SawDirector James Wan Reveals His Favorite Jigsaw Trap as First Film Turns 20: 'Will Always Be My Baby' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

James Wan in Los Angeles on Jan. 3, 2024; Leigh Whannell inSaw(2004).Photo:Frazer Harrison/Getty; Evolution/Saw Prods Inc/Kobal/Shutterstock

Frazer Harrison/Getty; Evolution/Saw Prods Inc/Kobal/Shutterstock

James Wanis looking back on 20 gory years ofSaw.

In a conversation with PEOPLE surrounding the milestone anniversary of the horror classic, the filmmaker — who got his big break withSawin 2004 alongside co-creator and screenwriterLeigh Whannell— reflected on its impact.

AsSawfans know, the first movie spawned anadditional nine trap-laden feature films. But one contraption from the originalSaw, which is the only movie in the franchise that Wan, 47, has directed, stillstands out as his favorite.

InSaw, Amanda wakes up with her jaws attached to the trap. She has seconds to retrieve a key from the belly of a barely conscious man next to her to unlock the trap before it rips her head apart — and succeeds with little time to spare, rendering her the first known survivor of Jigsaw’s “games.”

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Shawnee Smith inSaw(2004).Greg Gayne/Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Collection

Greg Gayne/Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Collection

“I mean, that one has become so iconic. Obviously, it ended up being on the poster, so that one is the most … that one would probably mean the most to me,” he adds.

In fact, even beforeSawwas released in 2004,the Reverse Bear Trap was featured in the predating short film that Wan and Whannell (who also starred as Adam in the movie) made in their native Australia “that got us the funding for the feature.”

“We picked that particular scene, the scene with the jaw trap, just because we figured that it would really capture people’s attention,” Wan tells PEOPLE. “And sure enough, when we made the short, the producers in town who saw it were like, ‘What the hell is this?’ "

SinceSaw, Wan has become one of the most well-known and prolific filmmakers in the modern horror landscape, having gone on to create other iconic franchises likeThe ConjuringandInsidious,the latter also alongside Whannell.

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Leigh Whannell and James Wan in Hollywood, California, on May 30, 2018.Albert L. Ortega/Getty

Albert L. Ortega/Getty

Other credits to Wan’s name, from directing to producing and story writing, includeDead Silence(2007),Annabelle(2014),The Nun(2018),Malignant(2021),M3GAN(2022),Night Swim(2024) and, most recently, an adaption ofStephen King’sSalem’s Lot, now streaming on Max.

He is also producing another King adaptation,The Monkey, due for release in February 2025, and will be directing his first-ever horror remake withThe Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Looking back atSaw’s legacy specifically, Wan tells PEOPLE he “never” thought it would inspire one sequel, “let alone” nine. And he still feels “very lucky” that he and Whannell, 47, were “given this opportunity” to makeSawinto something that became such a phenomenon.

“We just thought that we were making this low-budget, straight-to-video movie, but for it to break out the way it did atSundanceand then theatrically when it came out, and to go on to have the life that it has, it’s incredible,” he says. “It’s an incredible journey, and I will always be very, very thankful.”

Sawis streaming on Max and Peacock.

source: people.com