Saw
Director: James Wan
Writer: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Ken Leung, Dina Meyer, Michael Emerson, Shawnee Smith, Monica Potter, Ned Bellamy
Seen on: 8.12.2024

Plot:
Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) wakes up in a dilapitated bathroom. He is chained to the wall. There is a body with a gunshot wound in its head lying on the floor. And chained to the opposite wall is Adam (Leigh Whannell). They don’t know what they are doing there. They don’t even know how they got there. But they soon learn that being in this room is only the beginning of a very personal trial.

I saw Saw back when it came out, or shortly after, and haven’t seen it since. Given the cult status it has reached by now, and my appreciation of Wan and Whannell, I thought I’d give it another go and refresh my memory. But it doesn’t quite live up to expectations or memories.

The way I remembered Saw, it was basically a chamber play, set in that bathroom and practically nowhere else. Turns out, that is absolutely not the case – in fact, it might be even most of the film that doesn’t take place in that bathroom. (I won’t measure it.) And the parts outside of the bathroom just didn’t work that well for me. They felt more like filler material than anthing else.

That being said, what happens in the bathroom is so strong, it explains why the film has reached the cult status it has reached. Elwes and Whannell act their asses off, and they do it so well that it’s easy to forget how contrived the entire plot and set-up is (best not to ask too many questions there).

The film is well paced and generally well made. It’s just that the thriller parts of it, the investigation that goes on – it’s just not that interesting to me. And instead of focusing on the two characters we get to know – Adam and Lawrence – and their predicament, it tries too hard to keep us guessing, to surprise and twist.

Speaking of twists: the final reveal did come as a surprise to me (again). I had obviously fogotten that bit, and I didn’t expect it at all. Now, I am trying not to think too hard about the film, so I can’t really say whether it actually makes sense. Probably not. But it doesn’t matter all that much.

I never saw any of the sequels, but I think I will give them a try. Let’s see whether they are a bit smoother.

Summarizing: not bad but not as good as I thought or remembered.