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Movies / On DVD / Saw
Saw

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Saw (2004)

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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

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Reviews for Saw

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61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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See SAW . . . see SAW start to suck . . . See SAW suck away 2 hours

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/31/04
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

Saw has its moments, and most of them are brutal in the extreme, but ultimately it's one tremendous misfire that will either leave you laughing or, possibly, gagging.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/31/04
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Sick, demented, wrong, and just the sort of movie we deserve at Halloween time.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
10/31/04
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

Raises the level of gore delightfully higher.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
10/31/04
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

"Saw" leaves its audience saying "Eewww" in appreciation.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
10/31/04
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Saw n’est pas un film d’horreur des plus réussis, ni un film particulièrement brillant [mais] il dépasse aisément le niveau des Scream et compagnie.

Full Review Source: Panorama | comment Comment
10/31/04
Louis-Jérôme Cloutier
Louis-Jérôme Cloutier
Panorama
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
10/30/04
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Movie Gazette | comment Comment
10/30/04
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Movie Gazette

The failure is in the execution, and as script, direction and even make-up are abysmal, it is very difficult to believe a moment of Saw.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment 1 Comment
10/30/04
Bruce Feld
Bruce Feld
Film Journal International

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Journal News (Westchester, NY) | comment Comment
10/30/04
David Germain
David Germain
Journal News (Westchester, NY)

Saw simply doesn't cut it.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
10/29/04
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

So over the top that even the recruited audience of non-critics at my screening began to howl.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
10/29/04
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today

A twisted, squirm-inducingly nasty bit of work.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/29/04
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A strenuously morbid assembly of deranged-genius- serial-killer movie conventions cribbed from just about every popular post-Hannibal Lecter movie imaginable.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
10/29/04
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/29/04
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Internet film geeks are salivating over this one. But humans who live above ground, including horror fans, will find themselves only fitfully entertained and more consistently appalled.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
10/29/04
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
10/29/04
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News

An ingenious machine for inducing terror, rage, and paralyzing unease.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
10/29/04
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
Slate

A sick, twisted, deliriously entertaining horror thriller that rivals The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for sheer, relentless intensity.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
10/29/04
Jeff Shannon
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times

Terrifying at some moments and insinuatingly creepy at many others.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
10/29/04
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
San Francisco Chronicle
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
all

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? Opens in new window
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...

See All

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