“Saw” is an impressive number of episodes of a series of bloody thrillers connected by a thematic community. A franchise is difficult to classify by belonging to a particular genre. This is not a horror, although most filmmakers are inclined to consider the project a horror film, this is not a detective story, although it also contains a bloodthirsty maniac, an endless series of murders, and representatives of the rule of law. “Saw” is a brilliant creation, singing an ode to horror and pain, in order to touch it, most need to make an effort on themselves. The idea of ​​creating a cult franchise belongs to James Wang and Lee Wannell. There is a belief that the most terrifying and scary scenes are based on nightmare dreams of the authors of the project. Each new film from the creators of "Saw" evokes conflicting feelings and criticism, but invariably pays off at the box office.
Briefly about the creators
The first "Saw" director and co-author of the script, James Van, wrote together with Lee Wonnel. Episodes from the second to the fourth were directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, and the authors of the original film "kept their finger on the pulse", acting as screenwriters and producers of a series of tapes. Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan worked on the scenario “Saws 4-6,” and former epic artist David Hackle engaged in visualization of their creative fantasy in “Saw 5”, in “Saw 6” and “Saw 7” (aka “Saw 3D”) - Kevin Grotert. The 2017 film from the creators of Pila is a premiere project from visionaries Michael and Peter Speerig. The script for the horror "Saw 8" was written by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg.
Most of the filmmakers mentioned above are not limited to working on this franchise only. They realize themselves in other film projects, so almost every year the world distribution replenishes another horror film from the creators of "Saws".
From James Wang
After the triumph of the original film “Saw”, which gave rise to a series of successful sequels, James Wang did not leave the project, acting as the executive producer of each next episode. In parallel, the Australian director managed to shoot eight films, in the synopsis of which the phrase “film from the creators of Saw” is invariably present. The list should be opened with the horror “Dead Silence” (2006), by the way, the constant team-mate Wang Lee Wannell worked on his script. The mystical tape about the untimely death of the ventriloquist and the tricks of her doll, despite being faithful to genre traditions, did not surpass the success of Pila, barely paid off at the box office and received a rating of just IMDb: 6.20.
The next author’s project of Wang becomes the crime thriller Death Sentence (2007). In the production of tape, Wannell does not participate. The aesthetic action thriller has a bright dramatic component, but due to some scenario sagging and enchantingly blurred climax, it has an IMDb rating of 6.80.
Author trilogies. Astral
After the premiere of “Death Sentence,” the audience for three years was tormented by the question of which horror movie from the creators of “Saw” would be the next. And in 2011, the premiere of the third joint work of director James Wang and screenwriter Lee Wonnel - the horror film Astral. In their new brainchild, artisans turn to the classics of the genre, the film is based on the story of a family that is being terrorized by otherworldly entities. In this picture, Wang does not abuse either the features of shooting a moving camera, nor the low-frequency sound, nor the frank "dismemberment". The authors rely on the concentration of the general atmosphere of horror, diluting it with precisely planned sharp actions. As a result, the success of the picture is enormous, the budget is exceeded tenfold. And even the canonical, largely predictable final twist does not blur the impression of Astral as a truly frightening and fascinating mystical thriller.
The sequel and the prequel
It is not surprising that in 2013 the sequel “Astral: Chapter 2” was released in hot pursuit, and two years after its premiere - “Astral 3” - films from the creators of “Pila”.
The sequel, which worked on the creative tandem of Wang and Wonnell, came out more technically advanced, with a more thoughtful script, so given the age rating it turned out to be very scary. And Astral 3, positioned as a prequel, was created by one of Wannell, who acted in the project as a director and scriptwriter. His independent creation received a lot of skeptical reviews accusing the film of platitudes. Although the director did everything possible to ultimately surprise the viewer. He scared the actors at the right moments, including the car horn, closed the leading woman in the dark pantry, made all the participants listen to dark music. However, his copyright delights did not help the picture, which most viewers described as completely fearless.
It’s too early to conclude the trilogy, because in the near future a horror film 2017 from the creators of “Saws” - “Astral 4: The Last Key” will be released, in which Lee Wonnell ceded the director's chair to Adam Robitel, and he focused on the script under the patronage of James Wang in a hypostasis producer.
The spell
Paying attention to the record of James Wang, we can confidently say that he tried in every possible way to revive the predictable genre of paintings about ghosts and spirits. After Astral, he continued to hone his skills in the trilogy “The Spell”. The first film was a beautifully shot and brilliantly played classic story about a house with ghosts, which the author successfully diluted with elements of exorcism in the field. An experienced visionary carefully built the structure of the narration, geometrically flawlessly designed frames. As a result, the film paid off at the box office more than once, received an IMDb rating of 7.50 and rave reviews from viewers. The author decided not to stop there, so he soon shot the sequel "Spell 2" - a film from the creators of "Saws" in 2016. The picture turned out to be very worthy, with an impressive set of individual horror scenes, but not whole. In any case, critics admitted that the continuation is many times better than many horror films created in recent years. In 2018, the dilogy promises to transform into a trilogy, because Van is working on “Conjure 3”. An interesting trend is observed, films from the creators of "Saw" rarely remain independent projects, in the majority they find several episodes of sequels.
