Saw DVD: Review By Brian

Pretend you're an aspiring filmmaker for a moment with a very small budget to create a film. You ask yourself, "what type of film am I going to be able to make with this sort of cash?" The answer, almost every single time, is very, very clear. You need to make a horror movie. It's the only thing you have a chance at making fairly well on a limited budget, a tight schedule and no pull in the film industry whatsoever.

So, what's next?

Well, if you looked again at the few dollars allotted to the production of your film, took your love of David Fincher's masterpiece, Se7en, racked your brain for a fitting story that you felt could keep audiences intrigued enough to sit in a chair for 90 minutes, you'd probably come up with a scenario where you basically had to create some intense drama between very few characters in very small space...say 2 guys locked in a room with a dead guy trying to get out?

Wa-la. You just made SAW. Of course, don't we all wish it was that easy.

SAW is a gritty, horrific and terrifying horror flick about a crazed kidnapper hellbent on punishing our less then perfect society for our wrong doings against each other, essentially turning the sin on the sinner. Filmed is a very dark toned manner with plenty of high contrast disgusting looking blood, SAW comes through as a welcome horror title to any genre lover's collection.

The storyline is great, and for such a low budget, very high concept. Thanks to some brilliant editing and a taught score, it's no surprise that this indie was the most talked about horror film of 2004. Taking a very cool approach to a pretty simple idea, throwing in tons of twists and enough ambiguity to keep the viewer on the edge of their seats, I think it's safe to say that SAW is a success.

Now, with an indie budget you don't have a lot of room for big budget casting, and really, the only name you're gonna know in this film's cast list is the prestigious Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon, Predator 2...yes Predator 2). Aside from Glover, the cast ranges from good to poor. The unknown actor / screenwriter Leigh Whannell took a leading role in this film, playing the ever whiny, stressed out loser, 'Adam.' While Whannell does a great job outperforming most of his supporting cast in the film, his new school acting vibe is a little hard to get past and helps support the fact that this movie IS an indie. Nonetheless, Whannell's skills far surpass those of Cary Elwes, who plays 'Dr. Lawrence Gordon' in the film, which is surprising considering Elwes extensive resume in some very highly acclaimed films.

While Cary Elwes' acting is on par with the standards of Hollywood acting today in many sequences throughout the film, and while he may very much hold his own while standing side by side with Danny Glover, there many scenes where Elwes took me right out of the movie because of a lack of believability. I understand that many sequences called for some intense drama (Spoiler: why else would his character saw off his foot), but Elwes needs to seriously get back to class and practice some more before returning to any intense acting roles where he'll fore fronting any project.

Maybe it's been a while. Maybe he shouldn't cry on screen anymore. Maybe the editor shouldn't have focused on the actor so much. Whatever the case, if you ever feel cheesy because of anything happening on the screen that isn't intentional you're gonna be taken out of the film, which is obviously the last thing any of the filmmakers want.

Despite any shortcomings I have or you might even have watching this film, SAW is great, even worthy of repeat viewing, and enticing enough for me to be excited for a sequel.

Ok...something is fishy here. Indie feature filmmakers love packing on the extras, something this DVD set is very severely lacking. So, my conclusion? You'll see another "Special Edition" release of the bad boy right before next Halloween's release of the sequel, SAW 2.

Audio Commentaries

Director James Wan and screenwriter/actor Leigh Whannell both sit down to provide the standard filmmaker audio commentary track for the film. Great stuff here as these guys are the people that came up with this idea and made it a reality. Many aspects are covered in their sit down with film.

Featurette: "Sawed Off"

Ugh. What junk. About 2 minutes and 30 seconds of behind-the-scenes footage, the featurette ends. A special feature? Hardly. More annoying then anything. Why oh why is LGF holding out on us?

Fear Factory's "Bite The Hand That Bleeds" Music Video

Both an unrated and standard version of this video that was produced to accompany this film. Honestly, what can I say? The video was done very well, yet I'd rather see more film related content accompanying my special feature than these promotional tools.

Behind-the-scenes of the "Bite The Hand That Bleeds" music video

Interesting if you liked the video, but enough is enough. LGF, give me more from the film!

Presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio the film looks great. Gritty, contrasty, bloody and crusty. Everything a horror lover needs to get that uneasy feeling going in their stomachs.

Presented in a wide array of Dolby Digital formats, English 6.1ES, English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, and English Dolby Digital 2.0, the soundtrack is perfect. A perfect mix of creepy sound design, a moody ambiatic score and the attention to small intricate fear heightening details, I think it's safe to say that for a horror flick, it doesn't get more pro than this.

Packaged in a clear clamshell snapper with a slipcase featuring some very basic design, the prominant feature is the actual disc showcasing the SAW logo, the blade, and the dismembered body part. A truly tantalizing treat, and a welcome change for a horror release!

If you're a horror fan I highly recommend picking this one up. Whether you decide to buy or rent, SAW is just as worthy as any middle of the road horror title and will prove to be worth the dough.

Don't forget to check MovieWeb's Soju After Movie this week as well where B. Alan Orange and the Soju Army sit down and do their own commentary for the entire film!