Takashi Miike and Giallo Films Channeled by way of David Fincher

Rating: 6/10 (7 March 2005)

Once the extremely improbable ending comes any viewer will feel sucker-punched in what I believe resembles any David Fincher film, most notably SE7EN, with a Takashi Miike spin. Which doesn't detract that for the most part it's claustrophobic, depressing, bleak, and filled with a growing sense of stomach-turning dread as the omnipresence of an unseen killer comes through, making us known anyone could be killed at any given moment, if his plans are not carried out to his satisfaction. Plans that largely include doing something unspeakable to solve a puzzle and thus, be set free.
The problem with SAW its in the script itself, with plot holes galore, and character motivations/reactions completely unclear. The two main characters undergo the suffering victims are meant to and do so down to the end, but the supporting characters fair poorly. Danny Glover's character goes through being a broken man through the death of his partner to being badly obsessed with the Jigsaw Killer, and not once could I believe he would do most of the things he does throughout the film, like not requesting backup as he enters a deserted warehouse (in a flashback sequence), or allowing a clearly wimpy killer to get the best of him later on. Monica Potter plays Cary Elwes' wife who witnesses the killer point a gun to her daughter's temple while listening to her frantic heartbeats, but when she gets the chance to give him his just desserts she fails to do so because she was on the phone with her imprisoned husband. (It was a "Huh?" moment where motherhood somehow didn't enter into the plot logic, but then again, not many did.)
Another thing which works against it is the fact that that for a genuinely interesting and even innovative premise like this one, SAW would be best as a film 20 - 30 minutes shorter with an equally shorter time span (the plot extends for an approximate five hours from start to climax), and then would the shocking twist at the end make some sense. As it is, it has the look and feel of a video game in which the menacing growl of a voice orders the victims through audio/videotape to commit a horrible and nearly impossible act in order to survive, with some rapid-fire MTV editing to add to the viewer's disorientation and Giallo overtones (which do work here if you think of Dario Argento's PROFONDO ROSSO or Mario Bava's BLOOD AND BLACK LACE). Here's hoping James Wan will make a much better film as he does have an overall good technique with his visuals.