Saw
Starring Cary Elwes, Monica Potter, Danny Glover
Written and Directed by James Wan


Way back in 2004, I picked up a promo copy of Saw at Future Shop. It was free, I am Chinese -- so I picked one up. Simple as that. Then when I got home and played it... not so simple. I felt like vomiting and as I watched the trailer I could have sworn an evil presence was taking over my house. Within minutes, the promo copy of Saw went from my DVD player to the garbage can in my backyard (I didn’t want the disc to be anywhere inside the house). I truly and honestly believed the Saw disc I took was evil...

Flash forward a year or so later. I am walking out of the movie theater with my friend SJ, laughing and chatting -- having just watched, Saw II. I loved it. It was great. It was thought-provoking, gory, scary, violent -- it was awesome! That night when I lay in bed, I began to wonder... What was Saw part one like if Saw II was this good. Maybe I should see it. Nah. Saw part one was still classified EVIL in my house. I am happy with Saw II, I will stop there.

Flash forward to Christmas. My friend N tells me to come over to pick up my Christmas present. It is a copy of the Special Edition of Saw with flowing artificial blood in the cover. Great... I just received evil for Christmas. Then on one rainy night (yeah, I know, how cliche) -- I watched it. Much to my surprise -- it was awesome! I loved it more than Saw II.

Saw is one of the most intelligent horror/thriller films since Scream and ten times more engaging. I loved every frame of it. It was filled with plenty of twists, scares, humour, and used a great flashback narrative style that really helps the viewer invest in the characters (watch ABC’s Lost, it has the same style and you will also recognize actor Michael Emerson as the Others head leader). The story is simple: a psychotic killer named Jigsaw (although technically he doesn’t kill anybody) captures people who seem to be abusing the gift of life and then places them in devices which require them to do something grisly to escape out of or die -- helping them realize something about themselves and life in the process. Brilliant.

So yesterday being Halloween, I decided to rediscover the magic and so called evil of Saw again. I am thankful to say it is just as good as the first time, actually, I think I liked it even more this time. Now how many things in life can we say that about?


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: A fantastic psychological horror/thriller.

The Bad: Danny Glover is kind of goofy.

The Law: Watch Saw and gain a whole new appreciation for life and good horror.