Saw - Unrated (2004)

Saw opens with a gruesome scenario: Two men are chained to the walls of a grimy bathroom with a bloody corpse lying on the floor between them. Tape recordings tell them that one of the men has to kill the other, or his wife and child will die. The corpse is holding a gun in one hand, but it's out of reach...but whoever has locked these two up has thoughtfully provided a hacksaw that can't cut through the heavy chain, but might cut through a little flesh and bone. From there, Saw jumps back and forth as the two men slowly unravel how they know each other and that their tormentor is one of those all-knowing, all-capable serial killers (it goes without saying that Saw is hugely influenced by Seven and the movies of Dario Argento), a fellow known as Jigsaw who disguises his voice and lets a creepy puppet (lifted almost directly from the eccentric animations of the Brothers Quay) be his visual representative. But imitation isn't inherently bad; what puts Saw ahead of its horror compatriots is a gleeful enthusiasm that a dozen sequels to Halloween couldn't muster. Saw has problems--it's clumsily overwritten (every detail of what's going on, no matter how visually evident, will be explained by the characters); most of the situations are static and implausible; and though the cast includes talented veterans like Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) and Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), the acting has the depth of a puddle. The rapid pace and frequently frenzied camerawork keep things in motion and while the philosophical underpinnings of Jigsaw won't challenge Hegel or Schopenhauer, they do offer more food for thought than most contemporary horror. Discriminating fans of the genre who like their gore with a glimmer of an idea will embrace Saw.

The Uncut Edition differs only slightly from the theatrical release; it reinserts a little more gore that was cut to get an R rating and tightens up the editing (the uncut version is actually a teensy bit shorter than the theatrical release). The extras are plentiful (if a bit thin): Two audio commentaries (one by director James Wan, screenwriter/actor Leigh Whannel, and Elwes), one by the producers--thankfully, no one takes themselves too seriously. Also included are a trio of typically self-congratulatory making-of featurettes ("He was amazing to work with" etc.), an animated storyboard of a sequence they couldn't afford to shoot, a DVD-ROM game in which you can construct your own puppet, a couple of self-mocking Easter Eggs, and lots of promotional stuff for Saw II. There's a very curious faux-news show purporting to be an investigation of the "real" Jigsaw, which uses clips from the movie as if they were documentary footage--it's hard to say whether this is a misguided attempt to make the movie seem creepier or a bit of flimsy humor. Most fans will find the regular DVD release satisfactory; this special edition is largely for hardcore enthusiasts. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

The Golden Era of SAW!!!

This is where it all began! Adam and Dr. Gordon wake up in a dirty, filthy bathroom with a dead body in the middle. They hear a tape that tells Dr. Gordon to kill Adam by 6:00 a.m., or his wife and daughter will die. Throughout the time in the room, we see flashbacks of Jigsaw's other games, and why Adam and Gordon are in the room. If you love horror, and twists, you'll love SAW!!! September 15, 2008

"Saw" is badly overated

"Saw" is a badly acted movie with spotty writing and odd direction. The characters aren't believable and the twist at the end is even more unbelievable. Nothing rings true, unless you like gore for gore's sake.

This is not a horror movie in my opinion. It's simply a horror. September 12, 2008

A question

I just finished watching Saw and thought it was a great movie. maybe I need to watch it a second time, but my question is are we to assume Dr. Gordon was killed by saw and Adam never rescued? September 9, 2008

I highly recommend the SAW movies

Well, for starters I can say it is one of the best franchises ever, not only because the "killer" has a real good motive for "killing" people, and it isn't like most of the genres were the killer is "just insane" and does it just for "fun"...also, no matter how well you think you have figured out the genre you will have a lot of surprises in all the movies of SAW, for me its simply one of the best movies ever and if you have a chance to see the other ones you wont get disappointed, but I have to say that they are more of the "gore genre" than the scary genre... never the less still a great movie franchise. I highly recommend them. August 28, 2008

Not so original...

It is not exactly true that James Wan et Leigh Whannell have written Saw. They should have mention that they "borrowed" a lot from The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) written by James Whiton et William Goldstein. You will find less blood in the Phibes movies, but a lot more humour (with Robert "the avengers" Fuest as the director, and Vincent Price as the sadistic killer).
Fans of Saw, if you want to know the real origin of this story, watch "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (1971) and Dr. Phibes Rises Again! (1972). August 2, 2008

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