2. Saw (2004)

The one that started them all. Saw was the little indie movie that could at Sundance in 2004. It launched the careers of James Wan and Leigh Whannell, who would go on to create terrifying horror films like Insidious and the Conjuring series. What makes the first Saw installment so gripping is, ironically, its simplicity. Before the series spiraled into a mega-franchise packed with twists upon twists and traps upon traps, Saw was a sparse, taut mystery thriller.

Budget limitations mostly confined the main story to one decrepit bathroom: a self-absorbed young photographer (Leigh Whannell) and a haughty oncologist (Cary Elwes) wake up to discover a suicide victim clutching a gun and a tape recorder, with corroded hacksaws beside them that are too dull to cut through their chains. We can see where this might be going, but nothing prepares you for the shocking twist ending, one that, with the sound of a slammed door and a horrified scream, rattles you to the core. The original Saw is reminiscent of what makes David Fincher’s Seven so great: it’s got a gritty, macabre aesthetic, razor-sharp violence, and the twisted psychology of a serial killer with a devious agenda.