sets a new standard for the genre

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2005)

Unrelenting, unforgiving, and most certainly unlike any viewing experience I can remember, "Saw" is quite possibly the best thriller in modern cinema. I pity the fool who happens upon this film thinking it will be "just another Hollywood fright flick" because it truly is in a class by itself. This is a thriller that will take your breath away in the first minute and not give it back until the end credits roll. It is a gruesome, grisly, and utterly evocative depiction of the darkest recesses of the human mind. What makes this thriller a cut above the rest?
A good thriller scares you. As a grown man (and horror fan), I rarely see a film that accomplishes this task. This one had me flipping on every light in my house...and sleeping that way as well. I'm actually embarrassed to admit that I kept thinking the killer was going to jump at me any second.
A good thriller delivers an ending that you don't expect. For "Saw", this would be a gross understatement. This is an entire film of one unexpected event after another, so much so that I actually gave up trying to guess what would happen next.
A good thriller stays with you afterward. There are several times during this film where the tension was so unimaginably unbearable, I found myself wondering whether or not I really wanted to continue watching. Not because it wasn't good but because it was almost too good for its own intent. The horrific scenes of torture the killer puts upon his victims were made impossibly more shocking by the schizophrenic style in which they were filmed. This is not to be confused with the "MTV-Style Flash-Cut To Infinity" style seen in so many thrillers today (which thankfully was absent here). This was a series of frantic zooms and close-ups along with swooping high-speed 360 shots of the victim. Throw in some music that effectively makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up and you have the work of a brilliant (if insanely twisted) director.
Films like this don't come along often so don't miss it. Even if you think it is too gory, too sadistic, or too intense, you would have to admit it is an excellent piece of independent art that makes "The Blair Witch Project" look like a fairy tale, swims circles around "Open Water", and pretty much cuts any Hollywood studio picture completely in half.