Jeff Ridenhour

Movies

Video Games

Jeff Ridenhour
Biographical Information
Appearances	Saw: The Video Game
Also Known As	Jeff Thomas
Status	Deceased
Cause of Death	Suicide by headshot
Role	Minor Character
Reason Tested	Attempted suicide
Relationships	David Tapp (savior)† John Kramer (abductor) Steven Sing (savior)†
Portrayed by	Dex Manley

“	This cop, he was harassing me, making me relive it again and again! He wouldn't leave me alone!	”
	— Jeff blames David Tapp for his suicide attempt.

Jeff Ridenhour is a fictional character from the Saw franchise. He was a supporting character in Saw: The Video Game.

He was voiced by Dex Manley.

Biography

Attempted Suicide

Jeff Ridenhour was a severely depressed man who struggled to deal with the challenges of everyday life. His desperation worsened to the point where he tried to kill himself. However, Jeff survived his attempted suicide by unknown means. (Saw: The Video Game, Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Abduction

Due to his death wish, he was eventually targeted by John Kramer, better known as the Jigsaw Killer. After abducting him, he took him to his lair in an abandoned industrial building at 213 Stygian Street and strapped him to a mechanical chair before leaving his hideout again. (Saw: The Video Game, Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Captivity

Shortly afterward, Detective David Tapp and Detective Steven Sing, two homicide detectives who worked for the Metropolitan Police Department, managed to find and break into the building. When they searched the hideout, they suddenly caught a sound and discovered Jeff. However, when they heard a nearby elevator, they went into hiding. Moments later, Jigsaw arrived, disguised with a black cloak and hood. Tapp and Sing observed him as the latter approached Jeff and told him he wanted to use him to test a bigger project. At this moment, the detectives left their hiding spot and aimed their weapons at Jigsaw. Jigsaw reacted quickly and activated the mechanical chair by stepping on a button on the floor. Subsequently, two drills started to approach Jeff's head from both sides. While Sing desperately tried deactivating the contraption, Tapp held Jigsaw at gunpoint. Even though Jigsaw told them that the key to the trap was in a box next to Jeff, Sing could not find the right one in time as dozens of keys were attached to the key ring.

Nonetheless, Sing saved Jeff by shooting the drills in the last nick of time. However, the shots distracted Tapp, allowing Jigsaw to slash his throat with a hidden blade and run away. Sing pursued the killer and shot him in a hallway, causing him to collapse. Thinking he was dead, Sing approached his body and accidentally stepped on a tripwire. This carelessness proved fatal as the wire triggered another trap, which caused Sing to be killed by four shotguns attached to a ceiling beam. Afterward, Jigsaw, who wore bulletproof body armor under his cloak, left the factory unharmed. (Saw: The Video Game, Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Aftermath

Jeff and Tapp, who survived his injury, were saved after Jigsaw called an ambulance. However, the detective suffered a mental breakdown due to his role in Sing's death. As they had entered Jigsaw's hideout without a warrant, Tapp was put on probation by Chief Henry Jacobs. Jeff felt guilty because a good cop had died to save him, even though he had previously tried to throw away his life. Therefore, Jeff expressed his remorse and grief over Sing's death and wrote down a confession. Likewise, Tapp felt guilty for Sing's death and was unwilling to accept Jacobs' decision. Hoping to receive any information about the killer, Tapp repeatedly contacted Jeff. However, the latter could not answer his questions and eventually attempted suicide again when the former detective did not stop harassing him. (Saw: The Video Game, Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Second Abduction

Because of this second attempt to kill himself, he was eventually kidnapped by Jigsaw again. Following his abduction, he took him to the abandoned Whitehurst Insane Asylum and strapped him to a metal platform in a standing position in the asylum's theater. Behind him was a machine with several long, thin, pointy metal spikes that could impale his body. (Saw: The Video Game)

David Tapp's Test

Upon waking up, Jeff immediately panicked when he saw Jigsaw. When he asked his captor if he had not suffered enough already, Jigsaw confronted him with the fact that Jeff had attempted suicide twice before, promising that Jeff would know the value of life the closer he came to losing it. Jeff told Jigsaw that Tapp had kept harassing him after escaping from his hideout to get information about the killer. This frequent harassment was also the reason for his second attempted suicide, as Jeff saw no other way to escape his situation, but Jigsaw told him that he would soon learn that there was no escape. He asked Jeff if he genuinely wanted to die, which the latter negated. Therefore, Jigsaw confronted him with his second attempted suicide after escaping his first trap. To defend himself, Jeff blamed Tapp for having caused him to make this decision. After that, Jigsaw disappeared.

Meanwhile, Tapp traversed the asylum as part of his own game set up by the killer and eventually opened the door to the theater. Once inside, he went to the stage where Jeff was trapped. As he approached him, a TV turned on in front of them. A mechanical ventriloquist puppet named Billy appeared on-screen and once more confronted Jeff with his repeated attempts of suicide. It also informed him that Tapp was now the only one who could save him and gave the latter his instructions. Finally, several symbols briefly showed up on 16 TV screens in front of them before disappearing again.

Jeff is released from the trap.

When the tape ended, Tapp tried to find the corresponding symbols just as Jigsaw had told him. For every mistake, one of the metal spikes behind Jeff would rush forward and pierce the latter's body. After too many errors, the final spike would impale his head, killing him. Eventually, Tapp accomplished his task, releasing Jeff from the trap. He fell to his knees and could only stand up under great pain. As Jeff recognized Tapp, the man was distraught to see the detective. Despite the latter's attempts to calm him down, Jeff angrily yelled at him. Although Tapp assured him they could beat Jigsaw together, Jeff merely insulted and abandoned Tapp, stating that he was on his own. (Saw: The Video Game)

Death

Later that night, Jeff was released after Tapp had chosen to let go of his pursuit of Jigsaw in exchange for the freedom of all the victims trapped at Whitehurst. However, his briefly regained will to live did not last long, as his traumatic experience haunted him. Therefore, Jeff finally committed suicide by shooting himself in the head two days after his escape. (Saw: The Video Game, Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Personality

Jeff Ridenhour was a man who suffered from severe depression due to his inability to handle the usual stress of everyday life. Jeff's depressive state worsened over time and ultimately caused him to attempt suicide repeatedly. Nonetheless, he desperately begged for his life when he ended up in Jigsaw's deadly traps twice, showing that he had at least some remaining will to live. However, in the end, he fell back into old patterns and ultimately ended his life.

One factor that negatively affected his mental condition was the continuous harassment by David Tapp after Jeff's first escape from Jigsaw. Therefore, Jeff developed a grudge against the detective. During their final conversation at Whitehurst, he openly expressed his anger and hatred for Tapp and left him behind immediately after being freed from Jigsaw's trap. This behavior indicated that Jeff was barely interested in Jigsaw being arrested, as he only wanted to be left alone by everyone around him.

Nonetheless, Jeff was not incapable of feeling empathy for others, as shown by his hand-written confession. Following his salvation by Steven Sing, Jeff felt sorry for the detective's death and deemed it unfair that an innocent young man had to die for him to be saved.

Trivia

• Jeff was named Jeff Thomas in a newspaper article written by Oswald McGillicutty.

Appearances and References

Films
Saw	Saw II	Saw III	Saw IV	Saw V	Saw VI	Saw 3D	Jigsaw	Spiral	Saw X
Flashback	Absent	Absent	Absent	Mentioned	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent