Director James Wan has mixed feelings about the huge franchise his hit horror movie Saw has spawned, because he is not a fan of the films that followed his 2004 original.

The puzzle-based serial killer film, Wan's directorial debut, was made on a budget of just $1 million (£6.67 million) and became a box office smash worldwide, and although studio bosses at Twisted Pictures revived the plot for six sequels, the creator himself did not return to the series.

The filmmaker admits he enjoyed breaking boundaries with the first Saw installment, but he was not happy with the direction the movies took following his departure, and it was that experience which prompted him to take charge of the follow-up to his latest horror franchise, Insidious.

He tells Complex magazine, "The flack I got for Saw is why I wanted to direct Insidious 2. I didn't direct any of the Saw sequels, but people thought I did. When Insidious 2 came along, I said, 'If anyone's going to f**k up my franchise, it might as well be me.'

"The Saw sequels went in a direction I wouldn't have gone in... I'm thankful Saw helped me not just put my foot in the door but also basically kick the f**king door down. Not many people can say that their first movie started one of the biggest franchises ever in that particular genre. But it's a double-edged sword. A lot of people wouldn't see my other movies because they thought of me as the Saw guy. It took a long time to get out from under that shadow."