On October 29, 2004, the original Saw movie was released in theaters, launching one of the most well-known modern horror franchises. It’s been 20 years since the film’s release, and audiences are still talking about the twist ending. The film ended with John Kramer, the “dead” body lying on the bathroom floor for the entire movie, standing up as he is revealed to be the true Jigsaw killer. He stands and leaves Adam (portrayed by Whannell) in the bathroom to bleed out and die.
Leigh Whannell, who wrote the screenplay for the original Saw, attended BlumFest at New York Comic Con 2024 to promote his upcoming horror movie, Wolf Man. ComingSoon asked him about his thoughts on the ending on the film’s 20th anniversary.
Leigh Whannell talks about iconic Saw ending
“You know when I wrote that first Saw movie, and I was working in conjunction with James Wan, we were back in Australia, [and] both of us knew we had something special,” he recalls. “Now, we didn’t necessarily know it was gonna be some big box office success, but we knew that anyone who saw it would react. There’s no better feeling in the world to be like, ‘oh, I’m sitting on top of something right now. I have a secret.’ And when I was writing the ending, it was just flowing outta my fingers. ‘Cause I was like, ‘this is gonna work.’”
The film premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews at three packed midnight showings.
“Seeing that ending affect people was one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever experienced in my life, especially in a movie theater,” Whannell says. “Of all the films I’ve been involved in. Watching the ending of Saw with an audience was the craziest thing ever. I could get goosebumps now just thinking about it.”