Saw Review

Ever since Se7en, filmmakers have been striving to find the same level of intensity and depth in thrillers for the big and small screens. Saw falls short, but it gives audiences not repulsed altogether by its gore a good ride for its money.

Young director James Wan emulates Se7en to the point that things become overly complicated, damaging credibility. But Wan is also clearly influenced by the Italian giallo horror films of Dario Argento in which dreamlike energy and visual creativity are the focus, not earthbound reality, much like a symphony operates at a separate level than pop melodies.

Saw documents the activities of a pulp supervillain whose schemes are so ingenious and involved that they defy logic. But then, when you look at the intricate workings of a Swiss watch, it seems that creating it involved way too much work for something as simple as just telling the time. The complicated horrors required are beyond the powers of some of the cast to convey, especially in a film that keeps the audience focused on the maze of plot.