Saw (2004)

Saw (2004) is an American horror film directed by James Wan, in his feature directorial debut, and written by Leigh Whannell from a story by Wan and Whannell. Adam, a photographer, wakes up in a rundown bathtub with one of his ankles chained to a pipe. Nearby is oncologist Dr. Lawrence Gordon, and next to him lies the body of an apparent suicide victim with a revolver and a microcassette recorder. Each man discovers a tape in their pockets, and Adam grabs the recorder. His tape urges him to survive while Gordon’s tape instructs him to kill Adam before 6 o’clock or else his wife Alison and daughter Diana will face harm. Upon listening to their tapes, they uncover a clue that leads Adam to discover two hacksaws hidden inside the toilet. Both men attempt to use the saws on their chains but unfortunately Adam’s breaks.

It becomes clear that the saws were actually intended for their feet, revealing that their captor is none other than the infamous Jigsaw Killer – known for subjecting victims to deadly ‘games’ that test their determination to survive. This realization hits close to home for Gordon as he once was suspected of being the Jigsaw Killer himself. Five months earlier, Gordon had discussed the terminal brain cancer of patient John Kramer with his medical interns. At that time, he was also questioned by detectives David Tapp and Steven Sing because they found his penlight at one of Jigsaw’s games. Although Gordon’s alibi cleared him, he did agree to watch a testimony from heroin addict Amanda Young. She was the only known survivor of one of Jigsaw’s traps. Eventually, Tapp and Sing were able to locate Jigsaw’s warehouse using Amanda’s videotape. There, they caught Jigsaw and saved a man from a trap.