SAW

Last year when I talked about "Saw" I talked about the villain "Jigsaw" from the first film and put him as my 15th favorite movie villain. Well now it's time to talk about the film.


























Two men are locked in an old bathroom with one of their legs chained and laying on the floor in between them is a dead body of a person who shot himself in the head. One is a photographer named Adam (Leigh Whannell) and the other one is a doctor named Gordon (Cary Elwes). They don't know each other or how they got in this room. They do know one thing, they're in the clutches of a serial killer called Jigsaw (?). Jigsaw wants to play a game with them. Gordon is told to kill Adam by six o'clock and if he doesn't, his wife and daughter will be killed. While Gordon and Adam try to figure out ways of escapin, we learn about the killer and their backstories leading up to the event through a series of flashbacks. Will Gordon kill Adam, or will he lose his dear loved ones to save an innocent man. Let the review begin.



This movie has a really thrilling set up and story, it just keeps you on the edge of your seat as the film moves on. What I love about the film is we're mostly stuck with our two main characters in that room and the only time we're not with them in that room is when we're seeing a  flashback or how Gordon's family are doing. The story is not just written scary, but also every little scene you watch becomes very important later on. Even the opening scene plays an important key. The film also plays out as a mystery as well because we keep trying to figure out who Jigsaw is. Is he one of the victims, is he the guy watching the monitors we don't know for sure until the ending which leads to a very clever plot twist.



The acting and characters are really good and keeps your suspense level rising. Leigh Whannell and Cary Elwes(AKA Wesley from "The Princess Bride") acting really make their situation intense and really makes you feel the pain and struggles. As a matter a fact, the director actually shot their scenes being trapped in chronological order to make them feel the pain the characters are going through and let me tell you that's what helps make the film realistic. Yeah, Elwes' American accent is poor, and sometimes he be over the top, but I still think it's a good enough performance to make you feel just as scared as these two guys are. The supporting characters such as the victims, Gordons family and the little characters (Who will play a huge role later on) all make the film very intensive. I think my favorite character (Besides the villain) and performance goes to Danny Glover as the badass detective. His performance is cool, his character is well written, and he's also the film's hero.



Now what about the villain? He's one of the best cinema villains I've ever seen. If you read what I wrote about him being my 15th favorite movie villain, you should know all about him and why I think he's a great villain. If you haven't, no worries. He's a very mysterious villain and the only time we see him fully is in the ending. Throughout the film, we see him either wearing a hood or putting a creepy looking puppet in front of the TV monitors. We also hear his voice and that voice is so scary that he sounds like a demon from hell. Who can also forget that creepy puppet he carry's, the design is so creepy that it looks like something from an old creepy antique shop.



The main reason what I think makes the villain and the movie so hard to watch are the games Jigsaw makes his victims play. They're all very creative and are probably one of the best torture sequences ever put on film. He times his victims to see if they want to live or die and if they wish to live they'll have to do painful things to another person or themselves. I mean listen to some of these traps. He gives a guy two hours to make it across a path of barb wires before he's sealed in forever; he puts a reverse bear-trap on a woman's face; and even plants a few clever booby traps. He's insane and the ironic part is, he sets up the traps on his victims, but he doesn't kill them. All his victims all die in deaths that are so gory that the film nearly received an NC-17 rating.

The film has powerful realistic acting; a great set up; a mysterious villain; and tons of gore. If you're miserable about life, take a look at this film because I guarantee you'll feel so happy to be alive after watching this film. It's the films moral and I'm sure the way that moral is shown in this film will stick with you until the day you die.

RATING 5/5