More intelligent than you probably think

Rating: 8/10 (20 November 2019)

You probably wouldn't say that the 'Friday 13th' franchise is particularly 'high brow' or a 'thinking man's' horror film. The franchise went on seemingly forever and, if you know anything about the 'Saw' movies, you'll know that they're up to about 'Part 802' (well, not quite, but you know what I'm getting at). Therefore, you may think that a horror series that churns out one film after the next isn't worth bothering with. I can't comment on the latter installments, but the original is actually a damn sight more deep than you'd ever imagine.
Yes, you can probably sum the plot up (like many have) simply by saying that two strangers wake up in a serial killer's lair and they have to figure out a way out of their soon-to-be-fatal predicament. There's nothing wrong with that plot summary - it does the job, but, if you sit down to watch 'Saw' then you'll find that there's so much more to the story than such simplicity.
Also, 'Saw' was one of those films in the early 2000s that helped to revitalise the 'torture p0rn' genre. In case you don't know, it's a sub-genre of horror films which specialises in watching people do grisly and disgusting things to their own, or others', bodies. And - again - this is applicable to 'Saw' which just makes it sound like yet another reason to write it off as just a sick video nasty with no substance.
Besides my earlier plot summary I'm not going to go on about the story, namely because - as I've already mentioned - there's a lot more going on besides. If I give too much away then - if you haven't already seen it - it will spoil much of the surprise that you'll get from an initial viewing.
All I can say is that if you're into horror (and have a strong enough stomach) then you should definitely check the original 'Saw' out. It has pretty much everything you could want, from strong acting performances, character you'll care about, plenty of gore and various elements that you probably won't see coming. Ignore the sequels (actually, I quite liked the second one too, but everything after that I could pretty much leave) and stick with this one.