Saw (2004) Worth Watching?

It's about a twisted serial killer who tries to teach his victims the value of life.

Saw was directed by James Wan (who also directed The Curse Of La Llorona and The Conjuring 2) and stars Cary Elwes (from Hellgate and Saw: The Final Chapter), Danny Glover (from Buckout Road and Day Of The Mummy) and Monica Potter (from The Last House On The Left).

Live or die. Make your choice.

Saw opens up with a couple of guys waking up in a dingy room with no idea how they got there. They're chained to the wall and only have a few random items to clue them into why they're there and how to get out. One of the two happens to know of the serial killer behind it and the story begins as he starts to share all of the details.

The movie is more about the police investigation to catch Jigsaw than it is about torture porn, which the franchise became known for. There's only a few victims in this first installment: There's a suicidal guy who tried to cut his wrists has to crawl through a razor wire maze, a guy who gets poisoned and burned to death, a drug addict has to cut a key out of a strangers stomach, a cop who gets his throat slashed, a cop who gets blasted by several shotguns, another guy who gets shot and a guy who gets head bashed by a toilet.

The original Saw feels like a continuation of Se7en ("What's in the box!!?!"), a similarly creative serial killer movie that came out 9 years prior. Se7en involved a fat guy who had to eat himself to death, a lawyer who had to cut out a pound of flesh and a vain woman who had the choice of living with a marred face or offing herself.

Both Saw and Se7en were steeped in a thick atmosphere of urban decay, featuring morally bent people in need of some lesson learning and legendary ending twists. Of course, not all sins warranted a lesson. One guy literally just called into work, Jigsaw burned the guy to death for it.

Saw is a cool movie through and through that offers way more than just blood and gore. There's actually not much of either in this franchise starter. It's more of a mystery than anything else.