Nearly Just Another Halloween Gore Bore

Film: Saw
Certificate: 18
Duration: 104 mins
Year of Release: 2004
Genre: Horror
Director(s): James Wan
Writer(s): James Wan, Leigh Whannell
Cast: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Ken Leung, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell




Having woken up in an abandoned toilet block, Adam and Dr. Lawrence Gordon find themselves shackled at either end with no memory of how they got there and a dead body sprawled across the floor between them. But it soon becomes apparent that they have become the playthings of psychotic serial killer "Jigsaw" and unless they solve his cunning clues and do as they are told they will both be dead within 8 hours.

For me, the majority of modern horror films substitute classy suspense and genuine fear with cheap thrills and more blood & guts than you would find in a slaughter house. But occasionally a new film comes along and tries to buck the trend by giving the audience the best of both worlds, a splattering of suspense but with plenty of gore which modern horror fans crave. "Saw" is one such film which manages to make you jump from the unexpected whilst cringe at the level of macabre.

What is pretty surprising is that "Saw" has a huge amount of storyline, more than I would have expected for such a modern horror film. We have plenty of back story which attempts to explain why the psychotic killer has not only targeted his latest two victims but to the level of depravity he will stoop to in order to achieve his goal. What is that goal? Well unsurprisingly it is to teach his victims a lesson based on there crimes. In some ways the story pays homage to another modern film "Seven" with both of them touching on the subject of morality although for me "Seven" was far more suspenseful than "Saw". As well as the back story we also get a parallel story which sees two detectives racing against the clock to try and arrest the serial killer before his depraved games claim anymore victims. But despite "Saw" having a fair amount of back story and the subsequent parallel storyline the main emphasis of the film is the situation featuring the two men imprisoned in the toilet block and there bid for freedom. Amazingly this works really well and the way the whole film unravels as they piece together the clues to not only understand why they have been chosen but what they must do to evade their demise keeps you watching, not to the extent that you are on the edge of your seats but holds your attention even in moments where not much seems to be happening. What is very much key to this films success is that it is completely unpredictable and even though you may think you have the whole thing sussed the chances are you are going to be completely wrong. Right up until the films dying breaths I was left wondering what to expect next, something which many modern films fail to deliver. But there is a negative, well two really, at times some of the set ups feel overly complex as well as confusing and this is made worse by the flicking between the two victims in the toilets, the back story and also the parallel one leaving you desperately trying to sort out what is going on. The other negative is with Jigsaw the psychotic serial killer, other than a quick hint to why he is called Jigsaw the film never really explains the association with the name. Maybe it didn't need it, but I felt it would have definitely helped explain things a lot more if they had explored this association to greater lengths.

As already mentioned the film tries to be a jack of all trades when it comes to suspense and gore, giving plenty of both although focusing more on the gore than anything else. For me, being shocked by the unexpected is far more of a scare than just seeing blood and guts strewn all over the screen, but "Saw" cleverly combines these elements to near perfection. Most of these scares come from the elaborate torture that Jigsaw inflicts on his victims both psychological and physical, but also in the ingenuity of his methods of torture. Instead of just watching the victims get there limbs hacked off with a chainsaw, these poor people are part of a game where they have to put themselves through both physical and mental torture to try and escape the traps they find themselves in. This really works as you are kept in suspense wondering whether they will escape but also how disgusting their final demise will be if they fail, and for the most their demise is shocking, well for me anyway. Not every moment of horror hits the spot and some does fall into the category of gore for gores sake but for the most "Saw" does a reasonable job in this department. Where the film does fail is in its lasting effect, for a while afterwards you do find yourself thinking about the torture sequences but they no longer have the scare factor and you are certainly not going to be frightened anymore of walking into a public toilet block than you were before watching "Saw".

Another aspect of this film that works strongly in its favour is the lack of recognizable Hollywood hunks in the key roles, detracting from the film with baggage from previous characters. That is not to say the key actors are unknowns, far from it, but with the exception of Danny Glover none of them have ever really had major roles in any of their other films. Taking one of the lead roles is Leigh Whannell as Adam, interestingly one of the writers behind "Saw", and opposite him as the other victim is Carl Elwes as Dr. Lawrence Gordon. Together in the confines of the toilet block these two work really well together, both delivering emotions of fear and despair but in the few moments of back history where they are working by themselves or with others they seem out of there depth and a little weak. Thankfully, the majority of their time on screen is in the toilet block and for two pretty much unrecognizable actors they do a good job of making their characters interesting. But there is a problem when it comes to there characters, although they are interesting and to some degree I felt a little sorry for them being incarcerated against there will, I really didn't care whether one or both of them met an untimely demise, in fact I think part of me was wishing for an apt bloody ending for them both. Appearing in the majority of the parallel story is Danny Glover as Detective David Tapp, a man obsessed with arresting Jigsaw. Whilst Glover does a good job I was always going to struggle with separating this performance and character to that of Detective Murtaugh which he played in the "Lethal Weapon" series of films. Does he achieve it, well in some ways yes as it is a much more serious character but I still couldn't help thinking where's Mel Gibson when you need him.

Finally when it comes to "Saw" newbie director and writer James Wan has done a brilliant job, not just because he shows talent despite his lack of commercial experience but he has delivered a film which has both suspense and gore within the confines of a very small budget of just over a million dollars. Now don't get me wrong as the direction is by no means as masterful as say Hitchcock but he manages to create a decent amount of tension throughout the film which keeps you interested right up until the climax. For me the one thing he could have done a lot better was to take out some of the over complexity when moving between the now and the past as this really did make the film at times rather confusing. But for the whole he has done a very good job of creating a film which appeals to both the blood thirsty hordes and those who need a little more in the suspense area.

When it boils down to it "Saw" is pretty typical of the current trend in gore infested horror films and in fact has now spawned 3 sequels which numbers 2 and 3 are definitely of a similar calibre. Whether you will really enjoy "Saw" all depends on what you need to be frightened, if it is lots of in your face blood and guts you will not be disappointed and if you need suspense then "Saw" has enough to keep you satisfied, but if you need anything else then you are more than likely going to come away disappointed. For me the deciding factor as to why I personally enjoy "Saw" is the ingenuity of the torture sequences both in what you see but also in the wait for the inevitable.