Jigsaw

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Saw 3D

Jigsaw

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Jigsaw is the eighth installment in the Saw franchise which was released on October 26th 2017 in the UK, and on October 27th 2017 in the US.^[1]

The film was originally going to be called Saw: Legacy, but in June 2017, the title was officially changed to Jigsaw.

Synopsis

After a series of murders bearing all the markings of the Jigsaw killer, law enforcement find themselves chasing the ghost of a man dead for over a decade and embroiled in a new game that's only just begun. Is John Kramer back from the dead to remind the world to be grateful for the gift of life? Or is this a trap set by a killer with designs of their own?

Plot

The movie begins following a police pursuit of criminal Edgar Munson. Edgar, in an obvious panic as he frantically waves a triggering mechanism in his hand, begins to yell at the cops pursuing him about the beginning of another 'game', and how he must choose people to die, or otherwise he would be killed. Despite the police demanding he set the triggering mechanism in his hand down, Edgar pulls the trigger anyways, resulting in the police beginning to shoot at the triggering mechanism. Having been ordered by Halloran to not shoot at Edgar, but at the mechanism in his hand, the detectives are angry to find Edgar had been shot in the chest.

The film then cuts to a metal room, empty aside from the unconscious bodies of five more victims, each with a bucket-like device on their head, and a chain noose around their necks. On the wall opposite to the five unconscious people, is a multitude of buzz saws. Four of the five victims wake up to John Kramer's voice, explaining they must offer a sacrifice of blood in order to get a 'green light' and proceed safely. He also mentions 'confessing their past sins' and allowing 'the truth to set them free'. As the explanation of the first part of the game ends, the saws on the other side of the room activate, and the chains around their necks begin to pull the victims forward. The four conscious victims begin to struggle, until one woman, Anna, realizes that in order to get the bucket off her head, she only has to offer a small sacrifice of blood. She cuts her finger on the saw blades, and the light on top of her bucket helmet turns green, allowing her to take it off. She helps the other three conscious victims realize what they need to do, but accidentally injures Carly badly during a struggle. The fifth man, who had been unconscious during the initial instructions, wakes up as the other four are pulled into the next room by their chains, all while Anna yells at him to cut himself in order to be free. We see the man hit the buzz saws, and it is assumed he dies. In the next room, which reveals them to be in a barn, the chains continue to pull them forward. Eventually, the chains stop, and a trio of near identical needles dispenses from the ceiling. John Kramer's voice explains that a member of the group inadvertently caused the death of a victim, after robbing and refusing to help when they had the means to. He explains that said member has a poison coursing through their veins; in one syringe is the antidote, in another is a saline solution, and in the final one is a deadly acid. He tells the person to ask themselves 'how much a life is worth to you?'. He also warns that if they don't make the correct choice, they would all be hung by the chains around their neck. It's revealed that the group member John spoke of was Carly, who used to snatch purses. In one instance, an asthmatic woman began having an attack after Carly robbed her, and instead of helping, Carly allowed the woman to die, and ran off with $3.53. Ryan, being impatient as the chains slowly begin to recede into the ceiling, demands Carly choose a needle. Speaking to herself, Carly realizes what 'How much is a life worth to you?' Meant, and remembers stealing $3.53 off of the woman who died. Each syringe has a number printed inside, but as Carly refuses the answer the question and choose a needle despite knowing the correct one, Ryan attempts to stab her with all three. As the four remaining victims are lifted off the ground, Ryan and Carly struggle, ending with Ryan sticking Carly with all three needles. The four are let go from their chains, and the side of Carly's face is dissolved by the deadly acid.

After the uncovering of two bodies with jigsaw pieces cut from them, seemingly belonging to the unnamed man killed in the first room, and Carly, Halloran and his partner, Keith Hunt, begin to investigate the 'game' more seriously. Halloran becomes suspicious of forensic pathologists Logan Nelson and Eleanor Bonneville, specifically Eleanor. Though in turn Logan, a military veteran whose wife was killed two years prior, is suspicious of Halloran's motives in investigating the case. Edgar, who had been put into a forced coma in order to heal properly from his injuries, is shown being kidnapped from the hospital by an unseen assailant. When the police captain orders John Kramer's grave to be exhumed in order to put an end to the rumors that the 'game' is really another Jigsaw game, and that somehow John is still alive, inside the coffin is instead Edgar's body, with a jigsaw piece cut out of his cheek.

In another room, Ryan tries to cheat by escaping through a door named "No Exit" and his leg is trapped by razor-sharp wires, immobilizing him. Fellow group members Anna and Mitch discover an unlocked door leading into a grain silo, but are quickly trapped inside. A taped message explains that Anna and Mitch will be buried in grain and then killed by falling debris unless Ryan pulls a lever that will free him from the wires around his leg. Ryan eventually agrees, but upon the lever, his leg is instantly severed, though Anna and Mitch survive. Mitch is then tested next, a taped message reveals that he sold a motorcycle with a faulty brake to a young man revealed to be John Kramer's nephew, which resulted in his death in an automobile accident. Mitch will be lowered into a spiral-shaped trap lined with heated elements, which is being spun by the wheel of the same motorcycle Mitch sold to John\s\s nephew, unless he can reach for a brake lever. He is very close to reaching the lever when Anna, taking a nearby metal bar, attempts to jam the motorcycle's wheel. It seems to work, momentarily, and Mitch seems relieved. That is, until the motorcycle breaks the bar, causing the trap to start up again, and Mitch is subsequently shredded by the trap.

