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34
10,000 B.C.
55
Baby Mama
62
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36
College Road Trip
82
Dark Knight, The
31
Deception
41
Drillbit Taylor
57
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67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
54
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49
Hancock
34
Happening, The
57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
78
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71
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61
Incredible Hulk, The
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
79
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57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
35
Jumper
73
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24
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37
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52
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43
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58
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48
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55
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22
Postal
69
Redbelt
44
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53
Sex and the City: The Movie
76
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37
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35
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37
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61
Stop Loss
47
Strangers, The
55
Street Kings
33
Superhero Movie
93
WALL-E
64
Wanted
36
What Happens in Vegas...
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
79
Iron Man
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
76
Shine a Light
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Horton Hears a Who!
69
Redbelt
67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
62
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The
61
Stop Loss
61
Incredible Hulk, The
58
Mist, The
57
Forbidden Kingdom, The
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
55
Street Kings
55
Nim's Island
55
Baby Mama
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
52
Mamma Mia!
49
Hancock
48
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
47
Strangers, The
44
Ruins, The
43
Meet Dave
41
Drillbit Taylor
37
Made of Honor
37
Shutter
37
Speed Racer
36
College Road Trip
36
What Happens in Vegas...
35
Jumper
35
Space Chimps
34
Happening, The
34
10,000 B.C.
33
Superhero Movie
31
Deception
24
Love Guru, The
22
Postal
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

83
Alexandra
39
August
80
Band's Visit, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
79
Before I Forget
47
Bella
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
60
Blind Mountain
55
Bra Boys
61
Brick Lane
70
Caramel
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
83
Chop Shop
82
Chris & Don. A Love Story
78
Counterfeiters, The
75
Days and Clouds
48
Death Defying Acts
54
Diminished Capacity
47
Doorman, The
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
85
Edge of Heaven, The
27
Eight Miles High
54
Elsa & Fred
81
Encounters at the End of the World
62
Expired
64
Fall, The
54
Felon
51
Finding Amanda
57
Flawless
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
60
Fugitive Pieces
72
Full Battle Rattle
45
Full Grown Men
31
Garden Party
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69
Go-Getter, The
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
59
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
10
Harold
68
Heartbeat Detector
36
Holding Trevor
68
Honeydripper
55
Irina Palm
66
Jellyfish
58
Jihad for Love, A
66
Kabluey
62
Kiss the Bride
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
80
Last Mistress, The
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
74
Lou Reed's Berlin
70
Love Songs
67
Mad Detective
xx
Man Named Pearl, A
64
Married Life
30
Meet Bill
33
Miss Conception
53
Mister Lonely
74
Mongol
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
85
My Winnipeg
61
On the Rumba River
69
Operation Filmmaker
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
70
Outsourced
83
Paranoid Park
72
Priceless
51
Promotion, The
55
Quid Pro Quo
29
Red Roses and Petrol
79
Reprise
71
Roman de gare
77
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
56
Sangre de mi sangre
51
Savage Grace
76
Shotgun Stories
66
Son of Rambow
70
Standard Operating Procedure
57
Stone Angel, The
61
Stuck
72
Surfwise
25
Take
81
Tell No One
56
Then She Found Me
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
71
To the Limit
54
Tracey Fragments, The
69
Transsiberian
71
Trumbo
71
Tuya's Marriage
83
U2 3D
56
Unknown Woman
86
Up the Yangtze
59
Very British Gangster, A
79
Visitor, The
61
Wackness, The
37
War, Inc.
65
Water Lilies
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
55
Without the King
72
Woman on the Beach
64
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Edge of Heaven, The
85
My Winnipeg
83
Chop Shop
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
82
Chris & Don. A Love Story
81
Tell No One
81
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Band's Visit, The
80
Last Mistress, The
79
Reprise
79
Visitor, The
79
Before I Forget
78
Counterfeiters, The
77
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
76
Shotgun Stories
76
Beauty in Trouble
75
Young@Heart
75
Days and Clouds
74
Mongol
74
Lou Reed's Berlin
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Woman on the Beach
72
Full Battle Rattle
72
Priceless
72
Surfwise
71
Tuya's Marriage
71
Trumbo
71
To the Limit
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Roman de gare
70
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Love Songs
70
Outsourced
70
Caramel
69
Transsiberian
69
Operation Filmmaker
69
Go-Getter, The
68
Heartbeat Detector
68
Honeydripper
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
67
Mad Detective
66
Son of Rambow
66
Jellyfish
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
66
Kabluey
65
Water Lilies
64
Married Life
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
64
XXY
64
Fall, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Expired
62
Kiss the Bride
61
Brick Lane
61
Stuck
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
61
Wackness, The
61
On the Rumba River
60
Fugitive Pieces
60
Blind Mountain
59
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
59
Very British Gangster, A
58
Jihad for Love, A
57
Flawless
57
Stone Angel, The
56
Unknown Woman
56
Then She Found Me
56
Sangre de mi sangre
55
Quid Pro Quo
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
55
Irina Palm
55
Bra Boys
55
Without the King
54
Diminished Capacity
54
Felon
54
Tracey Fragments, The
54
Elsa & Fred
53
Mister Lonely
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
51
Finding Amanda
51
Promotion, The
51
Savage Grace
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
48
Death Defying Acts
47
Doorman, The
47
Bella
45
Full Grown Men
39
August
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
37
War, Inc.
36
Holding Trevor
33
Miss Conception
31
Garden Party
30
Meet Bill
29
Red Roses and Petrol
27
Eight Miles High
25
Take
10
Harold
xx
Man Named Pearl, A
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Saw
Lions Gate Films Inc.
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for strong grisly violence and language
Starring
Leigh Whannell,
Cary Elwes,
Monica Potter,
Danny Glover,
Ken Leung,
Dina Meyer,
Tobin Bell,
and
Michael Emerson
Obsessed with teaching his victims the value of life, a deranged, sadistic serial killer is abducting morally wayward people and forcing them to play horrific games for their own survival. Faced with impossible choices, each victim must struggle to win back his/her life, or else die trying. (Lions Gate Films)
| GENRE(S): |
Horror
|
Suspense/Thriller
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Leigh Whannell (also story)
James Wan (story)
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
James Wan
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: February 15, 2005
Video: February 15, 2005
Theatrical: October 29, 2004
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
100 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
90
Film Threat
Heidi Martinuzzi
May be the best independent horror film to have come out since "The Blair Witch Project." It's certainly better than "Blair Witch", and more fun, more gruesome, and more macabre. In a very delightful way.

