• Quotes (28)
• Trivia (13)
• Goofs (4)
• Plot Description
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Directed by
James Wan Written by
James Wan, Leigh Whannell Cast
Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Ken Leung, Dina Meyer [more]
Release Date
• USA: Oct 29, 2004
• UK: 1 Oct 2004
DVD Release Date
• R1: Feb 15, 2005
• R2: 21 Feb 2005
Budget $1,000,000
BoxOffice: $55.2M
Official Website:
Saw Website
MPAA Rating
Rated R for strong grisly violence and language. (edited for re-rating; originally NC-17)
Running Time
1 hour, 40 minutes
Country USA
Production Companies
Evolution Entertainment, Saw Productions Inc., Twisted Pictures
Studio Lions Gate Films
More info on IMDb.com
Other Titles
• Saw (2004)
• Saww
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Saw Reviews |
Saw is the kind of gratifying experience that you want to have with an audience so you can hear the screams, sense the dread and delight in the looks your friends give you that read “did I just see what I thought I saw?” Yes, you did. Although you may not have seen everything until it’s all over...and then you’ll want to go back and see it again. [read review] 
--Erik Childress (eFilmCritic.com)
You could forgive all of the movie's flaws if there were any chills or scares to this sordid little horror affair. But "Saw" director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell, who developed the story together, have come up with nothing more than an exercise in unpleasantry and ugliness. [read review] D-
--David Germain (TheJournalNews)
'Saw' combines the claustrophobic puzzle-solving of Vincenzo Natali's 'Cube' with the dark morality of David Fincher's Se7en, but perhaps the greatest influence on its surreal grand guignol and its masked killer is Italy's grand master of the giallo genre, Dario Argento. [read review] 8/10
--Anton Bitel (Movie Gazette)
Behind the incessant gore and outrageous shock value of Saw, there lies a great idea for a movie. The conception of Saw, a grisly and jolting horror film of superior intelligence and primal energy, is evidence of the filmmakers' startling understanding of fear. [read review] 
--Jack Moore (The Movie Insider)
SAW still managed to crank me into its vice, knock me over the head with its fascinating mystery and ultimately provide me with an all-around snuff-like atmosphere, complete with dreary sets, creepy characters and human torture disguised as entertainment. [read review] 8/10
--'JoBlo' (JoBlo.com)
Wan's direction is confident and even, surprisingly so for a first-time filmmaker. The pace is quick, the editing is sharp. It is a slick production, to be sure, and it works itself up to a whirling grand guignol of a finale that caused me and many around me to nearly soil our pants in surprise. [read review] B+
--Eric D. Snider (EricDSnider.com)
Saw barely makes up for all these annoying problems with a clever ending; one that solely transforms the movie from silly cliche into a uniquely intelligent movie. The ending is clever enough to stand above some of the better surprise endings in recent film history, including the entire filmography of M. Night Shyamalan. [read review] 6/10
--Aaron West (Movie-Vault.com)
Saw is a movie made by people hoping the moviegoers will be dimwitted enough to be tricked by its blatant manipulative structure. The movie has a few memorable devices, but aside from that and a great opening, Saw is a film that displays lots of blood onscreen but obviously has very little pumping through its own veins. [read review] 
--Lee Chase IV (CultureDose.net)
Akin to other contemporary films that depend on gimmicks like sinuous storytelling and surprise endings, Saw may not stand up on repeat viewings. At the end of the day it's just a flashy story peppered with stylish characters born in an era where film audiences are craving real sustenance. It's pretty good for a Bryan Singer or a Christopher Nolan. But a Brian De Palma it's not. [read review] 
--Lucas Stensland (CultureDose.net)
...a taut thriller, well acted, well shot, simply well executed. If you can deal with shrieking girls in your theater (which I can...barely), and some genuinely gruesome moments (you’ll never look at a toilet the same way again), it definitely deserves alook. [read review]
--Carl Lyon (MonstersAtPlay.com)
It tries hard, it works overtime, and at times, you can see quite clearly where it wants to go. But its limitations prove too cumbersome, and though occasionally frightening, it never musters the juice to clear its hurdles. Saw shows all the ambitions ofa great thriller -- give Wan and his crew some time and they'll probably make one -- but right now, ambition alone just isn't enough. [read review] C
