In one of the most gripping and disturbing scenes of 2004, a doctor escapes the shackles of a sinister serial killer named Jigsaw by cutting off his own leg with a … wait why’s the audience laughing? This isn’t supposed to be funny.

“Saw” would have been scary and disturbing if it hadn’t been so funny. It wouldn’t have been so funny if the acting hadn’t been so bad. The acting wouldn’t have been so bad if the script didn’t have some of the poorest dialogue ever written. Most people trapped in a room with a dead body would panic. These guys, however, thought it would be better to socialize like middle school girls during a sleepover.

Like any horror movie, “Saw” has a moving climax with Carey Elwes, the star of movies like “The Princess Bride” and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” feeling angry, sad and afraid, while the only emotion the viewer experiences is humor. “Saw” really wanted to be frightening. It had a lot of gore, a creepy soundtrack and a dark, grainy look to it. Unfortunately, all this did was make its shortcomings more apparent.

If you’re looking for more unintended laughs, try any of the other attempts at a horror movie this year: “Darkness,” “Twisted,” “The Grudge,” “Exorcist: The Beginning,” it doesn’t matter which one you pick. You’d be better off renting “The Shining” or “Seven” instead.