Saw Review

Saw review.

Nearly 20 years and a billion dollars in box office ago…the Saw franchise was born. With the tenth installment (and direct sequel to the original) arriving tomorrow…it’s the perfect time for a look back on the one that started it all.

Classic movie reviews will contain spoilers.

Saw

Directed by James Wan

Screenplay by Leigh Whannell

Starring Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Leigh Whannell, Shawnee Smith and Tobin Bell

Saw Review

Two men wake up chained to opposite sides of a run-down bathroom with no memory of how they got there and a dead body in the middle of the floor.  So began a billion-dollar horror franchise.  Saw arrived in time for Halloween in 2004 and became an immediate pop-culture event.  A sequel would follow each of the next six years.  A prequel (Jigsaw) would follow seven years later, a spin-off (Spiral) four years after that.  It’s now two years later…and Saw X is set to hit theaters.  The tenth entry serves as a direct sequel to the 2004 original…set between the events of Saw and Saw II.  Seems like a perfect time to look back at the former.

Director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell found immediate breakout success with Saw.  They’d go on to create the Insidious franchise while stewarding future Saw movies in different ways.  Wan would find another blockbuster horror series a decade later with The Conjuring Universe.  The Saw series would fine tune (and become repetitive with) certain elements introduced in the original.  Looking back at Saw is an interesting thing.  All the pieces you expect are there…but it’s a smaller, more reserved story than we’d see in the future.

Specifically, the original Saw is light on traps.  We see the famous reverse beartrap in a flashback inside of a flashback…featuring series favorite character Amanda (Shawnee Smith).  Other than that, the movie largely plays out like a locked room thriller combined with a crime investigation.  John Kramer/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is also barely featured due to a narrative requirement.  His proper arrival into the franchise is revealed in spectacular fashion, however.  The Billy puppet is on hand to ride his tricycle around and the twists we will come to expect are as sharp as ever…but the package feels more basic and stripped down than it would become.

Because there was no known lore prior to this film…Saw pulls off a brilliant twist.  It sets up someone other than John Kramer as the person behind the situation the two men find themselves in.  Michael Emerson plays the would-be antagonist, taking people hostage and seemingly controlling events.  The climax teaches us, however, that he too is having his string pulled by the mastermind Jigsaw Killer.  A man so obsessed with teaching sick lessons to people that he laid on the floor pretending to be a dead body the entire time.  It’s a fantastic twist.

Despite being a low budget affair, Saw boasts a tremendous cast.  Cary Elwes (Lawrence) and Leigh Whannell (Adam) play the two men stuck in a dangerous game.  Monica Potter plays Lawrence’s wife Alison.  Danny Glover is a Detective (Tapp) on the hunt for the Jigsaw Killer.  Elwes takes the lead here, combining flashback scenes to his life before the bathroom and an increasingly desperate performance within it.  He also gives the film its title by having to saw off his own foot to escape captivity. 

Saw does a good job keeping you engaged by revealing things at a steady and appropriate pace.  Lawrence and Adam try to work out means to escape…with a literal ticking clock in the room.  If Lawrence doesn’t kill Adam by 6 o’clock…his wife and daughter will be killed.  The two men try to figure out who is doing this to them…leading to a series of flashbacks to flesh out Lawrence’s character and the investigation into the Jigsaw Killer. 

At the same time, we’re following the story of Glover’s now former Detective’s obsession with finding Jigsaw.  His story comes to an abrupt, surprising end.  Standard narratives would have you believe that Tapp is the men’s best means of salvation.  When he is unceremoniously taken out before the climax…the desperation Lawrence and Adam are experiencing spills over to viewers.  The clock runs out…and now…no one is looking for them.  It’s a great trick to ramp up the tension another notch for the big finale.

As mentioned, that finale involves Lawrence removing his foot and scampering away for help.  Adam, left behind with the promise of Lawrence finding help, discovers the truth of the Jigsaw Killer and is sealed in the room to die.  Lawrence’s fate is left more open ended.  At least until several years later in Saw 3D. 

It’s easy to see how Saw became a juggernaut.  Although the original film plays things a notch slower and less crazy than we’d see at the series’ peak…all the elements are introduced here.  It introduces things that would quickly become iconic…and inevitably, played out by series repetition.  A massive box office hit that begat nine future installments (so far) and launched James Wan’s career into the stratosphere.  Perhaps it’s more “important” than it is “great” …but it holds up well and perfectly captures its original ideas.

Scare Value

The original Saw isn’t quite what the series would become…but it introduces all the elements. A locked room thriller that becomes something more…Saw accomplishes everything it wants to. A massive box office success that inspired 9 sequels (so far). While the series has never been met with critical acclaim…it has a loyal and fervent fan base for a reason. Those reasons weren’t on full display yet in 2004. But the foundation was clearly laid here.

3.5/5

Saw Links

Streaming on Peacock

Rent/Buy on VOD from Vudu and Amazon

Buy on Blu-Ray from Amazon

Saw Trailer