You get no Saw puns out of me, kids. The title is too easy and, besides, I think they’ve all been done anyway. That sort of thinking, however, does not stop anyone from making a dark, gritty movie about a serial killer that goes to insane extremes to send his message. The bar was set for the current generation with Silence of the Lambs, it was cleared by Seven (please note my refusal to spell it with an actual “7” in place of the “V.”) and it was practically knocked over by The Cell. Many mediocre films followed and the genre was forever redefined. Now, we have Saw.

Two men, Adam (Leigh Whannell, also the films writer) and Dr. Larry Gordon (Cary “As You Wish” Elwes) wake up to find themselves chained on opposite sides of a abandoned bathroom that is so dirty, it makes most truck stop owners cringe. They share the room with a body located in the middle of the room that evidently would just prefer to lie there all dead and bleeding like, instead of lending a hand to help these two gents out of their predicament. After finding some micro cassettes on their persons, the two men discover they are part of some twisted game of life and death and are given instructions on how to play. Basically, Dr Gordon has to kill young Adam before the clock strikes six, or else Gordon’s family will meet a grim fate. The whole M.O. seems all too familiar to Dr. Gordon, and he explains to Adam that his past had intertwined with this nutter before. The good doctor was once a suspect in these same types of killings, and now he appears to be a victim. Yup. It appeared to be the work of “The Jigsaw Killer.”

A pretty simple premise that could have gotten damned claustrophobic damn fast.

A pretty simple premise that could have gotten damned claustrophobic damn fast. However, director James Wan and writer Whannell were smart enough to pick up on this and allow us to escape to the outside world via flashbacks and some visits to the Gordon family home. We also get some fresh air by being introduced to Detective Tapp (Danny “I’m Too Old for This Shit” Glover) who has an issue or two to settle with Mr. Jigsaw Killer-guy. It all becomes surprising, twisty-turny as the clock slowly creeps its way to that six o’clock deadline.

In our growing desensitization to violence, our serial killers need to be nuttier and nuttier, therefore our man Jigsaw is pretty bonko. Setting up traps and games for his victims, he doesn’t so much kill them as set up opportunities for the little hamsters to kill themselves.

Leaving a man naked entwined in razor wire with a limited amount of time he is given to escape or attaching a “reverse bear trap” to a woman’s jaw who also has a limited amount of time to cut open some dude’s stomach. All pretty gruesome stuff, granted, but oddly not really “sold.” Wan relies on the type of camera tricks one would expect from a gritty film that attempts to be “edgy” in this day and age, but he oddly doesn’t know how to use them. The film ultimately doesn’t so much feel like it has a style but more of an attempt at one. Being a first-time director, he should have stuck to mood and simplicity before diving into the NIN/Tool bag of tricks. Also, even though I commend them for knowing that a compelling story could not be crafted about two guys stuck in a room (at least with their current abilities as filmmakers) all the flashbacks and jumping around did not come across all that smoothly. Non-linear storytelling can be difficult and Wan just didn’t seem to be able to rise to the challenge. The movie itself is certainly entertaining enough, and it is worth it just for the ride, and to find out how you react to how it all ties up (I, myself, generally had it figured out, but the details caught me off guard). Just don’t expect to be seeing anything all that fresh and new.


How's It Look, Smart Guy?
This film is presented on a flipper disc with the full screen version on one side and an anamorphic widescreen version on the other. Both are fairly clean transfers the same of care one should expect for a movie that was in the theatres within a year of its DVD release. Minimal artifacting and no haloing that I detected, but the blacks certainly could have been blacker. I did notice that every once in a while some shots were blurrier than others and I have a feeling that is due more to the transfer itself than the director forgetting to focus the camera. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, in that case. All in all, above average.

How's It Sound, Ya Bum?
The disc is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic video. Lion’s Gate has always been pretty touch-and-go for me, transfer-wise. Sometimes a release is pretty crisp and other times it’s murkyville. Saw rests firmly in the middle. In some cases those blacks are pretty deep and others they gray up on you, losing detail. This is not only evident where variation might be intended, say from switching from flashback to flashback, but sometimes it was from shot to shot during the same scene. I noticed no haloing or edge enhancement, but a little more care could have been given to this one.

You Think I Just Wanted The Movie, Pal?
There is a COMMENTARY TRACK by director Wan and writer Whannell, who obviously love what they do, and good for them. According to the track, this sucker was filmed in a mere 18 days so for any gripes I may have concerning the style of the movie, my hat does go off to them for making an otherwise tight little film in such a short amount of time. They are both pretty hyper so be prepared.

There is a short making of DOCUMENTARY, called Sawed Off: The Making of Saw. It’s only two minutes long so there’s no pain to watching it, but no real need to either. Fluff.

Finally, we get two versions of the MUSIC VIDEO for Fear Factory’s “Bite the Hand That Bleeds Me,” (whatever…) rated and unrated, plus a making of doc for the video itself. Again, it’s short but it doesn’t serve much purpose.

Bring Us On Home, Brother
This is most certainly not the next generation in serial killer movies but merely an extension on what has come before. Personally, I feel if the script was simplified a bit or even pushed off until the director was ready for such a narrative undertaking this might have been one heck of a barnburner. Perhaps with a little more skill, he also could have kept poor Cary Elwes from making such an ass out of himself, but his hamminess adds to the fun, for some reason. As is, it’s a slightly clunky, but entertaining psychopath film.