List of traps in the Saw film series
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One of the main focuses of the Saw film series are the traps that the characters Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda created for their victims.
These traps, also called games or tests, come in two forms. The first are traps based around devices applied to the victim, usually with the effect of causing serious bodily harm or death if they were not removed by the end of specified time. The others involved a rigged area which the victim has to escape, which are often based around interactions with other people. In both cases, they are created for people Jigsaw deems unappreciative of their lives, and were designed to ironically reflect the problems of the characters, with a few exceptions, including the Quadruple Shotgun and Electrified Staircase, which are used by Jigsaw for security and protection, the Drill Chair Trap, in which Jigsaw used the victim as an experiment, the Magnum Eyehole, and Jeff Reinhart's tests in Saw III, in which the traps are not based on the victims. Often the victim has to perform dangerous tasks or sometimes body mutilation to escape.
The victims were usually informed about the traps by use of a recorded video or cassette tape, which either plays automatically once they awakened, or when they started the recording themselves. The video recordings tend to show Billy the Jigsaw Puppet giving the directions. On other occasions, however, Jigsaw gives the directions to the trap in person, while in security traps, little or no warning was given. While most of the traps had solutions to them, with the exception of Amanda's inescapable games, few characters have survived them.
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[edit] Saw
[edit] Reverse beartrap
One of the most infamous traps, to the extent that it was used on promotional posters for the first film, this trap was used on a heroin addict named Amanda Young, who was duct taped to a chair in a dark room with a heavy metal apparatus hooked into her upper and lower jaw. The Jigsaw Puppet appeared on the TV screen and revealed that Amanda had a short amount of time to get the trap off of her head before it would snap open like a reverse bear trap, which would rip her jaws wide open in the process. To emphasize the point, a demonstration was shown to Amanda, who watched as the device went off on a mannequin head. The puppet told her that the key that she needed to remove the device was in the stomach of the dead man lying across the room from her. She had to cut into his stomach and retrieve the key, although it was revealed that he was not actually dead, but just in an opiate-induced state of paralysis. Amanda cut his stomach open with a scalpel and retrieved the key. She managed to remove the trap just in time; as it dropped to the floor, it snapped open. The irony of this trap was that the man on the floor was Amanda's former drug dealer, and that he himself was in an opiate overdose, presumably administered by Jigsaw.
Tape: Hello, Amanda. You don't know me but I know you. I want to play a game. Here's what happens if you lose. The device you're wearing is hooked into your upper and lower jaws. When the timer at the back goes off, your mouth will be permanently ripped open. Think of it like a reverse bear trap. Here, I'll show you. There is only one key to open the device. It's in the stomach of your dead cellmate. Look around Amanda, know that I'm not lying. Better hurry up. Live or die, make your choice.
[edit] Razor wire maze
This trap involved a victim who woke up naked inside a fenced-in area of a basement. Between the victim and the door, there was a gauntlet of densely strung together razor wire that the victim had to navigate in order to find an exit. There was a hole cut somewhere at the end of the fence, but it was in a place where the victim was not likely to look. The door out of the basement was set on a timer and the victim had to escape before the timer went off. Paul Stallberg was the victim for this trap. He was a man with a decent life, yet he decided to slit his wrists, presumably for attention. According to Jigsaw, the irony of his situation was that if he really wanted to die, he just had to stay where he was (since the door to freedom would close, trapping him in). But if he wanted to live, he would have to "cut himself again". Footage from the movie shows him pushing his way through the wire, and making it to the end, but not finding the hole in time, therefore being trapped in the basement "forever". Detectives found him hanging dead on the razor wires. He was cut so deep that detectives found traces of stomach acid on the floor.
Tape: Hello, Paul. You're a perfectly healthy, sane, middle-class male. Yet, last month, you ran a straight razor across your wrists. Did you cut yourself because you truly wanted to die, or did you just want some attention? Tonight you'll show me. The irony is that if you want to die, you just have to stay where you are. But if you want to live, you'll have to cut yourself again. Find the path through the razor wire to the door. But hurry, at 3:00 that door will lock and then this room becomes your tomb. How much blood will you shed to stay alive Paul?
[edit] Flammable jelly
Mark Rodriguez, who committed worker's comp fraud, was tested on his so called 'illness', and was stripped of his clothes and covered in a flammable jelly. He was in a dark room with broken glass completely covering the floor (he was barefoot), hundreds of numbers written on the walls, and a safe in the middle of the floor. He was also supplied with a lit candle. Via a recording, Mark was told that there was a slow-acting poison in his system and he had about two hours to find the correct combination and take the antidote for the poison which was stored inside the safe. The combination could be found among the walls. While looking at the walls however, he drew too close to the candle and went up in flames. His scorched body was shown afterward. Detectives also found a peephole in the wall, showing that Jigsaw liked to "book himself front row seats to his own sick little games."
Tape: Hello Mark, if you're so sick, then why do I have so many photos of you up and about? Let's put your so called illness to the test. Right now, there is a slow acting poison in your veins. The antidote is inside the safe. The combination to the safe is written on the walls. Hurry up and program it in, but watch your step. And by the way, that is a flammable substance smeared on your body. So I would be careful with that candle if I were you, or all the people you've burned with your act just might have their revenge.
