Director: James Wan, 2004Pros: terrifying, psychologically gripping, not especially gory
Cons:
Adam (Leigh Whannell) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) wake up in an old bathroom, chained to opposite walls. There's a dead man in the centre of the room, a gun in one hand, a tape recorder in the other. In their pockets they find cassette tapes with messages from the man who put them in the room.
The film alternates between the situation in the bathroom and flashbacks as the two try to understand what's going on.
Like all the best horror films, each scene brings more information, with fascinating twists and turns. And of course, you'll never see the ending coming.
It's gory but not overly so. More is left to the watcher's imagination than shown on screen. The film really uses suspense and anticipation to provide its chills.
I'd put this up there with Jaws, Halloween and Cube.
Saw is one of my favorite horror movies. It is riveting, scary (in multiple ways), and refreshingly unpredictable. Might be my favorite horror movie of all time.
ReplyDeleteThe sequels. Not so much.
But the original Saw is definitely worth watching.
I'd actually avoided seeing it until my husband pointed out it's more psychological than gory ( I don't do gory well). And he was right. It was a great movie. I've heard the rest of the films don't match the first ones caliber.
ReplyDelete