Blood And Guts In High School
The creators of the most successful horror franchise ever, Saw, are back to terrify us all, this time with their old-school haunted house film Insidious. Roe McDermott spoke to director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell about why they hate the term ‘torture porn’ and how they’re getting more subtle in their old age.
Roe McDermott, 03 May 2011
As I meet James Wan and Leigh Whannell, I mention to them that they helped get me a first in college, thanks to an essay I wrote about Saw II, in a module on gender in horror cinema, of all things.
“So we shaped your life then, didn’t we?” says Whannell. “I mean, if you failed that course, you could have dropped out of college, become homeless, taken up drugs – I’m not saying you owe us or anything but, you know, we did save your life.”
Life saving exploits definitely rank as a new spin on the Saw franchise. More often than not, the films are held up as the beginning of the end of good cinema, taste and decency, not to mention civilised society as we know it. Which is highly unfair – surely Paris Hilton has to take some of the blame too?
Having met in college in Melbourne, Wan and Whannell made a nine-minute short about a killer who traps his victims in a bathroom. Little did they know then that their amateur movie would soon evolve into a seven-film series that would change modern day horror.
“It’s crazy,” says the ever-beaming director Wan. “We have so many fans who tell us they literally grew up on Saw. I mean there was a film a year, so it basically punctuated their formative years – see, the well-adjusted kids got Harry Potter, whereas the sick and twisted little minds gravitated towards us (laughs).”
And apparently there are many sick and twisted little minds out there, as the films have grossed over $848 million worldwide (and counting). However, speaking to the duo, whose involvement with the franchise waned after the first film, their feelings seem mixed. Though both are quick to profess their affection for the Saw movies, it’s obvious that they’d had more lofty aspirations than becoming the kings of torture porn.
“It’s interesting to see how the franchise has developed,” reflects Whannell, who wrote Saw I, II and III. “When I wrote the first one, I wanted it to be a film like The Usual Suspects or Memento where it’s a very dark psychological thriller and everyone leaves talking about the twists and turns. I’m still so proud of the ending of Saw, and really that film isn’t about the traps: you think you see more gore than you do. But because I was still pretty naïve doing the sequels, the studios and I started focusing on what we thought the audience wanted, which was the traps. And it’s a little odd and sad to me that instead of Memento, the Saw franchise is now associated with films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Not that it’s bad, but it just wasn’t the plan.”
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