[edit] Drill chair trap
This trap involved two power drills attached to the sides of a chair. As the time pressed on, the drills moved closer to the victim's head, which was held steady by a metal neck brace. In this case, a man named Jeff was shackled in, and the trap was activated when Jigsaw stepped on a button to distract a pair of detectives from arresting him. Inside a box connected to the chair was a key ring with countless keys. Detective Sing did not know which one was the one needed to unlock the neck brace, and instead shot the drills, deactivating them moments before they reached Jeff's head. The man in the trap was not the same Jeff that would later be tested in Saw III.
Jigsaw's words to Jeff: Awake already, Jeff? I need more powerful tranquilizers next time. Don't cry. I've given your life a purpose. You're a test subject for something greater than yourself--
[edit] Quadruple shotgun trap
This trap was used by Jigsaw for security reasons instead of having a test for the victim. It involved four double-barreled shotguns suspended from a ceiling in a hallway, each connected by a tripwire strung across the hallway below. When the victim stepped across the string, the wire would pull the triggers. The four shotguns would go off simultaneously, blowing the victim's head to pieces. In this case, the victim was Detective Sing, who was chasing Jigsaw through his warehouse in an attempt to capture him.
Original Idea: According to the Saw commentary and different interviews, the creators wanted a trap that consisted of two things that would spring from the walls and snap shut on Sing and fold him up into a box. They described it as an iron cocoon[1]. They decided against the idea, as it would have cost too much money for visual effects. A similar idea would later be brought up for the original concept of the Rack, which would again be scrapped.
[edit] Bathroom trap
The setting of much of the first film, this trap involved two victims, Adam Faulkner and Dr. Lawrence Gordon, who had both been confined in a grimy industrial bathroom. Both were chained by the ankle to pipes at opposite ends of the bathroom. These pipes were connected to a remote electrical source. Since the chains were metal too, the electrical current conducted through those to Adam and Gordon. Also present in the room was a dead body, holding a gun, sitting in a pool of poisoned blood, just out of reach of the two prisoners. One of the prisoners, Lawrence, received a bullet, with which to load the gun and kill the other prisoner. He was told that if he didn't kill Adam by a certain time, Lawrence's family would be killed, and he'd be left to rot. In order to reach the gun, however, he had to saw off his own chained foot with a hacksaw that was hidden in the room. The other victim, Adam, would have to try to escape by sawing off his own leg and leaving. It should also be noted that the hacksaw's strength is only enough to saw through flesh and bone, but not the chains. Both tried to find alternatives, but could find none. Desperate to save his family, Lawrence was forced to saw his own foot off and retrieve the gun. He attempted to fatally shoot Adam, but closer inspection revealed that Lawrence only shot him in the shoulder. He then crawled out to find help. Adam, however, remained trapped. The dead body in the room was actually Jigsaw, who, after getting off the floor, told Adam that the key to unlock his chain was in the bathtub. The bathtub was filled with water at one point, and Adam accidentally drained it when he woke up, unwittingly sending the key into the drain. According to commentaries on Saw III, Amanda was supposed to have tied the key around his neck before leaving him, but had instead just left it on his chest. In the original script of Saw III, it revealed that Amanda had tied the chain to the bathtub stopper to Adam's ankle without being told to by Jigsaw. When Adam awoke, he scrambled from the tub, pulling the stopper out and sending the key down the drain. It is assumed that Lawrence either died from his wounds or could not relocate the bathroom, because the corpse of Adam was found in the Nerve Gas House in Saw II. In Saw III, it is revealed that Adam did not in fact die of starvation or dehydration after being locked away, but by suffocation. Amanda, feeling terribly guilty, decided to help him by sneaking into the bathroom and placing a strip of plastic wrap over his head, bringing him to a somewhat more timely death.
Original Idea: According to an interview with Leigh Whannell, Adam and Lawrence were originally going to be trapped in an elevator[2].
Tape for Adam: Rise and shine, Adam. You're probably wondering where you are. I'll tell you where you might be. You might be in the room that you die in. Up until now you've simply sat in the shadows, watching others live out their lives. But what do voyeurs see when they look in the mirror? Now, I see you as a strange mix of someone angry, yet apathetic, but mostly just pathetic. So are you going to watch yourself die today Adam, or do something about it?
Tape for Lawrence: Dr. Gordon, this is your wake up call. Everyday of your working life you have given people the news that they're going to die soon. Now you will be the cause of death. Your aim in this game is to kill Adam. You have until 6 on the clock to do it. There's a man in the room with you. When there's that much poison in your blood, the only thing left to do is shoot yourself. There are ways to win this, hidden all around you. Just remember: "X" marks the spot for the treasure. If you do not kill Adam by 6, then Allison and Diana will die, Dr. Gordon, and I'll leave you in this room to rot. Let the game begin. Follow your heart.
