10 Movies That Thought They Were Smart (But Really Weren't)

8. Saw

Enough time has passed since the release of Saw that it's probably fair to call it a classic of the horror genre: it has been tremendously influential and its success led to 6 sequels, all of which somehow made it to cinemas. The central premise, of two men who wake up chained in a bathroom by a sadistic maniac known as Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), is juicy enough, though writer Leigh Whannell (who also played Adam) couldn't help but try and throw some moral ambiguity into the mix, as is easily the creakiest part of the entire series' mythology. Jigsaw places dozens of characters in depraved if perversely amusing traps throughout the Saw franchise, and it's constantly reiterated to us that "he's never killed anyone", because he gives his "subjects" a chance to escape, and it is merely the lack of a survival instinct that prevents them from escaping. Of course, this is utterly ridiculous, and any court in any part of the civilised world would maintain that Jigsaw brought about the circumstances in which these people were killed, making it tantamount to murder. The movie clearly wants to be thought-provoking, but ends up forcing its philosophy down viewers' throats, and as a result it is laughably unconvincing. It doesn't stop Saw being a great movie, but it's somewhat insulting to any viewer over the age of 15 to think that they'd find this commentary to be profound and interesting rather than immature and po-faced.