46
Metascore
32 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Film ThreatFilm ThreatMay 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.
- 80EmpireKim NewmanEmpireKim NewmanAs good an all-out, non-camp horror movie as we’ve had lately.
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliSaw is for hard-gore horror aficionados only.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckBoasts an undeniably original premise and clever plot machinations that lift it several notches above the usual slasher film level.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanSaw 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.
- 60Dallas ObserverLuke Y. ThompsonDallas ObserverLuke Y. ThompsonIt's brutal horror, where anyone can die at any time, and gorehounds will love it. Average folks may find it too intense.
- 50Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversIt's gross as hell.
- 50Village VoiceMark HolcombVillage VoiceMark HolcombWith its toilet-bobbing and blood spurting and Elwes's fey, Vincent Price–like mugging, Saw succeeds in capturing something like Takashi Miike by way of William Castle. Happy Halloween, indeed.
- 40L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyA story that's so ridiculous you'll at least be entertained by the outrageous plot contortions to come.
- 30The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasThough 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.