Dilogy and others
Demonic toys clearly haunt James Wang. In 2014, he was a producer in the Annabelle Curse project. As a result, the director John R. Leonetti turns out a strong horror created using borrowed ideas and methods, not devoid of Van's recognizable authorial style. The start of a new demonic doll franchise was successful. James produced and prequel paintings called “The Curse of Annabelle: The Origin of Evil,” which details the story of the origin of the obsessed doll. Released under the advertising slogan “From the creators of“ Pyla ”, the new film of 2017 received generally rave reviews from film critics who highly appreciated the atmosphere and level of acting, which considered it the best in comparison with its predecessor.
James also appeared in the credits of the film "And the lights go out ..." directed by David F. Sandberg. This quite effective, at least a little thought-over horror was nurtured by the authors from the popular short film that conquered the Internet.
Another “affiliated” project of Wang is the film “The Last Rite”. However, it turned out to be unimportant, perhaps because the well-known horror-maker had already begun preparations for the production of the seventh Fast and the Furious and did not follow what was happening on the set. The composition of the picture assumed a fresh approach to history, but director Will Canon failed to focus on the main component - an oppressive and terrifying atmosphere.
An exception
Not all films from the creators of "Saws" were created in the horror genre. An exception is the picture “Fast and the Furious 7” - a criminal action movie from the movie series “Fast and the Furious”. The episode has collected 1.5 billion in worldwide box office, ranked sixth in the category of highest grossing films of all time . James Van turned the tape into a real "male" blockbuster, reducing the experience and semantic load to a minimum, increasing the level of coolness, tricks and slaughter to the maximum. By the way, according to critics, you don’t notice immediately that the director has changed in the new series. Of course, James, a lover of ghosts and confined spaces, is not too skilled in conducting large-scale complex filming using graphics and an actor’s cast consisting of only celebrities, but he knows exactly where to keep the camera from. He coped with the task with dignity.
In perspective
Undoubtedly, “Saw 8” will dilute with its appearance the news of the movie 2017. From the creators of the film “Saw” in October a new project will be released, shot in anamorphic format. His appearance could not take place, since initially “Saw 3D” was supposed to be the last episode. However, later the film company Lionsgate Films ordered another part.
Also, fans of the genre will definitely appreciate the horror "Havenhurst" - a film from the creators of "Saws" in 2017. This is a good, but still one-time slasher has a nice idea, which the authors were not able to fully realize. The picture has the whole set of formal features that could allow it to develop into a full-fledged franchise - an impressive scene, an undeclared plot, an ideal scheme for the production of a sequel. But the tape did not suffice for the rapid take-off, and in the film industry the second chance is extremely rare.
In addition to “Spell 3” and “Astral 4”, the release of the “Nun” and “Aquaman” paintings is scheduled for 2018, which can also be positioned as films from the creators of “Saws”. In the spin-off of Spell 2, screenwriter David Leslie Johnson, the creators replaced James Wang, who will work in tandem with Gary Doberman.
And in the fantastic action movie “Aquaman”, Van will again take the director's chair, he will have to work with Hollywood stars of the first magnitude - D. Lundgren, D. Momoa and Nicole Kidman.
Do-it-yourself stand-alone projects
In addition to the above paintings, on which Lee Wannell worked in a creative tandem with James Wang, the filmography of the screenwriter and actor contains the movie “Cutis” - a very witty comedy horror co-produced by the United States and Russia. It’s not at all brilliant, but a solid comedy of horrors with the light hand of the author of “Pila” replete with humor, has a very nice casting and an inconspicuous concept. True, it is unfortunately promoted, not to its full potential.
The script for the short film Dog Paradise was also written by Lee Wannell. The American-Australian film has a timing of only 9.5 minutes, its premiere took place in 2008. The tape was released only for sale on video. In the center of the story is the story of the unlucky guy Nile, who, having looked at the beauties passing by, knocks down the old woman’s beloved dog with his car.
Failed as a prequel
The horror film “The Collector” (2009) was scripted by Patrick Malton, which he co-wrote with Marcus Dunstan, who also acted as the director of the project. At the production stage, the picture was called “Midnight Man” and was created by the authors as a prequel to “Saws”. However, the producers did not appreciate the idea of ​​Melton and Dunstan and rejected their offer. After the release of “The Collector” was called by critics the most predictable horror film of the decade. The situation was not saved by the loud statement that the tape is the brainchild of the creators who took part in the creation of the cult franchise. The fact is that in the film the focus was primarily on the action, this author’s step practically reduced the dialogue to nothing.
“Collector 2” (2012) can also be categorized as “films from the creators of Saw,” as Patrick Malton and Marcus Dunstan worked on it, appearing in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh parts of the famous horror franchise. The sequel does not shine with innovation, continuing the general line of the original tape, and remains a logically structured horror. To intimidate, the authors give more screen time to the image of a semi-mythical villain - a mysterious Collector who inspires horror to others.
The film from the creators of "Saws" and "Collector"
The American screenwriter and director Marcus Dunstan, who directed both parts of The Collector, and also wrote the scripts for several episodes of The Saws and the Pir horror, presented his new project, The Opposite House, to the cinema community in 2016, in the original the title is “ Neighbour". The picture contains elements of a thriller and a crime drama, it does not pull on a horror film. Moreover, the authors deliberately did not seek to frighten the viewer. Even the usual krovischi genre in the timing of the tape is very small. Out of 87 minutes, action is observed 30 minutes before the end, before that, despite the charismatic play of the actors and the juicy visualization of Dunstan, the picture is frankly boring.