Who could ever forget the horror film Saw (directed by James Wan) from last year? It was one of the most horrifying thrillers of 2004. Well, hold on to your seat, for this review will leave you on the edge. It was a humorless thriller with a new director named Darren Lynn Bousman. His ideas and changes turned out for the better, especially if you like gory movies with enough suspense to keep you breathless.
A hardheaded cop named Eric (Donnie Wahlberg) was investigating the killing of his partner, Michael, who ended up being a “contestant” in Jigsaw’s (Tobin Bell) game. However, he had failed and received a “game over.” Coincidentally, Eric’s son, Daniel (Erik Knudsen) was caught shop-lifting. His father was furious with him. They ended up getting into a huge argument and Daniel stormed off. That was the last time Eric ever saw his son in person.
Another problem for Eric was to solve the mystery of his partner’s death and why he was chosen. After thinking for a while, he realized there was a clue there the whole time. He used that clue and found an abandoned factory with Jigsaw a.k.a. John Jordan. He was placed under house arrest and was questioned. He explained to Eric there was a bigger problem he needed to worry about. He looked at a monitor and saw his son with about seven other people. They were all abandoned in an old house. The game was they needed to find a way out before they died from the deadly gas that was being poured into the house. They had two hours before they would all die from bleeding to death.
Throughout the movie, the seven people in the house faced many difficult challenges individually. The real key for them was to work as a team and survive. However, after the secret got out on how Daniel was Eric’s son, the few people who were part of the team, didn’t want to be a part of it anymore. They all went their separate ways.
Meanwhile, Eric was trying to be patient with Jigsaw’s little game he was being put through, and that was to watch the monitor as his son was dying. Eric’s game was to sit and talk to Jigsaw for three hours, and then he would see his son alive again. Eric’s intuition forced him to find his son himself. Eric brought Jigsaw with him to show him where he was.
The ending of this movie will leave you breathless. In the last five minutes everything seems to come together and truly make you think… If you don’t appreciate life, then maybe you don’t deserve to live.
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