Saw

I didn't need the epileptic camera none-sense and the metallic soundtrack, but I admit that Saw is a good horror film, certainly above average by current standards. But I only realized this because of the great, great, great ending - until then I thought I was watching a rip-off of Seven, in which the characters occasionally do horribly stupid things (blinding illumination, by lightning, for example). (2013-01-11)

There are quite a few things that didn’t come together, the acting isn't the best, but given the filmmakers' enthusiasm, the budget, the ideas (viewing a room through a camera flash), and most importantly, the brilliant and formally bombastic ending, it deserves a buck. Too bad the sequels just ruin the name of this awesome thriller. (2005-03-28)

The overwhelming majority of films in this style don't even fall into the B-movie category; they're more like C-movies and have a woefully semi-amateurish character. Saw significantly stands out from these productions with its professionalism and is currently the actual pinnacle of the genre. It boasts a relatively sophisticated script, professional direction, editing, camera work, and acting performances that don't elicit disdainful smiles. Along with its horror atmosphere, strongly naturalistic shots, and effective ending, it creates a perfect cocktail to become a box office hit. On the other hand, the script isn't so well-developed that it can avoid inconsistencies and some clichés. The editing at times resembles music video production, and the flashbacks only serve to delay the story. Overall impression: 60%. Subsequent installments of this film lacked the originality of the original and were merely squeezing money from the pockets of viewers. (2007-12-01)

This basic premise was without the slightest clue of what I was getting into, and without the knowledge that I would see it countless times in future installments, it was really perfect back then. Despair, the unknown, and people in a strongly oppressive environment and situation still function today. It's a shame that with Jigsaw came the tormented cliché of "I'm aiming at you, but I'll wait until you take the weapon from me", because without it, Wan would have aimed really high. What the script loses here, it gains with the point. It may be problematic, full of holes, and perhaps even impossible, but it can't be taken away from it that it is truly unforgettable. The new Se7en may not have come then, but with a decade of hindsight and the presence of unbalanced sequels, the first Saw has matured into very favorable colors. 70% (2006-02-03)

A delight. The triumph is not so much the story itself, but rather its imaginative compositional structure – the uncompromising way it throws us into the plot, the brilliantly constructed atmosphere of hopelessness and physical danger, and the gradual uncovering of the past, which allows us to patiently, bit by bit, look deeper and deeper into the whole plot scheme and absorb its depressing atmosphere with an ever-increasing heart rate. The action-packed ending almost brings down the seriousness of the whole thing to the level of a furiously edited teenage murder mystery (comparisons with Se7en are therefore inappropriate in this respect and others), but the murderous, unpredictable twist puts a crown on a great script, which despite its exaggerated effect impressed me massively. An innovative and extremely entertaining game with proven genre elements and, among others, absolutely (for most of the runtime) amazing editing and awesome soundtrack... Content-wise, it has its flaws, but formally it’s 5* without any doubt. 85% (2012-04-09)