"I want to play a game..."Those words have taken on such a wonderful and nostalgic meaning for horror fans the world over thanks to the massive success of one of the most profitable and widely-beloved horror franchises of all time. That of course being "Saw", created by future cinematic masterminds James Wan and Leigh Whannell.The series is now legendary in its status, and held among the other great franchises as horror-royalty. Even having been honored by Guiness World Records for its wide success and adoration. Yet, like many other icons of horror that came before, the roots of "Saw" were somewhat more humble- a dream project of a few film students trying to get their first film made. And this is best represented by this short- film... produced by the creators as a tool to help sell their concept and script to potential producers and investors.Based upon a modified excerpt from the original completed script, "Saw" (2003) revolves around a man named David, who is kidnapped from his ho-hum job as a hospital orderly and taken to a secluded location. Now with a device around his head that will rip his jaw apart in mere moments of time unless he can complete a dark and devious task set forth by his captor... David will be forced to make a terrible and potentially life-shattering choice should he wish to stay alive...Should that sound familiar, it is for good reason. The short is essentially a miniaturized and slightly restructured version of the sequence involving the character of Amanda as seen in the final feature-length film released just one year later. Yet, for something you have essentially seen before- arguably more refined in the theatrical film- it's still as enthralling and terrifying as ever thanks to the expert direction and sharp storytelling of Wan and Whannell.It's shocking with how small a budget and how fast a shoot this short had that it's also so darned stylish and well put-together. It's very close to the quality of the future films that it spawned. James Wan's visual stylings are obvious and evident even from this small beginning, and Whannell's knack for structure and creating truly unsettling scenery is on full display here. He also turns in a pretty good performance as David- the main character here.True it may not be quite as good as the feature films at their best, but still, for what is essentially a proof-of-concept slapped together by two friends who just wanted to find the support to make a movie- it's fantastic!I give it a very good 9 out of 10. Fans of the series, fans of horror and even first-time filmmakers could learn a thing or two from this short!

This is the original Saw which his a short film hat is only ninth minutes. It had remake one year later that was one hour and forty one minutes. It was awful. This short is actually good. It is very scary. It is well written. The acting in it is great. Because it short I not what say to mush about the plot. In is a horror movie about a murderer. It is very intense. The remake it overrated. But if you like scary movies you should see this one. The remake is crap. This one is maybe not as good as some people might say. But it is a good horror movie. I need more lines. And I am running out of things to say. This a great movie. If you like scary movie then you should like this one.

This short is cool. I love watching it. It was used primarily as tool to sell Saw to anyone who would bite and it worked as it should have. It is basically the scene with Amanda from the feature except Leigh Whannel takes the position of the victim in the jaw trap. I love how for a short it was edited like a real film and looks like a real film except it is only eight little minutes long. I was disappointed though when this was not released as a feature on the first SAW DVD release. I had wanted for a whole year to be treated to this like the investors had but I along with everyone else had to wait for the special edition which was worth it. I just hope someone gets on the ball and will release James Wan's first feature Stygian. See this it is worth it.

One word popped out of my mouth when i reached the credits (after the "woaaahhh") ...."Amazing". this is one of the very few thriller movies that have actually got my heart pumping and it's guaranteed to do the same to you. Even if you've been known not to react very emotionally to movies in the past (I definitely haven't until now), you'll find yourself to be holding your head at various times and yelling at the characters at others. Unlike other times i watched movies, i didn't stop watching this one when the credits appeared, partially because of the song (Bite the hand that bleeds by Fear Factory) which fits one of my favorite genres of music (industrial metal), but most importantly i personally thought that the makers of the movie were complete geniuses. I'm sure you've heard this in a lot of movie reviews but i sincerely and literally mean it when i say "You must watch this". Incredible movie i promise you'll enjoy it.