How Saw changed the Halloween release schedule

This Halloween marks the 10 year anniversary of the release of the first Saw movie.

Sarah looks back to see how things have changed

If its Halloween, it must beSaw.

It wasnt just marketing spin, though.

There had been plenty of long-running horror franchises beforeSaw, but usually there were several years between each instalment.

Ten years simultaneously feels like a long time and not very long at all where did my youth go?

but in horror movie terms, its enough time for several waves to have come and gone.

So what filled theSaw-shaped hole in the Halloween lineup?

Theres no identifiable trend there, but at leastThe Othersis brilliant.

Again, thats a pretty good spread of different horror films, with a couple worth going to see.

Then theres Halloween 2003.

That year, horror fans were treated to gore, gore, and more gore.

The stage was set, then.

That turned out to be the right move, obviously.

If you wanted to pinpoint the exact moment torture porn took over from j-horror, mid-2005 is about right.

The latestTexas Chainsaw Massacrecash in,The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginningwent even earlier, on 13 October.

2007 mightve been probably the last timeSawwas a guaranteed box office topper at Halloween, though.

More likely, they didnt wanna go up againstQuantum Of Solace.

Still, gorehounds got their fix within seven days of Halloween, which counts for something.

Because theSawgravy train was about to come to a screeching halt.

2009-2010: Sawn Off

The drop in box office revenue betweenSaw VandSaw VIis staggering.

On 16 October 2009, the firstParanormal Activitymovie was released in US cinemas.

It might not have succeeded.

Another legitimate phenomenon had arrived, andSaw VIjust couldnt compete when it came out on 23 October.

2010sSaw 3Drecovered some lost ground.

But the end ofSawshouldve opened up the field, shouldnt it?

Well, not really.

BecauseParanormal Activityjust stepped in to plug the gap, at least in 2011.

It made more money than the lacklustre2and almost matched the first movies enormous box office.

But by 2012, the wheels had started to come off theParanormal Activityfranchise.

That wouldve been unthinkable if itd beenSaw IVrather thanParanormal Activity 4.

Things didnt get better in 2013, when the promisedParanormal Activity 5failed to materialise.

Instead, horror fans got… er, nothing.

Even if I liked superhero movies, Id be holding a grudge.)

You could even maybe countDracula Untold, though its more of a fantasy action movie.

Even without it, thats a more exciting slate of horror movies than weve had in years.

And, of course, if youre in the US you could also go and see theSawrerelease.

Itll be really interesting to see how that does, and how people react to it.

Its a great movie, but the genres in a very different place now.