Saw

The tired-out “Saw” series was never very high on my list of movies to see. I was always under the impression that it was gory garbage that relied too heavily on torture porn. Well I finally watched the first film, and was forced to reevaluate my whole standing on the franchise. It may not be the best horror movie out there, but its core concept of sick “games” are truly disturbing and worthy of the genre. The story was interestingly paced, though could have done with fewer silly twists. It’s not a great movie, but “Saw” may be one of the only horror flicks made in years that actually encompassed some form of sophistication and even some small doses of quality.
One of the great things about the first “Saw” film is the cleverly designed “games” that Jigsaw plays with his victims. One of the most famous of these is the situation with the reverse bear trap, where a woman must find a way to unlock a device that will eventually rip her face apart. I was surprised to see that these scenes barely even touched on the torture and goriness, and focused more on the setup and rules of the games. This distinction, I think, was what made this film good, while its sequels got progressively worse. It’s also what classified the film as a “psychological thriller” and not a characteristic horror flick, unlike the other six films in the franchise. No, film creators, three dimensions did not fix this problem at all.
Another cheap gimmick the “Saw” franchise tends to employ is ridiculous twists all throughout. Actually, the first film is no exception in this regard. One of the most famous twists is the knowledge that the Jigsaw killer was actually dying of cancer. The most absurd twist, however, came at the very end of the film. I won’t spoil it, but be assured it’s not exactly life-changing. The film may have suffered for it, but I was still impressed with the majority of “Saw.” There were many flashback scenes, several cuts to the goings-on of Jigsaw, and a subplot of two cops in a race to catch the killer before he struck again. These and the main story of Adam and Lawrence are artfully balanced, and make for an overall better film.
For the most part, “Saw” is still a mediocre movie. The fact that it holds any weight critically is mostly due to comparison with its vastly inferior sequels. The only reason to be interested in this film lies in its original idea of the torture games, an area where the film delivers beautifully. Its storyline is no Stephen King novel, though it at least soars above the level of Stephanie Meyer. For fans of the genre, “Saw” is worth a view. For the rest of us, it may be a movie to avoid. It deserves five out of ten stars.