i want those minutes of my life back

Rating: Null/10 (7 November 2004)

i consider myself to be a good fan of horror movies, and therefore a fairly adequate judge of a film such as Saw.
However i found it to be one of the worst films i have ever seen. The acting seemed forced and unnatural, and very "read" rather than actually acted. I had previously held much respect for Cary Elwes, but now it has almost diminished. As for the rest of the cast, relatively unknown with a few exceptions, and probably never to be heard from again in anything memorable.
The concept of the film was a good one in my opinion. Perhaps with different directors and producers this could have been more of a success. While watching it, i found it laughable more than scary. I was with quite a few people when i went to see it, and i was appalled and ashamed that most of them (mainly female) were terrified. The "killing" scenes were for some reason sped up in fast motion, which i feel took away any chance they had to be effective. There were many moments also which i assume were meant to be serious that i laughed out loud at, particularly Cary Elwes scenes where he had to appear upset, or dramatic.
When i came out of the cinema, i was very angry at myself for having spent £6 on this mess. At least afterwards i used it as something to laugh about....
2/10 - as at least the general idea of the film was workable.