Saw

Year: 2004

Grade: B+

Country: USA

Director: Wan

Review

there are ssome films that are obviously the director’s first, and this is one of them. that may sound bad, but in this case it really isn’t. in this case it means the film had a fresh take and a fresh look at the thriller/horror genre. there were certainly some flaws in the film – some of the direction was a bit too frenetic (think nu-metal music video) and some of the plot devices were slightly contrived, but the overall the film benefited from a sort of filmic ignorance. once you know how to make a film, it’s difficult to shake yourself out of the preexisting mold, and this film illustrates what new-comers have to offer. in a lot of ways it’s better to have a film slightly flawed in some ways in order to keep the integrity of a new director’s vision. it takes a lot of trust on the part of the producers and that seems to be what happened here. i really don’t want to talk about any of the specifics of the film because i think it’s better to go into it without any expectations. i will say, however, that i had some reservations throughout the film that were (mostly) put to rest with its conclusion. it’s no se7en, but it’s worth the price of admission for the thrills alone.

Watched in theater