[edit] Zep's test
Some time before placing Lawrence and Adam in the Bathroom Trap, Jigsaw arranged for Zep Hindle, a hospital orderly, to become involved in a game of his own: Zep had to monitor the two prisoners in the Bathroom Trap to assure that Lawrence killed Adam. If he didn't, then Zep would have to kill Lawrence's wife and daughter in order to attain an antidote to the poison flowing through Zep's body. After Lawrence failed to kill Adam in time, Zep attempted to kill the mother and child, but failed too, as they got away. Making his way down to the Bathroom Trap, he then tried to kill Lawrence, but was instead beaten to death with a toilet lid by Adam.
Tape: Hello, Mr. Hindle. Or as they called you around the hospital: Zep. I want you to make a choice. There's a slow-acting poison coursing through your system, which only I have the antidote for. Will you murder a mother and her child to save yourself? Listen carefully, if you will; there are rules...
[edit] Saw II
[edit] Death mask (a.k.a: the venus flytrap)
This trap was similar to an iron maiden device, but on a smaller scale. Consisting of a harness, attached to the victim's chest, it was only removable if the key to the padlock was obtained. Attached to the harness were two masks, opposite from each other and angled down from the victim's head. Each mask had several nails protruding inwards from the interior. The device was on a spring timer, and if it wasn't removed in time, the two masks would clamp together on the victim's head, like a venus-fly trap, and drive the nails through his skull. The victim in this trap was Michael, a police informant. He woke up in an empty room, and found himself in the helmet. In order to remove the device, Michael had to find the key, which he soon learned, from a video tape, was hidden behind his right eye. Supplied with a scalpel, he attempted to surgically remove his eye, but stopped and threw away the scalpel. The timer went off, and the masks snapped shut on his head, killing him.
Original Idea: According to one of the features on the Saw II disc, Michael was originally going to be supplied with the key in one of his hands, but would be strapped to the chair at the wrists. Above the hand with the key was a razor, which would dig further into his flesh the more he reached the key up to the locks on his harness.
Tape: Hello, Michael. I want to play a game. So far in what could loosely be called your life, you've made a living watching others. Society could call you an informant, a rat, a snitch. I call you unworthy of the body you possess, of the life you've been given. Now we will see if you are willing to look inward, rather than outward, to give up on the one thing you rely on in order to go on living. The device around your neck is a death mask. The mask is on a spring timer. If you do not locate the key in time, the mask will close. Think of it like a venus flytrap. What you are looking at right now is your own body, not more than two hours ago. Don't worry, you're sound asleep and can't feel a thing. Taking into account that you are at a great disadvantage here, I am going to give you a hint as to where I've hidden the key. So listen carefully, the hint is this: it's right before your eyes. How much blood will you shed to stay alive Michael? Live or die, make your choice.
[edit] Electrified staircase
This guard mechanism acted as protection from intruders in Jigsaw's lair. It consisted of a staircase with a rigged step, surrounded by a chain-link cage. The rigged step would spring forward and break the shins of the victim if enough pressure was applied to the stair below. This would also cause the cage door to shut, trapping the victim(s) in the cage. The cage would then be charged with an electric current, giving anyone in contact with it a lethal shock. When used in the movie, three SWAT officers were the victims. One of them stepped on the pressure-sensitive step, sending the rigged step forward and breaking his shins. As he fell back, the other two SWAT officers caught him and crashed into the caging, electrocuting them. The SWAT officer whose shins were broken survived, as he did not make contact with the electrified cage.
Original Idea: According to the Saw II commentary, a blade had originally been intended to shoot forward and slice off the first SWAT officer's leg once said rigged step had been activated.
[edit] Nerve gas house
This large-scale trap involved multiple victims in an abandoned house riddled with traps, containing one for each person. The victims breathed in a deadly nerve agent through the air-ducts as they navigated the house, and had to find the antidotes. The door to the house would eventually open on its own, but if they did not find an antidote, they would die before this happened. Each trap contained a way to get an antidote. Also inside the house, several weapons are found, including a single-edged blade and a bat with several nails driven through it. Aside from Laura, who succumbed to the nerve agent, the only others to die without the traps were Jonas, who got a blow to the back of the head with the nail-studded bat by Xavier, and Xavier, whose throat was slit with a hacksaw by Daniel.
Tape: Greetings and welcome. I trust that you are all wondering where you are. I can assure you that while your location is not important, what these walls offer for you is important. Salvation, if you earn it. Three hours from now the door to this house will open. Unfortunately, you only have two hours to live. Right now you are breathing in a deadly nerve agent. You've been breathing it since you arrived here. Those of you familiar with the Tokyo subway attacks will know its devastating effects on the human body. The only way to overcome it and walk out that door is to find an antidote. Several are hidden around this house. One is inside the safe in front of you. You all possess the combination to the safe. Think hard, the numbers are in the back of your mind. The clue to their order can be found over the rainbow. Once you realize what you all have in common, you will gain a better understanding of why you're here. "X" marks the spot for that clue. But look carefully. Let the game begin.
The majority of Saw II is played in the house. The traps shown to be contained in the house are as follows:
[edit] Magnum eyehole
This trap, which wasn't meant as a test so much as a security device, consisted of a locked door with a revolver firearm attached on the other side of the eye hole, connected by a pulley and chain. The barrel of the revolver was aimed directly at the peephole, and when activated, would fire a bullet into whoever was in the line of fire. A note given to the players told them not to use the supplied key on the door, but refusing to listen, Xavier chose to use it anyway. Turning the key in the lock, he unknowingly activated the chain, causing the ridges of the pulley to set off the trigger of the gun. Gus was looking through the peephole at the time, and was shot through the eye, blasting the back of his head open and splattering blood and brain matter over the rest of the group. The door, on a timer, eventually opened on its own.
Note: Do not attempt to use this key on the door to this room.
[edit] Furnace
This trap was built like a furnace for cremating bodies. The victim had to crawl inside to retrieve two antidotes that were placed inside. One would be placed with a chain attached to the top of the furnace that, when pulled down, would close the door and ignite the furnace. The only way out was to twist a knob that turned off the gas. Obi fell victim to this and almost escaped through the window on the other side, but wasn't able to fit. He burned to death. The knob had a painting of a devil pointing to it which said "twist". This clarified Jigsaw's line, "Once you are in Hell, only the devil can help you out."
Original Idea: Before settling on the final version of the Furnace, the creators and writers of Saw II had originally thought of having Obi's tape recorder attached to the collar of a pitbull in the basement. They decided against it, as it would lead to cruelty to animals, and instead attached it to a corpse-like mannequin.
Tape: Hello, Obi. I want to play a game. For years you have burned those around you with your lies, cons, and deceits. Now you'll have a chance to redeem yourself for the games you've played with others by playing one of mine. Inside the device in front of you are two antidotes for the poison coursing through your veins. One is my gift to you for helping me kidnap the others. The second is yours to donate. However, one of them will come with a price. Remember Obi, once you are in Hell, only the devil can help you out.
[edit] Needle pit
This trap involved a pit in the middle of a room, filled with thousands of filthy, used syringes. A locked door in the room held an antidote, but was set on a four minute timer. If the timer expired, the door would remain locked forever. This trap was meant for Xavier, a drug dealer, who would have to jump into the pit of needles to find the key to the door. The key was attached to a glow stick, and was hidden among the syringes; however, instead of going in himself, he picked up Amanda and threw her in to find the key. Although she found the key in time, Xavier fumbled with it and was unable to unlock the door in time. This trap, unlike many of Jigsaw's other traps, would not kill the victim if they failed the task, but was more of a punishment (although the victim would still die from the effects of the nerve agent unless an antidote was found).
Original Idea: The creators and writers of Saw II had originally intended for Amanda to land up to her neck in the needles as if it were a pool, but realized that it would be impossible for her to sink into such a pool. Also, getting enough needles would have taken too long, as it took the production team a long time to get as many needles as they had.
Tape: Hello, Xavier. I want to play a game. The game I want to play is very similar to the one that you've been playing as a drug dealer. The game of offering hope to the desperate, for a price. I think we can agree that your situation is desperate. So I offer you hope. The price that you pay is that you must crawl into the same pit of squalor you force your customers into. By entering this room, a timer has been started. When the timer expires, the door in front of you will be locked forever. Only in finding the key before the timer runs out can you unlock and retrieve the antidote inside. I will give you just one hint as to where that key is: it will be like finding a needle in a haystack. Let the game begin.
[edit] Razor box trap
This trap involved a glass container which was suspended from the ceiling. Inside the box was an antidote which was accessible by two holes underneath the box that were big enough to fit one's arms through. Once they put their arms through, however, they would realize that the corners of the holes were fitted with blades that would bend up if something was inserted and if the person tried to take their hands out, the blades would dig into their arms, and the harder they pulled, the deeper the blades would go in. Addison fell victim to this trap. At first, she only inserted one hand, and may have been able to push open the blades and free herself (cylinders extending downward from the holes in the box would have made this extremely difficult), but the plunger to the needle was stuck to the bottom. When she pulled the needle up, the antidote inside spilled. Panicking, she reached her other hand inside to grab it, trapping herself. As she tried to pull out her arms the blades began to cut up her arms. It is unknown if she survived. However, due to the nerve agent that had already killed Laura, and the fact that Addison had lost so much blood from the blades, it is highly unlikely that she lived. It is later revealed in a featurette on the construction of the trap for the set that if the victim were to walk to the other side of the box, they would see a lock with a key sticking out of it, which in turn would have unlocked the box and allowed them to access the antidote without harm. Although Addison fell victim to this trap, it was intended for Gus.
Original Idea: Before deciding to place Addison in the Razor Box Trap, the creators and writers discussed on a commentary for Saw II that they had originally intended for Addison to end up in a different trap, which was similar to a waffle iron. It would clamp down on Addison’s hands when she reached for an antidote, and burn them until released. The only way to unlock it would be to apply pressure to the top, which would have to be done by her head, as both of her hands would be trapped. By pressing her face against the top, she would open the mechanism up, freeing her hands and escaping at the price of burning and scarring her face.
