Great idea...but flawed.

Rating: 7/10 (28 March 2005)

SAW is without a doubt one of the most original horror movies I have seen in a long while.
It starts off simple. Two guys who, at first, seem to have no connection to each other wake up in a squalid industrial bathroom. They are chained to either side of the room, and a dead body lies between them clutching a Dictaphone and a revolver. Using clues that their kidnapper has left for them to find they soon figure out what is happening. They are the victims of a known "serial killer" called Jigsaw. One man is a surgeon with a family, and his mission is to kill the other guy in order to save his and his own families life. But chained to a wall how is he going to get to him? With the help of a rusty hacksaw that seems only to be able to cut through flesh and not metal.
From here we are greeted with a series of flashbacks that explain just how Jigsaw works. Here's the original part: Jigsaw isn't actually a serial killer. He has not killed anyone directly. Instead he puts his victims into a situation where they have a chance of living. They are given a task. If they complete it, then they go free. If they don't, then they die. I won't go into too much detail but some of the ways his victims suffer are very gory indeed.
This movie keeps you guessing right up until the end, and even then it knocks you for six with an ending I don't think anyone saw coming.
Now come the flaws. Ten out of ten for the idea and the set up of the idea, but the film is let down by, at times, appalling acting, sketchy dialogue and THE worst car chase I have ever seen committed to screen. Sadly you can tell when watching this movie when the budget started to stretch, and from there on it goes downhill, but the surprise ending makes up for some of it.
If you like mystery films and gory horror then this is a must see, but don't expect too much of the acting. Ten out of ten for the idea, but only seven out of ten for the final product. Entertaining, but not outstanding.