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Saw

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Saw (2004)

46%
43%
77%
N/A
N/A
N/A
46 %
Reviews Counted: 155 Fresh: 72  Rotten:83 Average Rating: 5.4/10
 
Consensus: A twisted and gory horror film that's not for the squeamish.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Synopsis: How far would you go to save your own life? Prepare yourself for a gut-wrenching trip into the heart of terror with SAW, Lions Gate Films’ gripping horror film starring Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter and Leigh Whannell. Obsessed with teaching his victims the value of life, a deranged,... How far would you go to save your own life? Prepare yourself for a gut-wrenching trip into the heart of terror with SAW, Lions Gate Films’ gripping horror film starring Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter and Leigh Whannell. Obsessed with teaching his victims the value of life, a deranged, sadistic serial killer is abducting morally wayward people and forcing them to play macabre games for their own survival. Faced with impossible choices, each victim must struggle to win back his/her life, or else die trying… A young man named Adam (LEIGH WHANNELL) wakes to find himself chained to a rusty pipe inside a decrepit subterranean chamber. Chained to the opposite side of the room is another bewildered captive, Dr. Lawrence Gordon (CARY ELWES). Between them is a dead man lying in a pool of blood, holding a .38 in his hand. Neither man knows why he has been abducted, but instructions left on a microcassette order Dr. Gordon to kill Adam within eight hours. If he fails to do so, then both men will die; Dr. Gordon’s wife, Alison (MONICA POTTER), and his daughter will also be killed. Recalling a recent murder investigation by a police detective named Tapp (DANNY GLOVER), Dr. Gordon realizes he and Adam are the next victims of a psychopathic genius known only as “Jigsaw.” With only a few hours left to spare, they must unravel the elaborate puzzle of their fate in the midst of mounting terror. The killer has provided them with only a few clues and two handsaws - too weak to break their steel shackles, but strong enough to cut through flesh and bone… Gritty and terrifying, SAW is a taut, squirm-inducing film packed with moments of indelible horror. Director James Wan expertly spins this intricate tale, creating a chilling landscape of dread where nothing is quite as it seems. An edge-of-your-seat ride bristling with emotional intensity, SAW will keep you guessing until the very end. Keep the lights on; you won't sleep easily tonight. [More]

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Starring: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Monica Potter, Danny Glover, Dina Meyer

Director: James Wan
Screenwriter: Leigh Whannell
Producer: Mark Burg, Oren Koules
Composer: Charlie Clouser

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 6, 2008

[DVD Details]

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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06/24/06
Time Out
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4/5

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Full Review | comment 1 Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
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4/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
10/06/04
Jamie Russell
BBC
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4/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
10/06/04
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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4/5

This disturbing and violent movie gleefully plays with our minds as it twists and turns through its tricky, menacing plot.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/19/04
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image
3.5/5

we all need more Glover in our lives

Full Review | comment Comment
07/05/08
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
03/31/08
David Ansen
Newsweek
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2/4

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Full Review | comment 1 Comment
12/27/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image
3/10

There is such a storm of terrible dialogue in Saw as to legitimately draw comparisons to none less than Ed Wood.

Full Review | comment 2 Comments
09/27/07
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
Ratings Image
3/5

Saw gets by on its mood of industrial dread.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/18/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
4/10

Able to hold interest most of the way through, unraveling back stories that feel as if they might lead to something. But then the ending arrives.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/20/06
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies
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C-

Blood splatter antics take over and make it a tough watch for the queasy and those who still consider themselves sane.

Full Review | comment 2 Comments
01/26/06
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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4.5/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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4/10

just another collection of horror movie cliches

Full Review | comment 1 Comment
11/07/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
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3.5/4

...though Elwes has received a lot of criticism for his work here, the actor delivers a surprisingly effective performance that feels believable and appropriate...

Full Review | comment Comment
10/23/05
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Ratings Image
3/5

If the film had contained more scenes of intensity and less action, gore, twists and shocks, maybe it could have been a classic of the genre.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/25/05
Uri Lessing
www.kcactive.com
Ratings Image
A-

The simple setup ropes us in immediately and never lets up, and some of the imagery will stick with even the most hardened viewer for days.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/26/05
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony
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N/A

Saw’s overly elaborate, sporadically effective do-or-die games ultimately don’t make the cut.

Full Review | comment 1 Comment
05/04/05
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
Ratings Image
4.5/5

Original, sorprendente, terrible, intensa. Un recuerdo de lo que el cine de terror y thriller debe ser, una historia que te atrapa, y te corta en pedazos.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/07/05
Alex Ramirez
Cinenganos
N/R

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03/05/05
Orlando Weekly
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