83
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
The filmmakers piece it together with almost clockwork perfection and deliver it with masterful misdirection, creating the most ingenious, eccentric and brazenly jaundiced psycho-thriller to come along in years.

80
Empire
Kim Newman
As good an all-out, non-camp horror movie as weve had lately.

75
Chicago Tribune
Robert K. Elder
Wan's tense, grisly cinematic morsel won't go down easy. But once it hits bottom, Saw is oddly satisfying, though the gag reflex never entirely goes away.

75
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
Saw is for hard-gore horror aficionados only.

75
San Francisco Chronicle
Carla Meyer
The slasher scenes, though relatively few, are amazingly evocative for such a low-budget movie.

75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Horror fans will find plenty to shriek about. Everyone else should keep their distance.

70
Slate
David Edelstein
Less a classical narrative than an ingenious machine for inducing terror, rage, and paralyzing unease.

70
The Hollywood Reporter
Frank Scheck
Boasts an undeniably original premise and clever plot machinations that lift it several notches above the usual slasher film level.

67
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Saw is a gristle-cut B psycho thriller that would like to tap the sickest corners of your imagination. It has a few moments of nightmare creepiness, but it's also derivative and messy and too nonsensical for its own good.

60
Dallas Observer
Luke Y. Thompson
It's brutal horror, where anyone can die at any time, and gorehounds will love it. Average folks may find it too intense.

60
The New York Times
Stephen Holden
Does a better-than-average job of conveying the panic and helplessness of men terrorized by a sadist in a degrading environment, but it is still not especially scary.

60
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
Saw is so full of twists it ends up getting snarled. For all of his flashy engineering and inventive torture scenarios, the Jigsaw Killer comes across as an amateur. Hannibal Lecter would have him for lunch.

50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Leah McLaren
Let's just say this: It's a lucky thing I wasn't shackled to my seat in the theatre during this movie. I'd be limping home.

50
Boston Globe
Wesley Morris
As long as Saw stays in that big, nasty bathroom, all we need to believe is the knot in our stomachs.

50
Premiere
Aaron Hillis
Spoiled by its own insatiable desire for envelope-pushing flair; its wider-scoped when it should be intimate, splashy instead of subtle, icky but not scary.

50
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Wan's debut feature is a twisted, squirm-inducingly nasty bit of work, which isn't a criticism because that's exactly what he and cowriter Leigh Whannell had in mind.

50
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
An efficiently made thriller, cheerfully gruesome, and finally not quite worth the ordeal it puts us through.

50
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
It's gross as hell.

50
Philadelphia Inquirer
David Hiltbrand
The film is a squeamish exercise, like watching a cruel child pull the wings off flies - especially the climactic scene, which is so gory it would turn a coyote's stomach.

50
Village Voice
Mark Holcomb
With its toilet-bobbing and blood spurting and Elwes's fey, Vincent Pricelike mugging, Saw succeeds in capturing something like Takashi Miike by way of William Castle. Happy Halloween, indeed.

40
LA Weekly
Kim Morgan
A story that's so ridiculous you'll at least be entertained by the outrageous plot contortions to come.

38
USA Today
Mike Clark
Becomes exceedingly disgusting when it wallows in the psychological torture of a child, a no-no under any circumstances.

33
Portland Oregonian
M. E. Russell
What makes Saw so awful is that it starts with a clever premise and then completely blows it.

30
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
Saw has its moments, and most of them are brutal in the extreme, but ultimately it's one tremendous misfire that will either leave you laughing or, possibly, gagging. Not what I'd call a winning combination.

30
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
But humans who live above ground, including horror fans, will find themselves only fitfully entertained and more consistently appalled.

30
Variety
Dennis Harvey
A crude concoction sewn together from the severed parts of prior horror/serial killer pics.

30
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
Though dumber than a box of rocks, Saw forges ahead with the kind of conviction and energy that will keep bad-cinema junkies sitting bolt upright.

25
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
Where "Seven" seemed to radiate diabolical evil, Saw just radiates idiocy.

25
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
A gore movie with no teeth.

25
New York Post
V.A. Musetto
Promoted as "the year's scariest movie," it's anything but.

20
Chicago Reader
J.R. Jones
Sicko horror film from Australia, whose sadism is topped only by its absurdity.


The average user rating for this movie is 6.4 (out of 10) based on 139 User Votes
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