We came, we SAW, we giggled

Rating: Null/10 (1 November 2004)

Saw offered the ideal blend of gore and silliness to make my Halloween fun. It's an enjoyable low budget B-horror movie with ample plot gimmicks to make up for its apparent lack of production funds.
If you're looking for something like Silence of the Lambs, forget it. Expect "People Under The Stairs" and you'll be pleasantly surprised.
One could point out how Saw borrows from other films like Phonebooth, Cube, Seven, and Panic Room ... but why bother? You can play the same "connect the dots" game with any Dario Argento movie. Indeed, Saw owes much to Argento. I wish Argento could have made Saw -- it would be a truly superior film instead of an above-average b-flick.
These days I hear a lot about new horror film directors who want to emulate "70s styled-horror movies." The directors of Cabin Fever, House of 1000 Corpses, Resident Evil 1 et al. claim 70s inspiration. Unlike those films, Saw is the real deal in respect to capturing a 70s horror tone.
THE GOOD: Lots of gory fun with a sly wink. Granted, Saw is clearly NOT going to have the psychological impact of a film like Seven. Saw is cute and clever, but not terribly moving. With Saw, I found myself giggling as often as I was wincing.
Even when the plot treads too far into preposterous terrain, the actual story remains compelling. Gimmicky, sure, but Saw's twists and turns are nicely assembled.
I also liked the creepy imagery of things like the jester doll/mannequin and the "bear-trap" device. The understated gore achieves its goals 100% of the time ... that's noteworthy in and of itself.
THE BAD: The Memento/Reservoir Dogs out-of-sequence plot reveal wears out its welcome too soon. Most of the out-of-sequence scenes would have benefited from another round of editing ... they drag. The abuse of temporary amnesia as a plot device smacks of laziness, too.
THE UGLY: Cary Elwes! I usually LOVE Elwes, but he's just awful in Saw. He's so terrible that he's the main reason I'm writing about Saw! Good LORD what happened? He seems like he's trying to emulate a supporting Dan Aykroyd performance ... with Keanu Reeves' anti-flair for regional accents. Perhaps Elwes was so focused maintaining his bad American accent that he couldn't concentrate on his acting ... or maybe the only American actor he had time to study in advance was Scott Bakula.
Danny Glover isn't much better than Elwes, so perhaps the director or the dialogue coach didn't have a handle on the project. Or maybe there wasn't enough time for the actors to prepare/rehearse. Whatever the reason, the acting in Saw is unusually poor given the talent involved and it almost seems as if the less-seasoned actors have a better handle on the material than the vets.
Despite its flaws, Saw is among the more enjoyable modern b-movies I've seen in a while. It's far less disposable than films like Ghost Ship, Jeepers Creepers, Urban Legends, Darkness Falls, Cabin Fever, or even Final Destination. Saw is a fine debut effort from a promising young writer/director ... and it made for a terrific Halloween night at the movies.