Saw: an in-depth review (no spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (30 October 2004)

Saw was a good and refreshingly original horror film that was almost great. With a mixture of a capture-the-killer plot and sick-and-slick psychological terror it recalls such films as The Cell and the gritty feel of Se7en while remaining completely its own. The plot alone is worth the eight bucks to see: two strangers wake up in a locked room, chained on either side, with a man in the center who died from an apparent suicide. Together, they must jog through their memories and random clues in the room to piece together the killer and a way out. They each are supplied with a hacksaw which isn't sharp enough to cut through their chains but maybe a leg
Saw is in the category of what I like to call the second-wave new horror that (apart from mpaa restrictions) isn't afraid to take horror to the next level and is much more psychological and realistically gory. Se7en (1995) was one of the films that started this second wave showing there's more to a horror film then a cheap scare. However, unlike such milestones as Se7en and Silence of the Lambs, I'm afraid this film will eventually be one of the many films that will collect dust on the video store shelves only to be checked out by true horror movie fans.
The problem with the film lies not in its main plot but its execution. The first thing I noticed was the film's blatant inexperience. I checked IMDb when I got home and my guess was correct, this was the writer/director James Wan's first film. Although the plot was amazing some of the story and situations to help run it just didn't seem real, (a major problem I had with Jeepers Creepers, which I apologize for even mentioning.) The characters didn't seem to behave and talk like most normal people would. At first I chalked it up to second-rate acting, but I realized that these actors - especially veteran actor Danny Glover, are not bad actors and that it had to be equal parts inexperienced script/directing.
Less problematic but still awkward was the cinematography. Just like most other aspects of the film, it was hit-and-miss. There were some scene changes that were awesome and swept right into each other, and then there were those scenes that just stuck out - a few scenes (and even characters) seemed extraneous. While it's good to have an abundance of information for a murder-mystery these people and scenes did nothing but interrupt the story.
I review this film really hard because it truly had the potential for greatness. While the above factors brought the film down it was only from 10 stars to a 7. If this film was ever remade it would be nothing short of perfect but the end would already be spoiled and thus defeat the point. I can only look forward to seeing what James Wan comes out with in the future, let's just hope he doesn't pull a Larry Cohen and make a movie called Cellular after his hit Phone Booth.