As the movie “Saw” opens, we find two men (Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell) seemingly alone in an old, rundown warehouse bathroom. Each is chained at the leg to pipes on opposite sides of the room. Between them lies a dead body, an apparent suicide victim. Who they are, and why they are here is only a tiny part of the puzzling story that is “Saw.” The two biggest problems I have with reviewing a film like “Saw” lie in the name and the plot. In talking to people about the film (writing as is the case here), I find it hard not so say, “I saw Saw,” or “I went to see Saw.“ I know it’s a silly problem, but try saying it a few times and you’ll see. As for the plot, it is filled with so many complex plot twists, that I can’t say much about the film directly or it will give something away. I’d rather you go see the film without any pre-conceived notions so that the shocks will shock you and the surprises will leave you slack-jawed. My wife and I went to see “Saw” (there it is…) earlier this week at a packed screening. Neither one of us knew much about the film other than the fact that it was supposed to be dark, disturbing and gory.

Suffice to say it hit on all cylinders, and turned out to be the most intense film I’ve seen all year. We were totally on the edge of our seats the entire time, either with anticipation or simply to try and spot clues that would reveal all of the film’s secrets. At one point, the suspense was so thick that my wife actually jumped and screamed (which is something she rarely does at a movie), which in turn almost made my uneaten popcorn fly through the air.

I’ve had a few people ask me why the film is called “Saw”, and again I have to concede that I’d rather not give too much away. As to the answer, my first assumption is that it alludes to a particular cutting instrument that figures prominently in the film. But in retrospect, I have to wonder if writer/actor Leigh Whannell was more subliminally alluding to the fact that the film is one big jigsaw puzzle.

What I can tell you about the story is that it involves a ‘serial killer’ who puts his victims into intricately designed deathtraps and gives them the opportunity to escape. The only problem is, sometimes their only escape involves self-mutilating methods. The cops that are after him actually have to wonder if he can be really called a killer, when his victims end up killing themselves. As involved as that may sound, the plot actually goes much further and deeper than that.

I really wish I had more of the film’s background materials on hand, because I’m curious as to director James Wan’s resume. I believe this is his first major film, and if it is, he did a great taking the serial killer genre and turning it on its ear. There are those who have already compared it to “Se7en”, but I think this is a far better movie. It has that independent look to it, so much so that I was a little surprised to find relatively high profile actors in it. Yet in spite of the low-budget look, it produced some genuine scares, deeply disturbing images and gave some of the actors the opportunity to deliver some of the best performances of their careers.

Danny Glover, who has to be best known as Mel Gibson’s “Lethal Weapon“ partner, is excellent as the cop who is haunted by the killer's existence. And my wife and I have both been fans of Cary Elwes since his ‘farm boy’ days in “The Princess Bride.” Over the years, he’s kind of languished in an odd assortment of roles, but turns in an incredibly diverse performance here. As he learns the extent of the situation surrounding his predicament, he runs through a gamut of emotions as he falls deeper into his psychological breakdown.

Watching the film, I found myself running through my own personal emotional spinning wheel. There were scenes that truly disturbed me, but none so much as one in which a young girl is threatened. I could only imagine the feelings that the girl’s mother and father were going through, in part because I now have a daughter of my own. As the entire scene played out, I found myself thinking how much I wanted to kill the antagonist. I kept thinking of my own little girl and I believe I realized at that moment that if anyone ever laid a finger on her, I would probably kill them. I'm not sure that I would have the moment of hesitation that was experienced by the girl’s parent in the movie. And that scares me a little.

I also have to give the filmmakers a lot of credit for the illusion of gore they often presented. As dark and disturbing as the film was, the gore was more implied than actually shown. Yet everyone I talked to later that night was sure they had seen a ton of gore. It is a very difficult cinematic feat indeed when you can make audiences think they saw more than they did.

While the ending credits were running, I sat there stunned as I reflected on what I had just seen. The movie was told in a non-linear fashion, yet under Wan’s deft direction it never left me confused. Instead, I was constantly working to ‘figure it out’ as it were, only to be caught off guard by scenes that I expected to go one way, then suddenly go another. Unexpected twists like these have been done before, but not as well. Every scene, no matter how surprising, made sense. Nothing was just thrown in for the sake of shock value.

“Saw” is hands-down, one of the most intense suspense thrillers I’ve seen in quite a while. If movies that keep you guessing are your cup of tea, you won’t find much better than this.

Directed by: James Wan
Starring: Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Leigh Whannell, Monica Potter,
Studio: Lions Gate
MPAA Rating: R
Website

We'll give Saw an A.