Saw

Two strangers awaken in a grimy bathroom, shackled to opposite pipes with no memory of how they got there. A flashing tape plays from a hidden recorder, revealing a sadistic mastermind named Jigsaw and a chilling demand to complete a life altering puzzle. They are told that freedom comes only if they endure a series of increasingly grim tests while keeping faith in their own moral choices. With a corpse at their feet and a clock ticking in the ceiling, they trade questions and suspicions as clues surface about who put them there and why. The tension comes from confinement, the pressure of decisions under threat, and the unsettling sense that someone is watching. The tension never lets up altogether.

Directed by James Wan and co written with Leigh Whannell, Saw started as the pair's own short film before becoming a feature released in 2004 by Lionsgate. The project marked Wan's feature debut and helped launch Whannell's screen career globally.

Saw proved to be a surprising money maker, costing around 1.2 million dollars and grossing roughly 103.9 million worldwide. Its success helped redefine horror's industrial possibilities and encouraged studios to pursue low budget, high concept thrillers and inspired future horror.

Saw helped spark a long running franchise and changed horror marketing with its stripped down setting and inventive traps. The countdown, the turn toward moral games, and the iconic masked figure became a template for later thrillers and countless imitators. The look and feel echoed in many modern horror campaigns.

Critics praised the lean, taut storytelling and efficient use of a single location, while noting the movie's brutal intensity. Viewers grapple with themes around the value of life, free will, and moral choices under pressure, as characters confront consequences that echo beyond the bathroom in film and culture at large.