Unsuccessful copycat of "Seven"

Rating: 4/10 (14 November 2004)

Saw is a movie with a lot of potential, and one I had very high hopes for, but it turned out to be one of the most disappointing movies of the year.
The movie opens with two men, a doctor and another stranger, changed to pipes in a filthy bathroom. The movie spends most of its time in this bathroom, with a few scenes dedicated to explaining the mystery of the "Jigsaw" killer and to following the shallow and uninvolving subplot of a detective obsessed with nabbing the murderer. As the movie plods on it becomes clear that it either got its inspiration from Seven or is trying to rip off of it. In any case, Saw is a poorly executed copycat of a great and original film.
Saw has a weak plot that jumps quickly from scene to scene and never drew me in, and even weaker acting, which just falls short of the performances in my middle school Shakespeare play. Now being a fan of gory horror movies I was hoping that the movie would make up for its other setbacks by at least showing some gruesome effects, but there's only so much you can do with a million bucks. This movie turned out to be less intense than many, many others I've seen, and a lot less intense than I thought it would be. There's hardly any reason to worry about being traumatized after seeing this film.
There is one genuinely scary scene, however, and it involves a dark apartment and a unique take on flash photography; the rest of the movie is boring and about as scary as a Disney film.
Saw also wins two distinguished awards: 1) Worst Car Chase Scene Ever Filmed. Everyone who has ever tried to make a decent home movie and been depressed by the results should be encouraged by what they see here. 2) Most annoying name ever. I can't talk about having seen this movie or tell others not to see it without inadvertently using a dumb pun like "I saw Saw" or, most importantly, "Don't see Saw!"