Saw is one of the most successful horror franchises of all time, but the billion-dollar franchise had humble beginnings as a short film. James Wanand Leigh Whannellconceptualized Saw in the mid-to-late 90s, but at the time, making a short film was still pretty novel as there was no YouTube, and it was difficult to gain buzz or traction. So, the pair had to do the rounds of Hollywood and, to their surprise, the movie was picked up, and the rest is history. Set mostly in one location, Saw is a relatively simple film that asks questions of its audience by presenting ethical dilemmas packaged in extreme life-or-death situations.
'Saw' was One of the Pioneers of Early 2000s Horror
Saw was one of the key players in spawning the ‘torture porn’ sub-genre, particularly due to the gory trap set pieces of the later movies in the franchise. However, the original movie is not all that graphic, with a limited budget of just over a million dollars, most of the violence is off-screen and shown through glimpses. Instead, the movie is much more focused on its ethical messaging and confronting viewers with difficult moral dilemmas, tackling themes of family, class, deviance and addiction. The victims - a drug addict, a benefit cheat, an absent, adulterous husband, a voyeuristic photographer - are all morally gray and realistic characters who could be seen as victims of a broken system. Saw never lingers on the violence, instead spending more time on conversation that develops its characters, particularly Adam (played by Whannell) and Dr Gordon (Cary Elwes). It asks whether they are inherently morally bad people or if they are good people that do bad things; and the answer is never concrete.
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Whannell and Elwes create complex characters who are sympathetic, and their closeness encourages empathy, but this is interspersed with moments of tension created by the reveals of their misdeeds and the overbearing reality that they probably won't survive. It is emotionally complex and, in isolation, doesn’t warrant the torture porn label. As the series progresses, the focus shifts from dialogue to the extremity of the traps, which is where the splatter sub-genre is seen much more intensely. However, the movie was influenced by a post-9/11 world, and a societal feeling of insecurity. Saw reflects the sociopolitical fears of the time, when there was a lot of torture going on in the world. Wan explained to Hollywood Reporter that this had helped him find peace with the torture porn accusations “from a historical standpoint”, but only because he and Whannell had gone on to do other things. Although, at the time of making Saw, the torture porn label felt derogatory to the thought and craft that had gone into the screenplay.
The Influence of 'Saw' Can Be Seen All Over the Movie Industry
The non-linear structure of Saw was hugely influential. It was not only the trap victims who were invited to “play a game”, but the audience were encouraged to piece together the clues and make sense of the non-linear progression. The complexity of the plotting can be seen all over modern storylines, particularly the episodic nature as the franchise progresses, with the movies often ending on cliffhangers, which means they slot together like an out-of-order jigsaw. The way stories spill over, requiring audiences to have knowledge of the prior movies, was not an idea pioneered by Saw, but the franchise is one of the most effective uses of this approach. It allows characters to flow in and out of the story effortlessly, creating shocking twists and turns. This serialization is commonplace in Marvel movies, where viewers are rewarded when they have seen previous movies. The fingerprints of Saw can be seen all over this formula. The series also became notorious for its shock endings that reframe not just the movie you were watching, but the whole trajectory of the franchise. This all began with the 2004 movie, which remains one of the greatest twists in horror history, one the genre is still trying to top, which begs viewers to rewatch the movie and pick up on all the clues they missed.
Saw was hugely influential in its set design, showing one location could generate infinite profits. The movie was filmed in 18 days at a warehouse in Los Angeles. This closed location helped production keep costs down without jeopardizing the narrative. However, it also influenced a wave of single location horrors that also employ the death-game sub-genre. The increased popularity of escape room horror movies that feature traps is directly influenced by Saw. Movies such as The Collector, Escape Room, The Platform and Bodies, Bodies, Bodies show clear parallels to the intricate trap details of the Saw franchise, where the rules of the death game become so integral to the plot they are almost a character themselves. Although Saw itself was inspired by movies such as Se7en and Cube, the escape room sub-genre has seen a huge surge in popularity post-Saw, and the franchise has to be given credit for this rise.
‘Saw’ Started the Career of Two of the Biggest Names in Horror
Image via Lionsgate
Today, the makers of Saw remain two of the biggest names in horror. The pair created the Insidious franchise, another hugely successful and influential series that spawned a number of sequels and was also made for a relatively low budget. Leigh Whannell is now reimagining classic Universal monsters, such as The Invisible Man in 2020 and the upcoming Wolf Man. James Wan launched his own production company in 2016 called Atomic Monster, which merged with horror behemoth Blumhouse in 2022, with Wan serving as producer for some of the biggest horror releases of the last few years. He has also moved away from horror to direct Jason Momoa inAquaman and its sequel.
Saw was an independent phenomenon that proved a low budget project had the opportunity to flourish into a household name, a model seen inParanormal Activityand, most recently, Terrifier. Although the franchise declined in popularity, the recent Saw X brought back John Kramer (Tobin Bell) and Amanda (Shawnee Smith) from the original and became the highest grossing entry in over 15 years, paving the way for Saw XI. The nostalgia and love for Saw has never faded and, 20 years later, it remains one of the greatest horror movies ever made.
Saw
Two strangers awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, and soon discover they're pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.
Image via Lions Gate Films
Image via Lionsgate 
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