Leigh Whannell achieved a memorable breakout with the low-budget horror movie Saw, which he co-wrote and starred in (as Adam) alongside Cary Elwes. Both Whannell and director James Wan subsequently shot to the big time overnight, and the film's success spawned the long-running Saw franchise, even after both men left. Whannell and Wan subsequently collaborated on movies such as Death Sentence, Insidious, and The Conjuring, with ongoing horror franchises being born from the latter two.