I can't discuss this in a review, but let's just say I found that to be uncharacteristic and unfair of the killer. My only real concern is at the very end, when the key's location is revealed. As someone who pays close attention to a film's writing and plot, I was stunned. But for young writers and directors, this was a blockbuster and deserved the massive success it got. Terrorism or not, the horror film will go on. Even Hitchcock's 'Rope' offered a justification for murder, albeit a poor one. I see a much more obvious line of progression from 'Silence of the Lambs' to 'Seven' to 'Saw' with the advent of the brilliant, self-moralizing serial killer. I find this to be largely silly, and not at all the creators' intention. The author makes various other parallels about a 'military' setting, mentioning IEDs and the industrial setting of Jigsaw's workshop. Jigsaw, like the military, carries out violent acts, but has found ways to rationalize them with moral justifications (saving the worthy, letting the undeserving die).

One scholarly article points to the 'militarization' of Jigsaw in a post-9/11 world. There has been an effort in recent years to academically analyze 'Saw', injecting a false connotation on to the film. And, luckily, you can watch it without any of the sequels and it makes sense. Later sequels would get more complicated than episodes of 'Lost', and the series loses something as it goes (all franchises do), but this original stands as one of the modern greats. Intelligent horror fans not only got the blood they wanted, but a clever villain and a mystery to solve. Falsely categorized as 'torture porn' (the violence and gore here are more in line with 'Seven' than 'Hostel'), this film was the first smart horror film of the 2000s. For an added bonus, one of the men has a kidnapped family on the outside.

With nothing but their wits, a few clues, and a hacksaw, they must figure out who put them in their predicament and how to get out. Two seemingly unrelated people (Cary Elwes and Leigh Whinnell) wake up in a secluded, dingy bathroom, chained to the wall.

Saw 7 full movies