Tape: According to the commentary on the DVD for Saw II, the tape for Gus would have said something along the lines of him always "reaching his hand into the cookie jar for money," while Addison's would talk about her having to sacrifice her looks to escape her original trap.
[edit] Detective Matthews' test
After having his son Daniel kidnapped and placed in the Nerve Gas house by Jigsaw, Detective Eric Matthews discovered Jigsaw's lair, and with the S.W.A.T. team, he tried to convince Jigsaw to give up the whereabouts of the house. Jigsaw proposed a deal, stating that all Matthews has to do was listen, and he would get his son back. Though Detective Mathews did listen for while, he eventually got tired of Jigsaw's game and instead resorted to brutality. After beating Jigsaw to within an inch of his life, Jigsaw ended the game, and took Matthews to the house. The detective entered the house, only to find that his son was not there. After entering the bathroom hidden in the foundation of the house, Eric was attacked by Amanda, disguised in a pig mask, as she leaped out and jabbed a syringe into the detective, drugging him. When he awoke, he was chained to a pipe. Amanda showed up in the doorway, and shut it, leaving him in the dark with the dead bodies of Xavier, Zep, Adam, and Dr. Gordon's decaying sawed-off foot. However, it was discovered in Saw III that Eric managed to escape into the hallway after breaking his foot, almost severing it off by using the toilet tank cover. When he escaped, however, he confronted Amanda in the hallway. The two of them had a fight, and Amanda began to believe that Eric had not learned anything from his trap. After kicking him in his broken foot, she decided to leave him to die in the hallway. While Amanda was walking away from Matthews, he began to taunt and mock her. Amanda, in turn, turned back and walked back over to Matthews, later implying that she murdered him; however, Jigsaw instead believed that she left him for dead. In a deleted, and possibly alternate scene, Matthew's fate is in fact revealed. After cursing and insulting her, Matthews was brutally murdered by Amanda, who sat down on him and slashed apart his body. It was then revealed that Daniel was actually in the area where Eric first found John Kramer, locked in a timed safe that was supplied with oxygen. The video feeds shown to the SWAT team and Eric were actually a recording from hours before, when the house test was taking place. Eric needed only to keep his patience and Daniel would have been released to him only a few feet away.
Tape: Hello Eric. You probably don't even remember me, but you changed my life once. You sent me to prison. I was guilty of a lot of things, but not for the drug charge you framed me for. You wouldn't know the things you lose when you're locked away. The second time somebody changed my life, I was guilty, but my life was saved that day. I found myself a father, a leader, a teacher. What is the cure for cancer, Eric? The cure for death itself? The answer is immortality. By creating a legacy, by living a life worth remembering, you become immortal. So now we find the tables are turned. It is I who will carry on John's work after he dies, and you are my first test subject. Now you are locked away, helpless and alone.
[edit] Saw III
[edit] Classroom trap (a.k.a: the body chains)
This trap featured Troy, who found himself in an empty school classroom, with numerous chains hooked into his flesh in various places. A television screen turned on and Billy appeared on it. He revealed that Troy had been in and out of prisons for quite some time. If he wished to live, he had to break free of the chains before the timer stopped. If time ran out, a bomb, sitting next to a jar of nails, would detonate. The chains were hooked his mandible, shoulders, arms, hands, obliques, legs, and Achilles tendons. When the television screen turned off, he began to painfully rip the chain rings from his skin. Troy managed to pull off all of the chains except for the one attached to his mandible. The chain ring was looped through his mandible and it did not seem possible for Troy to rip his own mandible off in time. He was not able to, and was killed when the timer triggered the bomb. It was later revealed by Kerry, as she studied his nail-ridden corpse, that there was no escape route for Troy, as the door to the room had been welded shut. Also, as the final chain was attached through his mandible, the strongest bone of the face, there would be no way for him to remove it with just his bare hands. This was the first of Amanda's inescapable traps, besides neglecting to fasten the ankle lock key around Adam's neck.
Original Ideas: Before settling on the final version of the Classroom Trap, the creators and writers of Saw III went through a couple different versions of game. One of them had Troy suspended above the floor of the classroom by large meat hooks. They decided against this, as they figured it would be basically impossible to escape, and that it would be more thrilling if he was standing and able to rip the chains out. A second version had the hooks going through his eyelids, his fingernails, and his teeth. This accounts for two of the promotional posters for the film, one showing a mouth missing numerous teeth, and another showing three teeth dangling from wires.
Tape: Hello, Troy. I wanna play a game. This game will take place in a room not much bigger than the room you spent most of your life in: a prison cell. Despite all of the advantages and privileges that you were given at birth, you have returned to prison again and again. More comfortable in chains than you are in freedom? Tonight, we will see how far you are willing to go to break those chains once and for all. Live or die, Troy. Make your choice.
