Wan is a director, producer and screenwriter of horror films. He was born in Malaysia and grew up in Australia where he attended the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. From childhood he wanted to direct films, making his first feature Stygian at the age of twenty three. Afterwards, he directed the short film Saw and later directed it as the feature film Saw (2004). The horror film achieved international popularity. Although it made him a famous director, he only wrote the screenplays for its many sequels (Saw II, 2005 – Saw VII, 2010). He also directed the films Dead Silence (2007), Death Sentence (2007), and Insidious (2010).