Saw

Review by Clint Morris

The serial killer movie has been done to death of late, so what's James Wan and Leigh Whannell's movie got that has Hollywood throwing bank at them every which way?

In short: Nothing new. Well, not a lot Anyway.

In fact, most of the appeal of the smash-hit Indy film Saw lies exclusively with its observable aspiration.

The Australian filmmakers - formerly RMIT media students, who subsequently sold their script to Lions Gate, and almost overnight were flown out to La La land to write, direct and star in their self-confessed "baby" - are perceptibly fervent about films, the horror genre in particular, and it's shown in every frame of the film. (Click here for an interview with the Australian pair.)

From the hurried pace to the imaginative visuals, it's a genre effort that mightn't be strong on new-fangled ideas, but is certainly being captained by two guys who've an understanding of what works and what doesn't when it comes to scare-fests. In other words, they know when to press the buttons - but can't offer much explanation as for why the button needs pressing at any particular time.

Two men (Cary Elwes and co-writer Leigh Whannell) wake up in a windowless bathroom, shackled at opposite ends of the room. A tape-recorded voice tells that them one of them will have to kill the other in the next eight hours, or they'll both die.

There's just one snag: the only way to get out of their manacles is to use a hacksaw on their ankles...

Whilst one has to give the boys credit for such a slick debut, one should also offer a bit of passing advice: script doctor. As in, they needed to invest in one. This baby's plot has more holes in it than James Caan's carcass did in The Godfather II.

Fluffing several details of the storyline and, in turn, making a lot of what the characters motivations are seemingly implausible, is a mistake that many horror buffs probably won't be able to overlook. On the other hand, those who aren't as stringent a fan of the genre, and are only after a quick unfussy scare, should definitely find enough here to keep them awake at night.

While a good seventy minutes of Saw swims in the 'been there done that' pool, the guys do take a dip in setting up something nifty for a spell there at the start.

3 out of 5

Saw
Australian release: Thursday December 2nd
Cast: Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Leigh Whannell, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson.
Director: James Wan.
Interview: Click here.
Website: Click here.

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