Saw (Movie Review)

Saw is an interesting and quite entertaining horror flick...if you can get past all of the bad acting. The movie stars Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell (who?) as two guys that awaken to find themselves chained up on opposite sides of a basement. They have no idea of how they got there, let alone who put them is this situation. Lying in the middle of the room is a dead man holding a gun. Dr. Gordon, played by Elwes, has an audio cassette that informs him that he must kill Adam (played by Whannell) within eight hours or both of them will be killed, as will Dr. Gordon's wife and daughter.

I do not want to give away too much, but over the course of the film we learn that the murderer is known as the "Jigsaw" killer. Danny Glover (apparently Lethal Weapon 5 is not ready) plays the cop investigating Jigsaw. We learn plenty about Jigsaw's style through a series of flashbacks that show his previous murders. All of his killings revolve around choices. The victims can save themselves IF they are willing to sacrifice a variety of things. The potential victims in the basement are no different. Do not forget the title of the movie. The victims are chained up by their ankles, they need to escape, they have access to an old rusty saw...you do the math.

There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the film to keep you interested. Everyone is a suspect and I guarantee you will be surprised at who is actually the killer. The only problem with the movie is the horrible acting, particularly by Elwes. It is so bad that at some points it is distracting. There is a scene that contains what is supposed to be a very dramatic moment. However, Elwes botches it so badly that the entire audience broke out in laughter...not quite what the director was looking for, I'm sure.

Despite the acting flaws I think this movie is definitely worth checking out. I'm not surprised by much in movies anymore but this film contained a few things that I wasn't expecting. And if you are trying to decide between Saw and The Grudge...choose Saw...you will be glad you did.