my first modern horror movie that i "saw." To be honest it was a great choice for a movie but a bad choice for a horror noob.
The opening scene does not grab your attention as quickly as some horror movies because the scene immediately develops the story and the characters rather than showing a gruesome death to grab your attention. But don't worry there are plenty of gruesome deaths later on. After meeting Doctor Gordon and Adam we witness their futile attempts to understand the game and to break free.
After doctor Gordon and Adam hear the voice of the Jigsaw Killer they realize what the game is. Doctor Gordon has to kill Adam by 6 a.m. or his family will be murdered and he will never be freed from where he is now chained and neither will Adam. After finding two hacksaws the pair of them seem rejoiced as they hack away at their chains. Unfortunately the hacksaws are too dull to cut through the chains, Dr. Gordon realizes that to escape in this manner they would have to cut their feet off (the part of their body which is chained).
Doctor Gordon then begins to explain how he knows about the Jigsaw Killer. We witness flashbacks of Dr. Gordon being questioned as a suspect for being the Jigsaw Killer and we witness flashbacks of past victims playing passed games of the Jigsaw Killer. These are some of the more gruesome scenes in the movie.
During this stretch we are also introduced to the primary detectives working on the case. Danny Glover and a main i believe was named Seung. After discovering Jigsaw's lair and saving one of his many victims they attempt to arrest him. However Jigsaw makes a run for it and Seung is killed by a trap while pursuing him. Afterwards Danny Glover goes mad attempting to find the Jigsaw Killer.
We are taken back to the present time and place with Adam and Dr. Gordon eventually and we witness both of their capture scenes, Adam's capture was a very frightening scene, it was smart that they used it in the trailer. Eventually Adam and Dr. Gordon work together to the discovery that Dr. Gordon's wife and daughter are being held by a man named Zap or Mr. Hindel who works at the same hospital as Dr. Gordon (Lawrence). After many more futile attempts to escape 6 o'clock comes and goes. MEanwhile, Danny Glover has discovered who he believes to be the Jigsaw Killer: Zap. After breaking into the Gordon's apartment he chases Zap back to where the two men are trapped however he is shot and killed by Zap after a fight.
Meanwhile, Dr. Gordon has gone half mad trying to break his chain to help his family. As his blood lust takes over he saws his own foot off, (wondering where the title came from and the cover?). He crawls to the gun in the room loads it and shoots Adam to end the game. Unfortunately for him time was already up.
Zap appears in the room and aims his gun at Dr. Gordon. However, Adam who was not shot fatally takes him down from behind and beats him to death. The killer is finally down. really? Dr. Gordon crawls out of the room to get help and send help back for Adam who is still chained in the room. Adam struggles to find the key to his chain on Zap's dead body and eventually finds a mini-tape recorder. It is then that the greatest twist in any movie i've seen happens. Zap was not the infamous killer, simply another pawn in the real killer's game. For 5 seconds we have time to ask ourselves "then who is the real killer" and after those 5 seconds the supposed dead body that had been in the room the entire time begins to rise.
This is the true Jigsaw Killer, he tells Adam the location of the key to his chain, unfortunately in his panic Adam had allowed it to slip away and be lost forever. After a futile attempt to kill Jigsaw Adam is shocked into submission. The killer then walks out and slams the door shut as the credits flash across the screen.
Myself? I was a teenage boy hampered by the complications of adolescence, i still am. I was worried about a girl that didn't like me the way i liked her, my lack of success in athletics, my declining grades and all the petty things that shouldn't matter in the grand scheme. After watching this movie i made a vow to appreciate things more and i have kept that vow since i made it.
The acting in this movie was obviously not the greatest but how could it have been, with a budget of around 1 million or so i've heard, they couldn't afford to get Tom Cruise and Robert De Niro. As for Carry Elwes' accent, why does it matter so much? Quite honestly i just want to know why it is such a big deal to some people.
The character development i think was relatively good for a horror movie and the settings and scenes were all dark dank and mysterious. Even in one of the few scenes outside it is a cloudy day when it was filmed.
I think the script in this movie was great.
But of all things the moral in this movie was the best part. Too many horror movie villains kill just because the movie wants to have people get killed. At least in this movie there is somewhat of a motive although many including myself would consider it a bullsh*t motive.
Anyways this was a great movie not just a grotesque horror movie. Don't watch it alone or if you have a weak stomach. See my review for Saw 2 as well if you're interested.