FILM · 2004 · USA
Saw
- Directed by
- James Wan
- Runtime
- 103 min
- Studio
- Twisted Pictures
40 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbing tape left behind by the sadistic mastermind known as Jigsaw. With a chilling voice and cryptic instructions, Jigsaw informs them that they must partake in a gruesome game in order to secure their freedom.
40 Interesting Facts About Saw
Interesting Facts (28)
- #001
So the actors could feel what their characters were going through, every bathroom scene was shot in chronological order.
- #002
Contains a major spoiler — show
The Jigsaw Killer's identity is given away in a flashback early on: as Zep (Michael Emerson) says "He's a very interesting person," a diagram of the "Reverse Bear Trap" is lying on John's hospital tray.
- #003
Director James Wan wanted the camerawork to reflect the two leads' emotions and personalities, so he shot Dr. Gordon with steady, controlled camera moves and Adam handheld.
Saw (2004): Adam Faulkner-stanheight, behind the scenesImage: Wikimedia Commons · Cathy Greutert, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #004
Director James Wan gambled by giving up an upfront fee in exchange for a percentage of the film.
- #005
Director James Wan made the Jigsaw puppet himself.
- #006
Contains a major spoiler — show
Leigh Whannell and James Wan confirmed that when Adam starts beating Zep with the toilet tank lid, he is actually hitting a garbage bag full of fake blood.
- #007
Contains a major spoiler — show
When John is lying in the hospital bed, he is holding a small object: the penlight stolen from Dr. Gordon, which later turns up in Mark Wilson's game.
- #008
The film's creators built the Jigsaw puppet completely from scratch; it wasn't a store-bought or modified puppet.
- #009
The film was originally meant to go straight to video, but after positive screenings it was approved for a theatrical release.
- #010
The scene where Dr. Gordon turns off the lights and whispers to Adam was written differently: the two were to saw through opposite ends of a long pipe with hacksaws and talk through it. The scene was shot but cut, because James Wan decided it made no sense that they could saw through a pipe but not their chains.
- #011
Leigh Whannell revealed in an interview that Adam and Lawrence were originally going to be trapped in an elevator.
Saw (2004): Lawrence GordonImage: Wikimedia Commons · Cathy Greutert, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #012
On the DVD commentary, Leigh Whannell says the scene where his character reaches into a filthy toilet is a tribute to Danny Boyle's Trainspotting (1996).
- #013
Contains a major spoiler — show
As Lawrence loads the cartridge to shoot Adam, the camera briefly shows all six chambers of the cylinder are empty. A revolver doesn't eject spent casings, so if the man on the floor had really shot himself with it, a fired case should still be there. What looks like a simple prop mistake is in fact a subtle hint at the twist ending.
- #014
Leigh Whannell came up with John Kramer's brain tumor while spending time on a neurology ward with anxiety and headaches. Going through endless tests and waiting for bad news made him think about his own mortality, and he used that experience to create a man with only a few years left to live.
- #015
Contains a major spoiler — show
The "guts" Amanda digs through after stabbing her cellmate Donnie Greco were really pig uteruses.
- #016
Contains a major spoiler — show
The only dummy in the film is the burned body of Mark, who dies in the fire; every other corpse was played by an actor.
- #017
Contains a major spoiler — show
Going by the date on Dr. Gordon's cell phone, it is September 10, 2001.
- #018
The film has no exterior scenes because the budget didn't stretch to them.
- #019
Producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg said Shawnee Smith had the flu and a 104-degree fever while filming her scenes.
- #020
Contains a major spoiler — show
Leigh Whannell did his own underwater stunt in the opening bathtub scene, staying under while a crew member stood on his chest.
- #021
According to James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the shots cut for the R-rated version included Amanda examining the intestines, Paul struggling with the barbed wire and some forensic footage. Because the MPAA objected to the tone of the cut shown at Sundance, the color was evened out and the sound altered.
- #022
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the fight scene, Leigh Whannell (Adam) landed a real, accidental punch on Michael Emerson (Zep).
- #023
Adam's opening bathtub scene, bathed in blue light, was the first shot on the first day of filming.
- #024
To help sell the film's concept, Leigh Whannell shot a scene of himself apparently caught in the Reverse Bear Trap. There were no visual effects, so he had to put the trap's teeth in his mouth to make it look real.
- #025
The black-and-white photos and forensic pictures in the film were taken by the production photographer, a last-minute fix during editing.
- #026
Shawnee Smith shot all her scenes in one day.
- #027
Contains a major spoiler — show
The Reverse Bear Trap also appeared in the original Saw (2003) short, strapped to a character named David. That scene played out just as it does here, with David escaping seconds before the device went off.
- #028
Contains a major spoiler — show
John actually meant for Adam to be able to escape, which is why he tells him the key to his chain is in the bathtub; but Adam accidentally drains the tub and the key goes down the drain. As Saw III (2006) reveals, Amanda's actions doomed Adam: instead of putting the key in his pocket, she dropped it on his chest, suggesting she knew he might lose it.
Production Story (7)
- #029
James Wan and Leigh Whannell wrote the script in 2001 as a calling card to break into Hollywood. They shot a low-budget short based on one scene, and it did well enough to catch the attention of Evolution Entertainment, which promptly set up a horror label, Twisted Pictures, and gave Wan and Whannell a small budget.
- #030
In post-production, James Wan found he didn't have enough footage to cover many of his scenes, so he and editor Kevin Greutert made their own filler shots, doctoring some to look like surveillance camera footage.
- #031
According to the DVD commentary, director James Wan stated that many of the film's horror scenes were nightmares he and Leigh Whannell had as children.
- #032
Cary Elwes sued the producers and the production company because he received only a nominal salary with back-end profits. He claimed he had been promised 1% of the profits, which would have been a significant amount given that the film earned more than $100 million worldwide. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court, but due to the disputes, Elwes chose not to appear in any of the sequels until Saw 3D (2010).
- #033
The film contains many references to the films of Italian horror and giallo director Dario Argento. The creepy painted puppet is a reference to Argento's Deep Red (1975); the unseen killer's black gloves are one of Argento's trademarks and can be seen in almost all of his films.
- #034
The "X" painted on the wall that glowed in the dark, in the scene when the lights turned off, was actually a light projection of an "X" shape.
- #035
This was director James Wan's first feature film.
Behind the Scenes (1)
- #036
The car chase was shot in the warehouse garage by switching off the lights, adding some fog and rocking the cars while filming from the front.
Characters & Cast (2)
- #037
According to the DVD commentary, casting director Amy Lippens asked James Wan who he wanted for Amanda. On a whim he named Shawnee Smith, whom he'd had a crush on since he was young, and he was surprised when Lippens came back a few days later to say they had signed her.
- #038
Shawnee Smith first turned down the role of Amanda. When it was offered a second time, she watched Leigh Whannell and James Wan's original short and said yes.
Easter Eggs & References (2)
- #039
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Dr. Gordon starts sawing off his foot, Adam's screams and sobs in the background are the same ones heard in the final scene, edited and looped.
- #040
Contains a major spoiler — show
James Wan and Leigh Whannell came back for several reshoots, but by then the original actors were no longer available. So Whannell played the parts himself, and Wan shot close-ups of the characters' bodies without showing their faces. Whannell stood in for Detective Sing (Ken Leung) entering the building with a shotgun and for Sing's body hitting the floor after he is shot. The close-ups of Amanda's (Shawnee Smith's) hands in her trap were also Whannell's, and he wore a wig so his shadow on the wall would look more like Shawnee's.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work