Devishly sick and twisted

Rating: 7/10 (21 February 2005)

With more sickness than the average hospital ward, and more devilishly twisted situations than any other film released in the last ten years; Saw became an almost instant cult hit upon release. And for good reason. It's always reassuring when you see a film like this that was made recently as it shows that filmmakers haven't become so jaded that the possibility of producing a film that isn't afraid to disturb its audience is beyond the realms of possibility. Not since 'Seven' have cinema audiences seen a twisted psychological thriller that works, and Saw is by far the best on that front since the release of Finchers modern semi-classic. Although it doesn't have the high quality production values and big name cast that Seven had; it still succeeds in being repulsive and actually quite frightening, so the production values are never a problem.
Saw has received much criticism for the fact that it doesn't have a lot of backbone, and this is, actually, true. The early sequences are little more than one twisted situation after another, which will no doubt annoy some viewers - but not this one! The situations that our killer puts his victims into are some of the most ingenious I've ever seen in a film. Rich with irony and inventiveness, never mind annoying - I wanted more! Once the first half hour or so has elapsed, it's then that the film starts to explore the minds of our two central characters. It's also then that it starts to get really interesting as the tension mounts and we begin to put ourselves in their macabre situation. Sure, the acting is rubbish, with The Dread Pirate Roberts being of particular note for turning in a half-assed performance, but when a film is this dark and unpleasant - who cares? The atmosphere in the movie is it's best aspect, with various gadgets including dolls and masks providing more than enough shocks. Saw is a slick and stylish thriller that wont do much for the feint of heart, but is a must see for the more morbid-minded film fans amongst us. My advice to those people is simply "see it now".