Saw MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -4

In this horror film, Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and a young man named Adam (Leigh Whannell) awaken to find themselves chained to pipes in a filthy, abandoned bathroom. Between them is a dead man with a gun in one hand and a cassette player in the other. And in each of their pockets is a tape with a message from their abductor, who has pitted them against one another in a game and watches from hidden camcorders. Dr. Gordons goal is to kill Adam or allow his wife (Monica Potter) and daughter (Makenzie Vega) to be killed, while Adam receives a pair of handsaws that he must use or die. But the saws will not cut his chains. They will only work on his legs. As Adam and Dr. Gordon struggle to survive, Detective Tapp (Danny Glover) is on their abductors trail and must solve the mystery before someone does the unthinkable.

Saw is a sickening tribute to the depraved mind. The victims are those who have gone astray morally, but the film has no redeeming qualities and merely glorifies and dwells on some of the most utterly evil behavior imaginable. Granted, this is a horror film and the people who go expect to be scared, but it would be difficult for all but the most desensitized viewer to not be traumatized by the graphic and sadistic violence in this film. The characters undergo hellish torment and torture. They are pawns in a satanic game in which the goals are physical, emotional and psychological pain and ultimately death. This is not merely a portrayal of evil. It is, instead, an expression of Romans 1:30, which describes sinful humanity as inventors of evil. Preview strongly urges that you avoid this film. No one needs to dwell on the evil things invented by man.

Preview Reviewer: Shaun Daugherty
Distributor: Lions Gate