Very good horror film!

Rating: 7/10 (14 September 2006)

Before "Saw" premiered at Sundance festival in January 2004, few could have imagined that this new horror film would be part of a new wave of horror films that brought back gore and violence to the screens and moved away from the now formulaic style of self-referential teen slashers started with Wes Craven's "Scream" back in 1996. To call "Saw" revolutionary would be an exaggeration, but it's fair to point out that it was among the very the first of this resurgence that received wide public acclaim and became popular in mainstream crowds, proving that an R-rated horror film still can achieve financial success.
"Saw" begins with two men waking up in an old, and apparently abandoned industrial washroom. They don't know each other, and apparently the only thing they have in common is that they are both chained to the pipes with only a small saw as a tool, not enough to cut the chain, but good enough to cut their feet. Trapped in this nightmarish scenario, the men try to figure out an escape to their situation, and get to know each other; one is a young photographer named Adam (Leigh Whannell) and the other is a surgeon named Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes). Lawrence realizes they have been kidnapped by the notorious serial killer named "Jigsaw", a man who puts their victims in deadly situations that most of the times lead to their deaths.
Written by Leigh Whannell and director James Wan, "Saw" gives a new edge to the serial killer stories turning what otherwise would be another thriller into a full-fledged horror movie. The premise of the film is quite original, and via flashbacks we discover the past of both Gordon and Adam, as well as the story of this killer named Jigsaw, whose identity is a mystery and seems to be destined to be the bogeyman of this decade. Full of plot twists and with a cleverly hidden secret, the film keeps the mystery until the end, making an enjoyable and for the most part rewarding thriller.
But as written above, "Saw" goes beyond the common conception of "thriller" and adds a horror edge closer to 70s grind-house than to otherwise similar films like "Seven" or "Silence of the Lambs". Director James Wan focuses on the graphic violence of Jigsaw deathtraps and makes "Saw" a visually different kind of film, delivering a very good mix of detective story and gory horror film. However, Wan can't escape the influence of music videos and the now-clichéd use of shaky camera and rapid cuts. At times the overuse of this device breaks the suspenseful pace of the film in sadly awful ways.
The acting is for the most part effective, without nothing really spectacular, although good considering the budget. Leigh Whannell delivers a good performance and while Elwes' accent at time slips out, he is a nice counterpart for Whannell's character. Danny Glover and Ken Leung appear in supporting roles, as the cops following Jigsaw's case. the two have great chemistry together, but it's safe to say Leung steals most of the scenes they share.
"Saw" suffers a lot from the extensive overuse of that music video style described above. Together with the metal soundtrack completely break the atmosphere of the story and look strange and out of place (as the characters are far from teenagers). The flashbacks are for the most part a well used device, although they too tend to break the momentum from time to time. Most critics have labeled the script of "unbelievable" and numerate the many plot holes the film has, and while they are right in many ways, "Saw" manages to work fine with all those plot holes because in the end, the core story is well-handled.
In some way, "Saw" came up as a wake up call for the horror genre, in many ways superior to previous attempts to revive the genre like "Cabin Fever", but still far from perfect. Still, it's safe to say that James Wan and Leigh Whannell have crafted a nice and original new entry in the genre and may represent a new source of thrills in the future. While maybe not a classic yet, "Saw" is a very recommended films for fans and non-fans of the horror genre. 7/10