SAW - DVD review

In 1995, David Fincher brought one of the most startling visions of sadistic crime ever committed to celluloid. "Se7en" was intense. The acting stellar, the themes painful, and the emotional impact like a kick in the stomach. Having one of the finest casts in modern cinema certainly didn't hurt its case.

Fast forward nearly a decade and, though the serial killer genre has been oft repeated, never as successfully. I'm sad to report that "Saw" never really overcomes the hump or reaches a pinnacle of greatness. But for all its failures, the majority of the movie is a successful piece that pulls out some interesting emotions and good scares during its runtime.

Adam (Leigh Whannel) and Lawrence (Carry Elwes) wake up in a room. They are chained to the walls with a body lying in the middle of the floor, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The two have no idea where they are or how they got there. Their only clue comes from a small tape that each has in his pocket... which contains a mandate to perform gruesome acts or die.

That is the role of the Jigsaw killer, a man who sets up situations that will cause one person to take a life or forfeit their own. His purpose is to restore an appreciation for life in those who have none, in his own sick way. The motives behind his sick game are his own, and have a logical dictation therein.

As a movie, "Saw" makes sense. It's a neat concept that works in its own world. Where it goes astray is in the acting. Carry Elwes overacts the entire film and, more often than not, had me rolling my eyes. His every bit of dialogue was strained through his lips and his actions as the doctor simply didn't resonate for me. He seemed to want to play action hero rather than an average man trapped in an extraordinary situation. The rest of the cast plays their roles pretty well and I didn't see anyone extraordinary or too bad.

I felt like Danny Glover's character was wasted during the film, as a former police officer whose sick obsession with the Jigsaw killer lead him into this tangled web. Remember how sick you felt when Scatman Carothers came back in "The Shining" only to die? Well, that's pretty much how I feel about Danny Glover's character. There are other plot lines that simply don't make sense, and other characters whose motivations are never explored. I need a reason for evil and this movie never fully provides me a resolution for that, something that is essential for the film to work as more than a few cheap thrills and disgusting concepts.

The writing also uses a few easy-out options, like the phrase, "I've just remembered…" Listen, I've been knocked out a lot in my life, but have never come too and had an exposition-spewing dialogue session. The entire concept seemed unnatural and like it were the easy-way out. It worked for Shakespeare, but this is the 21st century. The movie used some novel editing tricks earlier, but seemed to run out of creative steam toward the middle of the film.

That's not to say I didn't appreciate how the movie unwrapped itself. The pace of exposition was fairly even, and I felt satisfied with how the movie was set up. Since the essential concept is two guys trapped in a room, the ways the filmmakers got out of the room were a great tribute to these young men's potential.

The set design is uneventful, pretty good for a medium-budget horror title. Director James Wan uses a lot of camera tricks and an avant-garde style of editing to maximize the effect of the on-screen gore, and a few cheap gags to pull off the big scares in his movie.

A tangled web of characters in situations far beyond the norm, "Saw" is a decent film through the majority of the runtime. The end follows a rapid decent into idiocy and insanity that defies any sense of logic. Not only does it lack suspense, it seemed kind of silly to me. It's a shame, because the first bit of the film is pretty good and this ending prevents it from attaining any respect, in my opinion. The so-called "twist ending," the bane of one Yunda Eddie Feng's existence, does a lot to rectify the ills by the last 20 minutes, but not nearly enough, while raising questions that the movie never satisfies.

The commentary basically clarifies that the movie was a concept of two people locked in a room who have to kill each other... and that idea is conveyed wonderfully. The filler, which is needed to create a complete movie is where it falls apart. As I've said before, it had promise.

Video:
The Anamorphic video transfer does feature a lot of grain in its 1.85:1 box but it is perfectly serviceable. I didn't notice any film artifacts, scratches, or hairs. The transfer was, due to the grain, a little soft but the color palate came through lovely. I didn't see any edge enhancement or compression artifacts, which is unsurprising considering the limited length of the film.

Audio:
"Saw" shines in the audio department. I listened to the dts 6.1 option on my first viewing of the film and was impressed by the expansion of the soundtrack into the third dimension. Voices come out of appropriate speakers and the track, mixed extremely loudly, lacked any sort of derivative that I could hear. Outstanding. There is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track and a 2.0 Dolby Stereo for those so inclined or lacking dts decoding.

Extras:
I wish I could say good things about the extras for "Saw," but they are pretty light. The case is beautiful, a tribute to modern packaging… not as good as cases like "Basic Instinct" but in the same league. There are also some of those long and obnoxious animated menus.

The Australian director James Wan and his cohort and cowriter Leigh Whannel (and costar of the picture) give a lot of good making-of information about the film in a very reactionary sense, calling the action and recalling the stories behind its creation. They've got a lot of great theoretical ideas, and a lot of the film reflects their ideas. The pair reflect on the moviemaking experience as they giggle their way through their first commentary. It's an excellent companion to the film. I love hearing such candor from two young filmmakers, and if these two are able to keep learning and growing, I can see great things in the future.

"Sawed Off" is a brief documentary that explores the genesis of the film and how it was created. I would have liked to hear more about how the movie came about and how the filmmakers were able to corral the talent they were for the movie, but for an EPK it's not bad.

"Trailers and TV Spots" are what you would imagine. Grainy and letterboxed in a 4:3 aspect ratio, these could have been a lot better. The trailer-proper is replicated in a full Anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio.

"Bite the hand that bleeds you" is a cheap music video of a song used during the film that knocks off the movie. It's a pretty good pop-metal song, fairly generic from Fear Factory. The song sounded a lot like some classic Ozzy at times. The video, however, is laughably bad. It comes in a rated and unrated version. It wraps up with a static ad for the "Saw" Soundtrack. And, aren't you lucky… is followed up with a making of the unrated video! Just in case you were ever curious what it's like making a bad music video.

Film Value:
The movie leaves a lot of questions unanswered, frustratingly so. It had the potential to be good, but fell just short. I wanted to like "Saw," but upon reflection can only give it mediocre marks because of the stark lack of logic at the films end. The audio and video quality is rather remarkable, though the extras leave a lot to be desired. If you thought "Strangeland" was high art, then you'll enjoy a lot of "Saw." Sadly, I was ultimately let down and think that the majority will find the same flaws in this horror thriller I did.