[edit] Angel trap (a.k.a: the ribcage harness)
Kerry woke up hanging from the ceiling in a contraption which consisted of a leather harness and chains strapped around her body. Upon further examination of her harness, she found that a device had been placed on her torso and was hooked into her ribcage by needles. Each set of needles was attached to one of two metal arms behind her that, for the time being, remained folded. Hanging next to her was a jar filled with acid into which a key was dropped in as she woke up. A TV turned on in front of her and delivered Kerry her instructions. Billy informed Kerry that she was "dead on the inside" and that was why she seemed to enjoy working in situations with death. He also told her that the harness would rip out her ribcage if she did not escape from the trap. Billy told her that she had one minute to retrieve the key from the jar after the video ended before the key was dissolved by the acid and before the timer on the device ran out. After hesitating, Kerry plunged her hand into the jar and severely burned it, but failed to get the key. Screaming in pain, she plunged her hand in a second time and successfully grabbed the key. She pulled out her bloodied, severely corroded hand, unlocked the harness, and tried to pull off the trap, only to be horrified that it would not budge. The trap was never intended to be escapable. This was the second of Amanda's inescapable traps. As Kerry realized that it is impossible to get out of, Amanda sauntered into the room. This was the last thing Kerry saw before the two arms attached to the harness arched upwards like a pair of wings (hence the name of the trap), and pulled each side of the harness with them, causing the needles embedded in her torso to rip both sides of her ribcage out in opposite directions. She collapsed and died in the leather straps as her internal organs were exposed, causing them to spill out onto the floor.
Original Idea: According to producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules, they had originally discussed having Kerry placed in a device that would pull her arms and legs in four different directions, but instead decided on the ribcage trap.
Tape: Hello, Kerry. I want to play a game. Up until now, you have spent your life among the dead, piecing together their final moments. You're good at this because you, like them, are also dead. Dead, on the inside. You identify more with a cold corpse than you do with a living human. I believe you want to join your true family, indeed your only family, in death. The device you are wearing is hooked into your ribcage, and by the time this tape is finished, you will have one minute to find a way out. At the end of that minute, you should know better than anyone what happens then. There is a simple key that will unlock the harness, Kerry. It is right in front of you. All you have to do is reach in and take it, but do it quickly. The acid will dissolve the key in a matter of seconds. Make your choice.
[edit] Shotgun collar
Amanda placed a collar equipped with loaded shotgun shells onto Lynn. The hammers behind each shell were clicked back, and the collar responded with Jigsaw's heart rate. If he flatlined, or if Lynn moved out of range, the shells would explode, killing her instantly. Lynn was forced to operate on Jigsaw to keep him alive long enough for Jeff to complete his series of confrontations in the abandoned plant. When he did, Jigsaw ordered Amanda to remove the collar from Lynn, as she had completed her task; however, Amanda refused. It was possible that this trap was inescapable, due to the fact that the trap was made by Amanda. This could also be backed up in a deleted scene in which Lynn managed to get the key from Amanda, only to find that it did not seem to fit in the lock. Jigsaw got killed by Jeff before the collar was removed, and the shells exploded, blowing Lynn's face and head away.
Jigsaw's words to Lynn: I want to play a game. The rules of the game are simple. The consequences for breaking them are great: death. You're being tested. Your will is being tested; the will to keep someone alive. Can you do that? Can you follow the rules and grant someone the gift of life? The device you are wearing is linked to my heart rate monitor. The second that heart rate monitor flatlines, or you move out of range, an explosion will go off in that collar. Your life, and my life, will end simultaneously.
[edit] Jeff's tests
Jeff woke up in an empty shipping box. Upon escaping, he had to walk through an abandoned meat packaging plant that contained the victims of the Freezer Room, Intestine Pool, and the Rack. Each person in each trap was directly or indirectly involved in his son's death. He had to go through each scenario and decide whether or not to forgive and assist the person or watch them die a horrible death, and had to do so within two hours time, or he would be locked in the plant forever.
Tape: Hello Jeff. Over the past few years you have become a shell of your former self; consumed with hatred and vengeance. Vengeance against the drunk driver who killed your only son. Vengeance against the killer, who to your surprise and dismay, was set free after a hasty trial. Today, however, it is you who will be put on trial. To escape from where you are, you will have to face a series of tests. You will have to suffer to move forward through each of them. But with each one, you will also have a chance; a chance to forgive. When you complete the tests, I promise you you will finally come face to face with the man responsible for the loss of your child. That will be your ultimate test. Can you forgive him? You better hurry though. In two hours the doors will lock, and this place will become your tomb. This is what you've been waiting for, Jeff. Let the game begin.
In more detail, his tests were:
[edit] Freezer room (a.k.a: the ice shower)
Danica Scott was suspended by her arms in a walk-in freezer, where two vertical poles sprayed her naked body with cold water, again and again. Jeff was forced to decide whether or not to help her. Danica was the one witness to the death of Jeff's son, and she fled the scene, giving Jeff the choice to save her or let her freeze to death. Jeff's task was to retrieve the key that would unlock Danica's bindings, as well as the door to the next room to escape the freezer room. The key was suspended behind a wall of icy cold pipes, just out of Jeff's reach. The only way he was able to get the key was by leaning just far enough that his face pressed against one of the pipes, causing the flesh of his cheek to stick to it. Grabbing the key, Jeff pulled back, tearing away part of his cheek. Danica froze to death before Jeff could save her, quickly becoming encased in ice. Jeff left as more water sprayed, building up the ice on her further. After leaving the freezer room, Jeff found a bullet, and a scrap of a photo to go with the first one he found before the ice shower. This trap was similar to an act of torture reputedly given by the infamous Elizabeth Báthory.
