175. Saw (2004) | How James Wan & Leigh Whannell Launched A Brand-New Horror Franchise | Behind The Senes Of Saw + Film Analysis

Laci Goth and Matt Chokes welcome their friends Tiera (@SpookyT on TikTok) and Derek (@HFK on TikTok) join the show to play the game of Saw. We all have varying degrees of affection for this franchise, and we get into the long history of its development under James Wan and Leigh Whannell first in Australia and then in Hollywood, and the major series it spawned. Then we go through the movie at length, wondering, at the end of the day, what exactly Jigsaw is trying to teach us. Watch this episode in full: https://youtu.be/MFpl_Kd2JGc  Follow Tiera and Derek's filmmaking on YouTube: Elevated Cryptid Productions (https://youtube.com/@elevatedcryptidproductions) Next week: The Cabin in the Woods (2012) with Cinematic Joshua! Bonus video: Matt talks about Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007) for 20 minutes https://youtu.be/8OhZW4AImYU  Subscribe to our Patreon, Load Bearing Beams: Collector's Edition for $5 a month to get two extra episodes! https://patreon.com/loadbearingbeams    Time stamps: 00:03:05 — Our histories with the Saw franchise / opening thoughts on the first Saw 00:16:30 — History segment: James Wan and Leigh Whannell develop Saw, shoot a short film as proof of concept, and sell it to Evolution Entertainment; the film is bought by Lionsgate, becomes a huge hit, and spawns a major franchise 00:44:50 — Movie discussion + Saw analysis 01:35:20 — Final thoughts and star ratings   Sources: "Saw creators Leigh Whannell and James Wan" by Scott Tobias | The AV Club (2010) - https://bit.ly/46ytbms "Blumhouse Buys Rights to 'Saw' Franchise" by Brent Lang | Variety (2025) - https://bit.ly/4pLGUO9   Artwork by Laci Roth.   Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).   Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode: "Your Ambition" - https://youtu.be/ZHudVTCkrQY "Winston-Salem" - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM "Snake Drama" - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg "The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet" - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ    Follow the show!  Twitter: @1weekrental | @MattStokes9 | @LRothConcepts Facebook: @1weekrental Instagram: @1weekrental TikTok: @1weekrental | @mattstokes9 Letterboxd: @loadbearinglaci | @mattstokes9 Bluesky: @1weekrental.bsky.social