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Saw (2003 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Saw' (retroactively referred to as 'Saw 0.5') is an Australian short horror film, released in 2003. It was directed by James Wan and written by Wan and Leigh Whannell, the latter also starring in it. It was originally used to pitch their script for a full-length feature film of the same name to various studios and actors. The full-length film was eventually made in 2004. The short film later became a scene in the feature itself, with Shawnee Smith as Amanda Young wearing the reverse bear trap device instead of David. The original short can be viewed on the second disc of 'Saw: Uncut Edition'. The song "Happiness in Slavery (remix)" by Nine Inch Nails is featured in the first scene and end credits of the film. The song "Die Eier von Satan" by Tool is featured in various cutscenes of the film.
Plot
A young and dazed hospital orderly named David sits in a room and is interrogated by an unnamed unsympathetic police officer. David is in handcuffs, his shirt and face are smeared with blood. He tells the officer that after he finished his work as an orderly at the hospital, he was knocked unconscious and taken to a large room.
Inside the room, David is strapped to a chair with a large, rusty metal device locked onto his head. To his left is a small television, which begins playing a video showing a frightening puppet that tells him that the device on his head is a "reverse bear trap", which is hooked into his jaws and will wrench his jaws apart with great force if he does not unlock it in time. The puppet tells David that the only key to unlock the device is in the stomach of his dead cellmate.
David manages to break free of his bonds, but accidentally activates the trap's timer upon standing up. Across the room, David finds his cellmate that the puppet mentioned, but also finds that he is actually alive but under paralysis. Nonetheless, a panicked David cuts him open, and after finding the key, unlocks the device and throws it to the ground, just as it snaps open. David begins to scream and weep in horror.
At the entrance to the room, the puppet from the video appears on a tricycle and congratulates David for his survival, telling him that he has proven to be no longer ungrateful for being alive.
When David finishes his story, the police asks him if he is grateful for his survival, prompting the former to burst out crying again before he can answer. In the final scene, a dilapidated bathroom is seen with an eye looking through a hole in the tiled wall.
Cast
* Leigh Whannell as David
* Paul Moder as Cop
* Katrina Mathers as Nurse
* Dean Francis as Body
Production
Prior to 2003, colleagues James Wan and Leigh Whannell had begun writing a script based for a horror film, citing inspiration from their dreams and fears. Upon completing the script, Whannell and Wan had wanted to select an excerpt from their script, later to be known as 'Saw', and film it to pitch their film to studios. With the help of Charlie Clouser, who had composed the score for the film, and a few stand-in actors, Whannell and Wan shot the film with relatively no budget. Whannell had decided to star in the film as well.
During filming, it was said that the trap used on Whannell was revealed to be fully functional and very rusted, making it very dangerous. The version of the trap used in the full film was made safer and had artificial rust. Wan later revealed that the film was shot in just over eight days. Upon completing the film, the pair traveled to Lions Gate Studios to screen the film. Lions Gate immediately accepted the deal and got approved for a budget to make their script into a full feature film. Instead of being paid in advance, Wan and Whannell agreed to take a percentage of the profits from the film's release, which turned out to be much more than initially expected.
This allowed for the creation of 'Saw', a film that was intended to be a direct-to-DVD release that was later released into theaters worldwide after it received a positive reaction at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2004. The film retained the scene from the short, which was reshot with different actors. Leigh Whannell would also return to star in the full-length film, and in 'Saw III'.
Legacy
The "reverse bear trap" was also featured in 'Saw', 'Saw VI,' and 'Saw 3D' on fictional characters Amanda Young, Mark Hoffman, and Jill Tuck, respectively. Hoffman wore a modernized, cleaner, and less bulky version, while Amanda and Jill got the trap modeled after the original used in this film. The "reverse bear trap" has since become an iconic symbol of the series.
After the release of the full-length 'Saw', the film was met with overwhelming success in the box office both domestically and internationally. The film ended up grossing in America, and in other countries, totaling over worldwide. This was over profit, over 80 times the production budget. This greenlit the sequel 'Saw II', and later the rest of the 'Saw' franchise based on the yearly success of the previous installment. Since its inception, 'Saw' has become one of the highest-grossing horror franchises of all time worldwide in unadjusted dollars. In the United States only, 'Saw' is the second-highest-grossing horror franchise, behind only the 'Friday the 13th' films by a margin of .
References
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