- Review: John Wick 3 (C)
Scott Sycamore - Weekend Box Office
May 17 - 19 - Crowd Reports
Avengers: Endgame - Us
Box office comparisons - Review: Justice League (C)
Craig Younkin
Movie Review
Saw
By Craig Younkin Published November 4, 2004
US Release: October 29, 2004
Directed by: James Wan
Starring: Tobin Bell , Cary Elwes , Dina Meyer
R
Running Time: 100 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $55,153,403
Directed by: James Wan
Starring: Tobin Bell , Cary Elwes , Dina Meyer
R
Running Time: 100 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $55,153,403
B
Director James Wan plays with his dark tone and unnerving camera tricks, which blend perfectly with the extreme torture in Whannell's screenplay.
"Saw" has been compared to "Seven" by critics. It's no surprise because they have said it about every movie that has come close to David Fincher's directing style since then. Saw isn't original and it is ripping off David Fincher, but it's the kind of film that does it so well that it feels more like an homage.
The film opens on a dimly lit bathroom as two men are chained to the pipes. They are Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and Adam (Leigh Whannell). Each know nothing of the other man or how they got into this predicament, and the only information they have been given is from an audio recording telling James that he has till six o'clock to kill Adam. It's a game, one that seems very familiar to Lawrence, primarily because the person behind it has done it before and made Lawrence a suspect. From here the film goes back and forth between the killer's prior efforts, the cop (Danny Glover) who thinks Lawrence is in on the killings, and the two men's desperate effort to free themselves.
A Halloween flick is about scares and Saw delivers by the barrels in that department. Director James Wan plays with the audience with his dark tone and plenty of unnerving camera tricks, which blend perfectly with the terribly extreme torture and gore in Leigh Whannell's screenplay. These two guys set a disturbing tone that is not unlike Seven and the several other creepy thrillers that have come after it, but it does grab a hold nonetheless. And just to add to the creepy factor is a seriously crazy looking puppet, and a scene at the end of the film that will remind everyone of Thanksgiving, only at Ted Bundy's house. This is more than enough to send shivers down your spine.
Only the rest of the film seems off. The basis for the mystery is told early on, leaving the rest of it feeling like it's just stalling, telling us information we don't really need to know. There is also zero character development here. All this movie asks of Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Monica Potter, and Danny Glover is that they act terrified, which they do to the best of their ability. Otherwise the only reason there is to care about them is that at one point or another each is subjected to sickening cruelty worthy of some cringing or sympathy.
Saw is the best scary movie to come out in quite a while though. It relies on craftsmanship and far out there ideas instead of just cheap scares; and in this genre, that is admirable, if not terribly disgusting at the same time.
The film opens on a dimly lit bathroom as two men are chained to the pipes. They are Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and Adam (Leigh Whannell). Each know nothing of the other man or how they got into this predicament, and the only information they have been given is from an audio recording telling James that he has till six o'clock to kill Adam. It's a game, one that seems very familiar to Lawrence, primarily because the person behind it has done it before and made Lawrence a suspect. From here the film goes back and forth between the killer's prior efforts, the cop (Danny Glover) who thinks Lawrence is in on the killings, and the two men's desperate effort to free themselves.
A Halloween flick is about scares and Saw delivers by the barrels in that department. Director James Wan plays with the audience with his dark tone and plenty of unnerving camera tricks, which blend perfectly with the terribly extreme torture and gore in Leigh Whannell's screenplay. These two guys set a disturbing tone that is not unlike Seven and the several other creepy thrillers that have come after it, but it does grab a hold nonetheless. And just to add to the creepy factor is a seriously crazy looking puppet, and a scene at the end of the film that will remind everyone of Thanksgiving, only at Ted Bundy's house. This is more than enough to send shivers down your spine.
Only the rest of the film seems off. The basis for the mystery is told early on, leaving the rest of it feeling like it's just stalling, telling us information we don't really need to know. There is also zero character development here. All this movie asks of Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Monica Potter, and Danny Glover is that they act terrified, which they do to the best of their ability. Otherwise the only reason there is to care about them is that at one point or another each is subjected to sickening cruelty worthy of some cringing or sympathy.
Saw is the best scary movie to come out in quite a while though. It relies on craftsmanship and far out there ideas instead of just cheap scares; and in this genre, that is admirable, if not terribly disgusting at the same time.
Craig's Grade: B
Craig's Overall Grading: 340 graded movies
| A | 10.9% | |
| B | 41.8% | |
| C | 31.8% | |
| D | 15.3% | |
| F | 0.3% |
