31 Days of Spookoween: DAY NINETEEN
Film #19: Saw (2003)
Review: James Wan's early short is a wonderful, if extremely brief and simplistic, horror story. While mildly amateurish in spots (clearly, Wan was still learning quite a bit as a filmmaker when he made this, and the same can be said about any earlier work from any director), "Saw"'s overall effect is highly successful. It is a genuinely scary treat for fans of more disturbing, harsh horror (although, despite the "Saw" movies now being known for their abundance of "torture porn", the gore/blood in this film is extremely minimal; most of the disturbance is more psychological, which is always great to see), and it's short enough to be viewed by almost anyone, no matter how busy their schedule may seem.