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Saw (2004)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 9/18

Saw1
9/18: Initially, I was skeptical about Saw after seeing the cover and thinking it was going to be another torture porn flick, and I even questioned Danny Glover and maybe Cary Elwes for agreeing to be cast in this.

Well, after the first fifteen minutes, which was shot in eighteen days on a small budget, I finally understood why they did it after being immediately gripped by the intelligence. Relieved was I to see little torture and no porn.

The story is both unique and fresh. Of course, the whole thing is a wretched mess with bad editing and poorly inserted flashbacks. I even predicted correctly who the serial killer was when he made his first appearance. Still, I couldn't stop watching and appreciated the ending. I've got to say Saw broke new ground in horror by combining elements from Seven and Cube and then going further.

There was a moment early on when the ever-annoying Adam (who's played by Leigh Whannell who wrote the script along with director James Wan) remarked that he hadn't seen a dead body before. Now, I've been conditioned by numerous errors in cinema for so long because I knew the supposedly dead body in the room was definitely breathing, but I let it go as usual. There were other instances I also ignored. The point is that all of what had transpired eventually played an important role at the end.

Another thing I like is the psychological effect of what's happening to the characters. Of course, it's annoying when the two male characters had wasted so much time talking to each other that they didn't bother searching everywhere in the room or trying a lot of things out, especially with the metal shackles. Worse is when last-minute surprises appear given the fact that they were facing a life-and-death situation.

All in all, despite the negatives, Saw is the most innovative horror movie I've seen in a long time.