Saw (**1/2)
review by Jon
Waterman
A sadistic madman whom the press has dubbed Jigsaw kidnaps
two seemingly unconnected men and chains them on opposite sides
of a large bathroom. They’re given a time limit in which
to complete a horrendous task to the other in order to save
themselves. Instead, they apprehensively work together and
begin to piece together the myriad clues left for them by this
mysterious, twisted individual. But even if they find out why
they’re being locked up, that won’t mean they can
escape. And it won’t save their families.
This is probably the most original concept for a horror movie
I’ve seen in a long time. The victims are being held
with a constant option for release. The problem is that what
they must do in order to be set free is completely reprehensible
or inconceivable to most. And if time runs out, they will die
as punishment for their inaction and for whatever it is that
they did wrong in the first place. The movie adds more complexity
to that simple, yet effective formula so that when the end
credits roll you can easily appreciate the multi-layered tapestry
of the scheme. The concept and the teeth grinding, cringe inducing
moments that result from it are reason enough to watch the
film.
Unfortunately, not much else is handled as thoroughly or effectively.
The loose story is basic and only is there to give the maniacal
game a forum. I really didn’t care about the family or
the main characters at all. It didn’t matter if they
escaped or not, I just wanted to see how the puzzle fit together
(and I wasn’t disappointed there). There’s a side
story about two cops attempting to track down Jigsaw which
is meant to simply pull us away from the increasingly tense
main thread in relief, despite these scenes leaving us slightly
on edge as well. The added storyline doesn’t add any
depth and actually unnecessarily confuses the chronological
order of events. Not to mention, it provides us with a poorly
shot scene of a “car chase” that was obviously
accomplished by rocking a car on a soundstage with fog machines
blowing smoke to simulate movement.
That was just about as cheesy and amateurish as the acting
and dialogue. The writer, Leigh Whannell, plays one of the
kidnapped men if that gives you an idea of what the acting
is like. Cary Elwes is the other. He’s done a whole lot
better. Both seem to completely phone it in and don’t
really draw up any real emotions that you can connect to. It
really pulled me out of the whole experience.
However, it seems that these days most horror movies can claim
more negatives than positives. “Saw” has a huge
positive that shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s original.
The sheer inventiveness of the schemes and situations into
which the victims are forced make the film incredibly enjoyable
and creepy. If only the rest of the production lived up to
the same standards.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
|