Original Ideas: Before settling on the final version of the Freezer Room, the creators and writers of Saw III went through a few different versions of game, with only minor changes. Originally, the victim was going to be a male police officer, but they decided against it, instead going with the idea of a female witness. Instead of being completely naked, Danica was going to be in a T-shirt and panties, but they figured having her being sprayed would make the shirt stick to her body and become too sexual, so they decided to put her in the freezer naked instead.
Tape: Welcome to your first test, Jeff. For the past three years, you've cursed the name of all those you thought were responsible for the death of your son. You've fantasized that those accountable will pay. Well, you will find a woman in front of you chained in place. This will prevent her from running, much like she did on the day your son was hit. Her name is Danica Scott. She was the only witness present at the scene of your son's untimely demise. If not for her own self absorption and cowardice, she could have brought your son's killer to justice. Now it is you, who has a chance to bring her to justice. You alone can grant her the gift of life, before she freezes to death. Behind the pipes on the back wall, you will find the key that will free her and bring you one step closer to the man responsible for the loss of your child. Will you claim the key to save only yourself, or can you find it within you to save another? Make your choice.
[edit] Intestine pool
Upon entering a room, Jeff heard the voice of a man screaming for help. As he searched around for the man, a large silo in the middle of the room began to emit a loud, pulsating buzz. Jeff climbed up a ladder to see a man attached to the bottom of the silo by a metal brace holding his neck. As he screamed for help, Jeff played a tape supplied to him. Jigsaw told him that when the judge presiding over his son's murder trial sentenced the murderer so lightly, his soul never recovered. He now had the power to sentence the man's soul straight to hell, or he could choose to forgive. As the tape ended, a series of large, interlocking saws in an adjoining silo began to whirl and buzz. Hanging from a conveyor like bar came out a dead, rotten pig filled with maggots. The pig was dropped into the silo with the saw blades and ground up, leaving the large amount of thick grey liquid remains to pour down a chute into the silo with the judge, hitting him in the face and gradually filling the silo. More dead pigs were pulled in on the rotating chain and dropped, one after the other, into the saws. Soon, enough pigs had been liquefied to fill the silo nearly enough to drown Judge Halden. In order to save him, Jeff had find the key to the judge's neck brace. The key was in an incinerator, along with all of his son's possessions (photographs, stuffed animals). In order to retrieve the key, he had to ignite the incinerator to burn everything, leaving only the key remaining. Jeff did so reluctantly, and retrieved the key. The key was also needed to leave the silo and move on to the next room. The judge managed to escape thanks to Jeff's help, but was later accidentally shot in the head after following Jeff into another trap. After the two of them left, Jeff found a third shred of the photo, and a gun magazine which would house the bullet he found earlier.
Original Ideas: Before settling on the final version of the Intestine Pool, the creators and writers of Saw III went through a couple different versions of game. One of them had Judge Halden suspended above a meat grinder. As he was lowered down into it, Jeff would have to dive into a "soup" (probably referring to the ground up pigs that were instead poured onto the Judge) to retrieve the key. It was changed again until it resembled the final version, with the exception that Jeff wouldn't have to burn his son's possessions, but simply step down into the silo to free the judge.
Tape: Jeff, when the judge presiding over your case sentenced your boy's murderer so lightly, your soul never recovered. Now, you have the power to sentence his soul straight to hell. Or, you could forgive. The key that will free him is hidden inside your son's possessions, possessions you have clung to for far too long. Now if you flip the switch on the incinerator underneath you, a fire will cleanse you of this obsession and destroy them all, leaving only the key remaining. It is also the key that will bring you closer to the man accountable for taking your child. He doesn't have much time, Jeff. Let the game begin.
[edit] Rack trap (a.k.a: the twisting crucifix)
Jeff stumbled upon this trap after saving the judge from the Intestine Pool. Timothy, the victim in the trap, turned out to be the man responsible for the death of Jeff's son. The victim's head was held in place by a rotating lock, while the arms and legs were held in place by spikes through the hands and feet. Each section began rotating around 360 degrees, one by one, taking his arms, legs, and head along with it and breaking the bones. Jigsaw stated on Tim's tape that this trap was a particular favorite of his, calling it "The Rack." The only way to free Tim would be to obtain a key that was attached to a shotgun's trigger; if the key was taken, the shotgun would go off and shoot Jeff. The key was also needed to leave the room and continue through to the next room. The shotgun and key were kept suspended in a glass box that Judge Halden attempted to break without success. Tim's arms and legs were rotated one by one, and the bones broke, some jabbing straight through his flesh in the process. As the judge watched Tim's bones slowly break one by one, Jeff managed to untie the key from the shotgun, holding onto the cord long enough to move his own body out of the line of fire. As he let go, the cord set off the gun, instead shooting the judge in the head and killing him. Jeff rushed over to Tim just as his head began to rotate; however, he failed to locate the key-hole in time, and Tim's neck was fatally broken. The gears slowed down after Tim's head twisted around 180 degrees. After Jeff left, he found the last piece of the photograph, showing him and his family. He also found the last piece of the gun, and assembled it.
