THE question is - can you hack Saw?

Because, although this most impressive horror experience is the best shocker to arrive in the cinema for a very long time indeed, it may also be a bloody moment too far for more squeamish viewers.

Reminiscent of David Fincher's Se7en, it was put together completely in five months by two rookies, director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell, who have clearly studied their Dario Argento "how to make a good horror movie" textbook.

And for amateurs, they've done a terrific job, knocking dross like Jeepers Creepers way, way out of the water.

The Princess Bride's Cary Elwes takes a lead role as Dr Lawrence Gordon, who, along with a stranger, Adam (Whannell), wakes up in a dark and dingy bathroom to find himself chained to a metal pipe.

In between the two men lies another man in a pool of blood, and as notes in their pockets soon reveal, they are in fact the latest victims of the demented man known only as Jigsaw.

Note, we can't say serial killer here, as Jigsaw's unique strategy is to put people in such awful situations that they may be forced to take their own lives or the lives of others.

Despite some absolutely woeful acting, and terrible moments where you're shouting at the screen in frustration "oh, just shoot him!", Saw is to be highly recommended to all fans of fright.

There's a brilliant nasty puppet which looks like a clown, barbed wire, the titular saw, a rabbit trap and countless other devices to chill your blood and have you peering at the screen through your fingers.

Jigsaw's previous "killings", revealed in flashback, are seriously savage, with the tension hitting the "unbearable" level.

True, it does come across like a Marilyn Manson video in parts, complete with horrible Charlie "Nine Inch Nails" Clouser soundtrack, but, bottom line, Saw happily sticks the knife in and twists it twice.

Hurrah!