2. A Saw Point

Ironically, though it certainly has its bloody moments, the first Saw is not quite the gore-fest you might assume.

"I guess if we wanted to make a blood-soaked film, we could have made a zombie film but actually because of what we decided to do, we were trying to come up with something a little bit smart," says co-writer (and co-star) Leigh Whannell. "I don't know if we succeeded but that's what we tried."

Whannell and fellow Australian film student James Wan were best mates with a seemingly typical desire - make a film that would get seen and help launch their careers. Wan leaned towards directing, while Whannell had acting ambitions.

With few opportunities presenting themselves, they decided to do it themselves.

"Basically, James and I finished university, as you do, and we wanted to make a film and had zero money, absolutely none," says Whannell.

"We were very atypical students: Poor but ambitious. So for many years we toiled around: I worked at the ABC and various jobs and James worked in advertising agencies and blah, blah, but always we would meet up and talk about this film we were going to one day make and we'd come up with these script ideas and in some cases we'd even start writing a script, always way above our means.

"So finally, maturity started kicking in and we realised that if we wanted to make a film we'd have to pay for it ourselves and what we wanted that film to do was provide James an opportunity to direct, and me an opportunity to act, because I'd always been interested in acting, so in a way, the script was almost a means to an end.

"I love writing but really, I wrote the script so that we could make a film that would showcase him as a director and me as an actor."

Their original concept boasted much more Australian themes (no, we don't mean kangaroos hopping in the background), but after a frustrating time trying to sell the concept and script in their native land, a lucky break brought them to Los Angeles.

"It was an accident that our manager, when we were at the end of our rope, and totally depressed,  said that she knew a literary agent over in America.

"She says, 'there's a lit agency in America who's read the script and liked it, so why don't we go for broke? I know that America's a big long shot, a billion-to-one chance but you know, let's just do it' and so we did and it was just an accident.

"Best way to summarise it is that we never aimed for the film to be made in America; America came to us."

The killer pitch they'd dreamed up - based on a short film the two made in 2003 (above) -  focused on two men who wake up to find themselves in captivity, forced to participate in a dangerous round of tasks that involve horrific moments - such as digging a key out of a corpse - and real danger.

"We had this short that we had made which was one scene from the script that we'd shot and we'd shown it around to various people and when the producers who ended up shooting the film met with us, actually already knew from our agent what the deal was.

"They knew if they wanted to get involved, James had to direct and I had to play the lead. It's like that old expression, shooting for the best. You shoot for the best first, and if nothing comes back, you go down a level.

"We shot for the best first and these guys actually bid. They actually said OK, and the most outrageous thing we could offer, they said yes to, which was I needed to play the role of Adam.

"Other companies weren't so generous. Other companies were saying maybe James can direct but Leigh definitely can't do the lead. We want Orlando someone. Maybe we'll buy the script but James can't direct. But this particular company Evolution agreed to all of our terms, which was incredible."

With around $1 million in funding and their roles as director and actor secured, the pair recruited Cary Elwes and Danny Glover as a fellow victim and a cop trying to track the evil mastermind behind it all - a mysterious figure named Jigsaw.

"The film is essentially the story of two victims," explains Whannell. "I think the film kind of, to some people, obviously from reading people's reactions, looks and smells like a serial killer film but it's really not in two respects.

"In one respect, the villain, we don't think, is not a serial killer. His aim is actually for people to live. He wants people to go through these little games but he wants them to come out the other side alive but also the other thing is that the primary story focuses on these two guys in the room, which is what the whole story is.

"A lot of the time in these kinds of films, the victims are sort of relegated to the side and you see them for one scene and then they're dead, and you're always following the police or the bad guys.

"In this film, it's all about the two guys in this room and their psychology and I think to me that separates it a lot of other films that made me look and smell like this film does."

Shot in 18 days, the movie was originally rated NC-17 by the MPAA, but after some judicious editing, escaped with an R. Shown at Sundance in 2004, it was picked up for distribution by US company Lions Gate.

And while it launched to mixed reviews, its success  was undeniable - it took in more than $55 million in the US alone and $102 million worldwide. Not a bad return for a $1 million investment.

A franchise was born…

Next: Saw Sequels