Saw (2004) – WTF Happened to This Horror Movie?

Thanks to festival screenings, there was a lot of positive word-of-mouth about James Wan‘s feature directorial debut Saw (watch it HERE) before the film received its wide release in October of 2004. When the world had the chance to see it, the hype increased, and Saw ended up earning over $100 million at the global box office on a budget of just $1 million. In the new episode of our video series WTF Happened to This Horror Movie?, we’re looking into the making of this film that spawned one of the biggest horror franchises of the last twenty years. Check it out in the embed above!

Scripted by Leigh Whannell from a story he and Wan crafted together, Saw has the following synopsis:

Photographer Adam Stanheight and oncologist Lawrence Gordon regain consciousness while chained to pipes at either end of a filthy bathroom. As the two men realize they’ve been trapped by a sadistic serial killer nicknamed “Jigsaw” and must complete his perverse puzzle to live, flashbacks relate the fates of his previous victims. Meanwhile, Dr. Gordon’s wife and young daughter are forced to watch his torture via closed-circuit video.

The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Tobin Bell, and Whannell.

This is what the WTF Happened to This Horror Movie series is all about:

Hollywood has had its fair share of historically troubled productions. Whether it was casting changes, actor deaths, fired directors, in-production rewrites, constant delays, budget cuts or studio edits, these films had every intention to be a blockbuster, but were beset with unforeseen disasters. Sometimes huge hits, sometimes box office bombs. Either way, we have to ask: WTF Happened To This Horror Movie?

The Saw episode of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie was Written, Edited, and Narrated by Tyler Nichols, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

Some of the previous episodes of the show can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!