--Rob Vaux (Flipsidemovies.com)
"Saw" has a few perversely scary moments, mostly involving ingenious ways in which the psycho has killed before. But there aren't enough to carry a 100-minute film — and the trick denouement makes the already-incomprehensible plot even more ludicrious. [read review] 
--V.A. Musetto (New York Post)
Saw is a giallo through and through. Sadly the film reminds me more of Argento's weaker work like Trauma or The Card Player but without his panache for inventive visuals which even those films possessed. Visually I found the film to be quite mediocre. [read review] 
--Mike Pereira (Bloody-Disgusting.com)
SAW has the makings of a great horror film. It isn't as generic as most thrillers, but falls on some bad habits anyway. Wan and Whannell are great when it comes to setup and suspense, but they need to dispense with the flashy Hollywood conceits. [read review]
--Scott W. Davis (HorrorExpress.com)
But then SAW redeems itself with a final twist that is so supremely unexpected as to elicit gasps, also of the first order, as it then proceeds to close the curtain with an ending that will haunt you forever [read review] 
--Andrea Chase (Killer Movie Reviews)
As long as it's dreaming up diabolical challenges, ''Saw'' displays a certain steely nerve. But the movie is seriously undermined by the half-baked, formulaic detective story in which the horror is framed. [read review]
--Stephen Holden (The New York Times)
“Saw” is a very entertaining, edge-of-the-seat thriller. Occasionally the performances are uneven, but in summary the movie seems rather brilliant, and a sign of great things to come from director Wan. [read review] 
--John Ulmer (Movie-Gurus.com)
Saw is an unapologetically butchering, disturbing, and clever piece of psychological horror. ... combines the best elements of prison-escape films, psycho-thrillers, and treasure hunts. [read review] B+
--Jeff Wilser (TheCinemaSource)
This isn’t as mind blowing as I had hoped, and, well, Se7en, but this is an awfully solid thriller that horror fans will love and the average thriller fan should dig on as well. [read review] 7/10
--'The Grim Ringler' (JackassCritics.com)
I truly enjoyed every aspect of this film, except for one, and some may find me going way over the top by saying this, but it's got to be said. The soundtrack ruined the film. [read review] 
--nelsOn (Bloody-Disgusting.com)
Here’s a novelty: a recent mainstream Hollywood shocker that isn’t a sequel, a prequel, a remake or attempting to be in some way ‘ironic’. It’s also pretty damn fine to boot. [read review]
-- (terrorwatch.net)
Saw is a true wonder as instead of being a simple horror film, it is a deeply complex and disturbing film that showcases two talented individuals in a very impressive debut. [read review]
--Gareth Von Kallenbach (MovieWeb)
With its freshness and energy, Saw bucks the horror trend towards formula story-telling and proves that enough qualities in the "plus column" can overcome a weak ending. [read review] 
--James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
Some of the film is truly thrilling, but by and large it’s the usual dude-in-a-closet kind of scares, relying on a captured child and wife to manufacture suspense. [read review]
--Christopher Null (FilmCritic.com)
Director James Wan plays with his dark tone and unnerving camera tricks, which blend perfectly with the extreme torture in Whannell's screenplay. [read review] B
--Craig Younkin (Lee's Movie Info)
Complex, tricksy, gruesome and thoroughly entertaining, SAW is like Cube meets Seven and bodes well for the future of its writer-director team. [read review]
--Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
Keeping the grins off my pleasured face was such a tough job when i first saw SAW, i mean the movie totally made my insides weep for more. [read review]
-- (terrorwatch.net)
This film's highest priority is the blood and the sawing of leg bones; as for teasing the viewer's brain, that's lower on the list. [read review]
--Desson Thomson (Washington Post)
I guarantee this to be one of the most kick ass movies you'll ever see - the stuff nightmares are made of... [read review]
--Mr Disgusting (Bloody-Disgusting.com)
A good original movie. Keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat with suspsense. Recommended. [read review] 8/10
--FrighT MasteR (UHM)
Scarier than, and much more stomach turning, than Blair Witch Project. Leave your stomach at home. [read review]
--Chuck Schwartz (The Cranky Critic)
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