Hey MrJay,
Let me start by telling you that it's irrelevant that you used DIY rigs and crappy equipment. What matters is what eventually shows on screen, even if you didn't have any budget. Some films have a lot of money behind them and still seem pretty cheaply made and vice versa.
As for your scene - The key moment of this scene is someone having a tough time looking at someone else sawing off another, unconscious, guy's arm. While I don't necessarily need to understand why this is happening at this particular scene, I would like to at least feel the tension that the character feels just before the sawing happens. Because that character, like me, the viewer, is watching these events unfold. So I need to feel the tension along with him. I feel this is missed in the directing, acting and perhaps in the editing as well.
The editing, though not serving its purpose correctly - to my liking at least, is technically done very well. It flows right, it's paced right and works well this the music. The cinematography is decent and works well enough and the camerawork is also good.
I'll point out the actor's tension isn't acted well at all, even if it's your friend. As a director, this is something that you must work on and since he is not a real actor you must venture through many techniques until you can guide him to properly act what your vision entitles him to. For example, you can't just tell him to act tense or scared, because he doesn't know how to do that without it actually happening to him. You need to try a different approach. Working with non-actors is big deal and takes time to become good at. Just like becoming a good cinematographer and editor - whereas your "toolbox" of knowledge grows with time, so does it grow as a director. It doesn't just happen by directing more and more, it happens by learning about the craft and doing a lot of rehearsals and blocking. I'd give you a tip for this specific actor to try > Make him sit in an overheated room with a snow coat on and make him do some jumping jacks, eventually he will start soaking up and breathing heavily. Then quickly bring him on set, remove his coat and capture that energy on camera. This is just a tip of course, there are plenty of ideas you can try.
Last note - Production Design. This thing is usually left out from no-budget films and is extremely important. You made sure you have your key items: A saw, blood and a bathtub. You should try to remember that you'd also want to dress your actors properly. For example, the random gray shirt looks a bit out of context and way too clean for someone who has just "done something" like this. Think about what happened before we got to this point, mess up the shirt a bit, fill it with sweat marks, a bit of dirt... give it the appropriate history it deserves. Attention to every detail help build for a more believable scene.
Ok that's it. I hope this didn't sound too harsh, but I'm trying to point you in what I believe is the right direction and what I would hope to have been told a few years back instead of learning it through trail and error.
Good luck man!
If you're gonna ask for critiques, you might wanna allow for at least a few days.
