Saw (2004)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

James Wan

Writers:

Leigh Whannell (written by)
James Wan (story) ...

Release Date:

29 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Death is a shortcut (Denmark)

Plot:

With a dead body laying between them, two men wake up in the secure lair of a serial killer who's been nicknamed "Jigsaw" by the police because of his unusual calling card.

Plot Keywords:

Killer | Flashback | Serial Killer | Chained | Police

Awards:

4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Leigh Whannell	...	Adam Faulkner-Stanheight
Cary Elwes	...	Dr. Lawrence Gordon
Danny Glover	...	Detective David Tapp
Ken Leung	...	Detective Steven Sing
Dina Meyer	...	Kerry
Mike Butters	...	Paul
Paul Gutrecht	...	Mark
Michael Emerson	...	Zep Hindle
Benito Martinez	...	Brett
Shawnee Smith	...	Amanda
Makenzie Vega	...	Diana Gordon
Monica Potter	...	Alison Gordon
Ned Bellamy	...	Jeff
Alexandra Bokyun Chun	...	Carla (as Alexandra Chun)
Avner Garbi	...	Father

MPAA:

Rated R for strong grisly violence and language. (edited for re-rating; originally NC-17)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS (5.1 surround)

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | USA:Unrated (uncut DVD version) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:R (Alberta) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) | Canada:18A | Netherlands:16 | Germany:16 (cut version) | Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:16 | Mexico:C | South Korea:18 | France:-16 (with warning) | Italy:VM14 (cinema rating) | India:A (cinema release) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-18 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:T | Japan:R-15 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Philippines:R-13 | Portugal:M/18 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (edited for re-rating) | Greece:K-17

Filming Locations:

Lacy Street Production Center - 2630 Lacy Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Evolution Entertainment

Trivia:

Principal photography was done in a converted warehouse. The bathroom set was built while the other locations were existing rooms redressed.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Close-ups of the newspaper clippings lining Tapp's apartment walls show headlines about the Jigsaw Killer's murders...but the articles have nothing to do with the headlines, and the datelines have the news stories in different cities, ranging from Virginia to California.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Adam: Help! Someone help me! Is someone there? Hey! Oh shit, I'm probably dead.

Movie Connections:

References Profondo rosso (1975)

Soundtrack:

Bite the Hand That Bleeds

Well made horror/thriller, two thumbs up

When two men, wake up and find themselves chained to a bathroom pipe, with a dead body lying in between them, they soon realize that they are prisoners, in the secure lair of a serial killer, nicknamed 'Jigsaw'.

This film was, in my opinion, exciting, thrilling, and an overall entertaining film to watch. It delivered the necessary chills, to keep its audiences fully awake, and engaged. This was an enormous achievement for Aussie newcomers – James Wan, and Leigh Wannell. The two have created a well-deserved horror/thriller, without the necessary clichés.The film is not too scary that it becomes unwatchable, so the full potential of its enormity will not be missed. definitely two thumbs uo for me.