Saw
As a tender teenager when this was released, just getting started on the journey that has led me here, I thought Saw was pretty ground-breaking. That bit where the antagonist leaps out of the bedroom cupboard is damn frightening! Ruined by sequels and copyists, it’s almost cliché to include it here. Indeed, I definitely groaned when I came across it in preparing this list. I think it once held the record for the most profitable horror franchise of all time – is that still a fact? Love it or loathe it, horror fans owe Saw big time. I don’t think we’d have The Human Centipede if it weren’t for Wan’s 2004 hit. You can decide whether that’s a good thing or not.