Saw: Rating: 4 stars

Two strangers wake up to find themselves imprisoned in a filthy bathroom by a deranged serial killer who plays sadistic games with his victims to teach them the value of life.

Saw (2004)
2004 · R · Horror
Reviewed May 21, 2006

I’d heard this movie was so awful that even my morbid sensibilities might be offended; if my husband hadn’t rented this, I probably never would have bothered to watch it. It’s a good thing he did — turns out this low-budget thriller has damn good acting, decent scripting, awesomely gruesome special effects, and a plot so disturbing it actually gave me goosebumps. My only problem was with Cary Elwes — he was great, as he always is, but even after all these years I still think of him as Westley from The Princess Bride; I kept expecting an ROUS to appear. Overall, though, this was a good flick; so good, in fact, that I’m actually wary of watching it again — I don’t want to give myself nightmares.