| “ | Awake already, Jeff? I need more powerful tranqualizers next time. Don't cry, I've given your life a purpose. You are a test subject for something greater than yourself. | ” |
— Jigsaw speaks to Jeff[src]
| ||
Jeff Ridenhour is a fictional character from the Saw franchise as well as a minor character in Saw. He was portrayed by Ned Bellamy in the movies and voiced by Dex Manley in Saw: The Video Game.
Biography
Captivity
Early on in his series of murders, John Kramer, better known as the Jigsaw Killer, targeted Jeff Ridenhour for one of his deadly games. One day, he abducted him and took him to his hideout inside an abandoned mannequin factory at 213 Stygian Street, where he gagged him and strapped him to a chair with two drills that were pointed at his head.
Jeff is found by Tapp and Sing
Shorty after his abduction, Detective David Tapp and Detective Steven Sing managed to deduce the location of the hideout by further examining a video tape left by Jigsaw at the crime scene of one of his previous game. Minutes later, they arrived at the factory and entered the building. When they went upstairs and searched the hideout, they found a box with little figures resembling another deadly game Jigsaw had already planned for the future. Furthermore, they found one of the pig masks he used for his abductions, as well as the mechanical ventriloquist puppet from the video. Moments later, they were startled by a noise nearby, coming from under a large red hood. Eventually, this turned out to be the voice of Jeff Ridenhour, who was still strapped to the chair. However, when they wanted to free him, they suddenly heard the elevator and Tapp told Sing to go into hiding to see what Jigsaw was going to do. Eager to finally arrest the Jigsaw Killer, Sing initially refused to follow Tapp's order, but eventually decided to do so and put the cloth back on Jeff, before quickly going into hiding with Tapp.
Jeff in the Drill Chair
Moments later, a hooded man, Jigsaw, arrived and approached Jeff. When he told Jeff that he had planned a bigger test for him, Jeff started to cry. Moments later, the detectives came out of their hiding spot and held Jigsaw at gunpoint. However, Jigsaw managed to activate Jeff's trap, which caused the two drills to approach his head, giving the detectives merely 20 seconds to save him. While Tapp took care of the killer and held him at gunpoint, he demanded Jigsaw to tell Sing how to stop the trap and was told that only a key could unlock the metal neck brace which held Jeff's head in place. When Sing found a set of keys in a box, he desperately tried to find the right one among the dozens of keys. Having only a few seconds left, Sing eventually decided to shoot the drills, saving Jeff's life in the process. However, Tapp was distracted by the gunshots, giving Jigsaw the chance to slash his throat with a hidden blade. As he ran away, Sing immediately pursued him and eventually managed to shoot him in a hallway, causing him to collapse. Thinking that Jigsaw was dead, Sing approached him but unwittingly walked right into a booby trap and was fatally wounded by four shotguns. After Sing's death, Jigsaw, who wore some kind of body armor under his cloak and therefore remained unharmed by the shot, stood up and left the hideout, leaving the detectives and Jeff behind. However, Tapp and Jeff were later found and saved by the Metropolitan Police Department. (Saw)
Non-Canon Appearances
Saw: The Video Game
Jeff is freed by Detective Tapp
Jeff also appeared in Saw: The Video Game, which was set right after the first movie. In the game, he was abducted by Jigsaw once again, who brought him to the abandoned Whitehurst Insane Asylum to make him participate in another game. It was revealed that Jeff had been abducted the first time due to a failed suicide attempt. After his release from the mannequin factory, he was frequently harassed by Tapp, who wanted to interrogate him about Jigsaw. This ultimately caused Jeff to attempt to kill himself once more. This second attempt remained unsuccessful as well and so, he was targeted by Jigsaw again. However, when Jigsaw talked to him at Whitehurst, Jeff desperately claimed that he wanted to live. He was the sixth and last victim to be saved by Tapp throughout his own series of tests. Tapp eventually managed to free him from another deadly trap and asked Jeff if he saw Jigsaw's face. However, Jeff merely insulted him and limped away. He later escaped the asylum when Tapp was confronted with an ultimatum by Jigsaw and chose to let go off his obsession with catching him in exchange for the freedom of all the other prisoners at Whitehurst.
Jeff was also mentioned in a newspaper article by Globe Staff writer Oswald McGillicutty. However, his name was changed to "Jeff Thomas". Additionally, Tapp found a confession written by Jeff as he blamed himself for the death of Detective Sing.
Saw II: Flesh & Blood
Jeff was also mentioned in several case files and audio tapes recorded by Detective Tapp and a report by Detective Allison Kerry in Saw II: Flesh & Blood. In the files, Tapp wrote down the details about both of his games at the mannequin factory and Whitehurst. It was also revealed that Jeff committed suicide by gunshot two days after the events at the asylum.
Personality
Not much can be said about Jeff's personality due to his short screen time. However, the video games shed more light on his character. Jeff's repeated attempts at suicide suggest that he found himself unable to handle the stress of everyday life and therefore suffered from severe depression. However, when he ended up the Jigsaw Killer's deadly games twice, he desperately begged for his survival, 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 own life.
Trivia
- In an early script draft for Saw IV, Jeff was planned to make an appearance as the test subject forced to watch the progress of Special Agent Peter Strahm and Special Agent Lindsey Perez throughout their own game.
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 |
| Other Media | |||||
| "Saw" (2003 Short) |
Saw: Rebirth (2005 Comic) |
Full Disclosure Report | The Scott Tibbs Documentary | Saw: The Video Game | Saw II: Flesh & Blood |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | Mentioned |