Atrocious...I was fully ready to give up an arm and a leg to escape.
Saw (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:158
Fresh:74
Rotten:84
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: A twisted and gory horror film that's not for the squeamish.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
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,... 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]
Starring: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Monica Potter, Danny Glover
Starring: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Monica Potter, Danny Glover, Dina Meyer, Ken Leung, Shawnee Smith, Ned Bellamy
Director: James Wan
Director: James Wan
Screenwriter: Leigh Whannell
Producer: Mark Burg, Oren Koules
Composer: Charlie Clouser
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for Saw
Horror fans will find plenty to shriek about. Everyone else should keep their distance.
It's never a good thing to find yourself laughing during a horror thriller, particularly one with a menacing title like Saw. But laugh, laugh, laugh you will.
Be prepared for plenty of grisly doings, including the performance of Cary Elwes in one of the most classically awful performances since the advent of the talking picture.
Wan struggles to bring this hallow hedonistic horror show to its full potential. Sadly, this Saw doesn’t quite cut through the tumultuous malarkey
This one does its bloody job fairly well, but it'll be interesting to see what Wan and Whannell are able to achieve when they get a bigger budget.
... the cross-bred horror-thriller you’ve been waiting for since Seven.
James Wan's feature directorial debut is chock full of narrative holes and gratuitous gore.**
It is a more intelligent entry than most blood and gore flicks. But it has too much blood and killing for my taste.
Saw falls apart under reflection, but serves an efficient 2-hours for hardcore horror-junkies.
Sawdances close to the edge of cliche, but doesn’t fall into the pit too often. It sets up some excellent red herrings, and I was satisfied with the ending.
Serial-killer chiller isn't jaw-droppingly terrifying, but it's not terrifyingly bad, either.
Saw has art-house ambitions, but it's nothing but a glorified snuff film. I despised this movie.
...delves a bit too giddily into the cruel and torturous techniques of its villain.
Some misguided critics are praising the film for its originality. Instead, it ought to be condemned as nothing less than Nazi filmmaking.
While a tad derivative, Saw shows promise of better things to come from Whannell’s imagination and Wan’s composition.
Latest News for Saw
October 15, 2009:
See Saw with Alex, Day 1: Saw
Click. Stop. Movie's over. Just saw Saw and, you know what, I'm actually looking forward to these movies supposedly becoming terrible because Saw the first remains an involving,... More...
October 12, 2009:
Get Ready to See Saw with Alex
If it's Halloween, then it must be time for a new Saw. And if it's a new Saw, then it must be time to start up another Rotten Tomatoes trademark watching series. Come, join me... More...
May 08, 2008:
Saw Director Cutting into Hellraiser Franchise? ![]()
Even though the director of SAW II-IV claims to have nothing to do with the project, insiders tell us the Weinsteins WANT HIM on the project ASAP. More...
March 13, 2008:
Charlie Sheen Getting Twisted in Next Film
When you see the words "Charlie Sheen" and "torture" in the same sentence, you probably assume you're reading about Sheen career achievements like Terminal Velocity or The... More...
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