The writers of the now-famed Saw franchise knew they wanted to make a movie, but they weren’t sure what….until they sat down and started to brainstorm on what kind of film they could make with a budget as small as theirs. That’s when they decided to confine it to one room. After asking themselves, why would these people be stuck in one room the whole movie, the storyline for Saw began to form. The result is a thriller reminiscent of Seven. Two guys wake up in an empty cell-like room, chained in place. They turn on a cassette tape player, to hear the voice of their kidnapper telling them how they’ve wasted their lives and what they have to do in order to get out of the room. Through some riddles and a series of tests, the men find that the way to safety is going to be a lot more painful than they thought.
Fun & Freaky Facts:
• This movie was shot and cut in 18 days.
• The actors had no rehearsals before filming.
• A casting director for the movie asked director James Wan who he would cast in the role of Amanda. James suggested Shawnee Smith (who ended up getting the part) because he’d had a crush on her when he was a teen.
• Many of the scare scenes were inspired by nightmares that co-writer/director James and co-writer/star Leigh Whannell had as kids.
• When Amanda is sifting through her cellmate’s guts, she’s actually touching pig uterus.
