Upon the re-release of SAW on the big screen (for a week, starting now), which celebrates its 10th year anniversary today;I decided to take a look back at my personal journey with it. I still remember in 2004 when Lion Gates sent me a little horror film on a VHS screener wanting to get my two cents on it. At that point James Wan and Leigh Whannell were unknowns and ARROW IN THE HEAD was not the beast it is today (I was alone on the site, doing everything myself). I wound up loving the film and with their okay, I wrote down my take on it (this is my original 2004 review for the film BTW) and slapped it up on the site. I was one of the first people to review it then, if not the first. I didn't keep tabs on it to be honest so I can't say for sure. Obviously everybody involved with SAW loved my feelings about it right down to Director James Wan who sent me an e-mail to thank me for the glowing write up, I had made his day as he was a big Arrow in the Head fan at the time (he better still be 😉
With cool cats James Wan and Leigh Whannell at the SAW home release launch party (hosted by fine Canuck genre mag Rue Morgue)! Yeah it was hot in that mofo!
Through SAW I met producer Gregg Hoffman (who sadly passed away in 2005, my thoughts on that here) and when the flick wound up being a big hit, he called me up to thank me as he felt my review had given them a positive start online. BTW Gregg Hoffman was part of Evolution Entertainment, that went on to open a genre branch called Twisted Pictures when they put out SAW. He championed the film early on, fueled by the visceral short Wan and Whannell had created to try to get the movie made (see it at the end of this story). He is a key factor as to why SAW happened in the first place.
A note on Hoffman if I may, he was the most “straight forward” and “gung ho” movie producer I had ever met. I loved that dude and was very sad to hear of his passing. I hope he's looking down from above right now and saying "good shit". All right, I am done. So at that time I was part of the SAW family, kind of like a distant cousin I guess. So that led to me being invited to SAW related shin-digs, Gregg Hoffman came on AITH and kept a production diary of SAW II and of course I wound up having a small role in the sequel as well. I got away from the original SAW there for a moment, sorry about that, I had my own shit going on, Memory Lane took over. Back to the original SAW!
With SAW and SAW II producer, the late Gregg Hoffman.
So all that to say; there’s NO WAY anybody behind SAW knew that the film would be a massive success and launch such a popular and long lasting franchise. We of course reviewed all of the SAW films over the years on AITH, some we're great (like SAW III), other blew dongs (like SAW V) but I’ll always remember the original as the best one of the lot and the one that started it all. As we all know; JAMES WAN has come a long way as a director since the first SAW (FAST AND FURIOUS 7 anyone?), writer/actor LEIGH WHANNELL is now directing his first feature (INSIDIOUS 3, you go boy!) and I doubt that it’s the last we’ve seen of Jigsaw himself. I smell a come back sooner or later!
I want to congratulate JAMES WAN and LEIGH WHANNELL and everybody who had a hand in making SAW happen for what they pulled off then and where they are now! HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY SAW! Thanks for the memories! And with the re-release; I guess we can say it again: If It's Halloween… It Must Be Saw!