Original Ideas: Before settling on the final version of the Rack, the creators and writers of Saw III went through a couple different versions of game. One of them had Timothy strapped down to a table that would fold on its hinges, bending his body with it and breaking his back. A similar idea had been brought up once before when thinking about Detective Steven Sing's trap. It was remodeled into the shape of a cross, but would still bend along hinges that would break Timothy's body until they decided they wanted the individual limbs being twisted instead.
Tape: Hello Jeff. If you are listening to this, that means that the confrontation you so long dreamed of is finally unfolding. In your head he is a cypher, a symbol of your life changing, a symbol of death. I present him to you now as a simple human being. His name is Timothy Young, he's 27 years old, a medical student with a mother and a father just like you. A man whose life also changed on the day your son died. That day he made a terrible mistake. You believed he didn't pay for that mistake, and now is your chance to make him pay. The device Timothy is strapped to is my personal favorite. I call it "The Rack." The human body is a miraculous creation. Ever wonder how far the arm can twist? This device is going to start twisting. There is a chance he might live though, with your help. To your right is a box. At the back of the box is a key. It's tied to the trigger of a shotgun. The question you have to ask yourself is this: are you willing to take a bullet for the man who killed your son? Does "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" apply here, Jeff? Make your choice.
[edit] Confrontation
Upon completion of the tests, Jeff exited the abandoned plant and entered Jigsaw's lair. During the confrontation, Jigsaw gave him the choice of killing him and taking revenge, or making the ultimate choice of forgiveness. However, unknown to Jeff, the choice of killing Jigsaw would ultimately kill his wife Lynn as well, as his death would activate the shotgun collar placed on her. This choice was the true aim of Jeff's test. He ended up killing Jigsaw by slicing his neck with an electric circular saw, and the movie ended with Jigsaw playing a final tape before he died. The tape informed Jeff that Jigsaw was the one responsible for the loss of Jeff's child- his daughter Corbett, who was locked away with a limited air supply. The tape also left the possibility of a prearranged game that Jigsaw left for Jeff prior to his death with the tape's final line, "and if you want to get her back, you'll have to play a game."
Original Ideas: Before settling on the final version of the Confrontation, the creators and writers of Saw III shot a couple different versions, all resulting in Jigsaw's death at the hands of Jeff. The only differences were the weapons of choice, among them the original circular saw blade that Jeff picked up before finding the high power saw.
Tape: Hello Jeff, I made this tape as an insurance policy, if you will, and if you're listening to it then it's time to collect. I was your final test of forgiveness, and if you are listening to this, then you failed. Now you must pay the price. The price for living a life of nothing but vengeance. Now I will give you something to live for. I told you that you couldn't kill me, Jeff, but I didn't tell you why. And the answer is simple: I am the person responsible for the loss of your child. I am the only person who knows where your daughter is. She only has a limited supply of air left, Jeff, and if you want her back, you'll have to play a game.
[edit] Amanda's test
After becoming Jigsaw's apprentice, Amanda began to crack under the pressure. She soon became a killer, making traps that had no possibility of escape, such as the Classroom Chains and the Angel Trap. Jigsaw realized this, and decides to give her another test to prove that she was willing and able to continue on his work after his death. After having her kidnap his next players (Lynn and Jeff), Jigsaw began testing her patience and temper, gradually building up her stress as Lynn was forced to assist him. When Jeff completed his test, Jigsaw told Amanda to take off Lynn's shotgun collar, but she refused. He asked again, telling her that her life rested in Lynn's hands. She instead snapped and shot Lynn, just as Jeff entered the room. It turned out that Jeff was Lynn's husband, and was now equipped with a loaded gun which he used to shoot Amanda in the neck. She died of blood loss while Jigsaw revealed to her that it was her test all along, and that he had given her the rules when she thought he was talking to Lynn.
Jigsaw's last words to Amanda: Amanda, it's okay. This was your test. Your game. I was testing you. I took you in. I selected you to the honor of carrying on my life's work. But you didn't. You didn't test anyone's will to live. Instead you took away their only chance. Your games were unwinnable, your subjects merely victims. In my desperation, I decided to give you one last chance. So I put everything in place. You didn't know that Lynn and Jeff were husband and wife. I had to keep that from you for the purposes of my game. I had to leave out the ruining marriage, the cheating wife, the vengeful husband, the neglected daughter, and I let you make your own choices. I wanted you to succeed, but you couldn't. Game over.
| The Saw Series |
|---|
| Films |
|
Saw (short, 2003) • Saw (2004) • Saw II (2005) • Saw III (2006) • Saw IV (2007) |
| Characters |
| Jigsaw • Amanda • Adam • Dr. Gordon • Detective Matthews • Lynn • Jeff |
| Film Soundtracks |
| Saw • Saw II • Saw III |
| Other |
| Traps • "Billy" the puppet • Saw: Rebirth • "Hello Zepp" |