Logan and Eleanor speak in a bar about their distrust of Halloran, before Eleanor takes Logan to her "studio", revealing that she is an obsessive fangirl of the Jigsaw case and has built many replicas of his previous traps, which she worries could incriminate her. Hunt has followed them and takes photos of her studio, which he shows to Halloran. Halloran orders the two to be arrested, though Logan is able to convince Hunt, an old friend, that Halloran is actually to blame, as he had past dealings with Edgar. Logan and Eleanor depart for the barn after Eleanor traces the game's location through Jill Tuck's family, though Halloran pursues them.

Anna tries to cheat and slip through a doorway to freedom, only to be captured. She awakens with a gravely wounded but still living Ryan, each chained up in a room with a hooded figure. The hooded figure removes his robe to reveal John Kramer. John reveals that Anna, an old neighbor of his when he was first diagnosed with cancer, suffocated her infant child in a fit of rage, and threw the blame on her husband by planting her child's body next to him while he slept. Her husband later committed suicide in a fit of grief, believing he accidentally suffocated his own baby. John explains that the two have not yet earned their survival, and have gotten his message "backwards". He places a loaded gun between them, telling them that it is the "key" to their survival. Anna misinterprets John's message and attempts to shoot Ryan, only for the gun, which is revealed to be rigged, to backfire and kill her. Ryan begins to cry upon realizing that the keys to their chains was hidden inside of the gun, and destroyed when Anna pulled the trigger. He notices that the green key coordinating with Anna's green lock has been bent and out of use and his coordinating yellow key and lock has been split in half, leaving no hope for neither of their escape.

Logan and Eleanor begin to investigate the barn, only to be ambushed by Halloran. However, Eleanor escapes, while Logan is knocked out and Halloran is attacked by an unseen assailant. Logan and Halloran awaken inside of collars rigged with laser cutters. The two are told that they must confess all of their sins or else they will die, and they will have a choice of who will face their test first. Halloran forces Logan to go first, Logan, a former doctor, confesses that he made a mistake and mislabeled John Kramer's X-Rays, which caused his cancer to go un-diagnosed until it was too late. Despite confessing, Logan appears to die. Halloran confesses at the last second, admitting he has allowed criminals and murders to walk free for personal gain despite being an officer of the law.

Suddenly, Logan stands up, revealing to Halloran that he had faked his death only to trick him into confessing. Logan then goes on to reveal that the 'game' that had taken place with Anna, Mitch, Ryan, Carly, and the unnamed fifth man had actually happened years beforehand, along with the fact that the bodies were never found, and instead had been left to rot in the barn. He then reveals that the unnamed fifth man who appeared to die at the beginning of the game was in fact Logan himself. Instead of being killed, however, Logan was spared by John due to the fact that Logan had been unconscious during the game's initial instructions, and John felt he should not die because of a simple error. John took Logan on as his first disciple, and the two are revealed to have worked together long before the events of 'Saw'. Logan also reveals that the bodies that were found by the police were the bodies of three criminals that Halloran had previously let off for his own gain. Logan states that his intention was to recreate the game in the barn, leaving himself and Halloran as the final two. However, because Halloran refused to confess all of his sins, and because he selfishly broke the rules and forced Logan to go first, he will die. Logan tells Halloran that he "speaks for the dead" and reactivates the laser-collar around his neck. Logan slams the door as Halloran's head is sliced apart by the lasers, killing him.

Cast

Matt Passmore as Logan Nelson
Tobin Bell as John Kramer
Callum Keith Rennie as Detective Halloran
Hannah Emily Anderson as Eleanor Bonneville
Clé Bennett as Detective Keith Hunt
Laura Vandervoort as Anna
Paul Braunstein as Ryan
Mandela Van Peebles as Mitch
Brittany Allen as Carly
Josiah Black as Edgar Munsen
Keeya King as Rebecca
Michael Boisvert as Lee James
Arabella Oz as Lab Tech
Shaquan Lewis as Officer Solomon
Edward Ruttle as Matthew
Lauren Beatty as Carly Look-a-Like
Bauston Camilleri as John's Nephew

Soundtrack

Saw franchise veteran composer Charlie Clouser returned to compose this soundtrack. It was released on October 27, 2017 under Lakeshore Records.

Original Score

1. Chase Edgar

2. Bucket Room

3. Bucket Heads

4. Bullet Lodged

5. USB Stick

6. Tricycle

7. Confess

8. Chain Hangers

9. Carly Requiem

10. Barn Confess

11. Leg Wires

12. Exterior Autopsy

13. Silo Wires

14. Kinky Types

15. Question Logan

16. Results Are In

17. Grain Silo

18. Show Me

19. Replica Lair

20. Probable Cause

21. Mitch Tape

22. Cycle Trap

23. Swat Lair

24. And This

25. Anna Ryan

26. The Barn

27. Find Machine

28. Shotgun

29. Two Players

30. Laser Collars

31. Zepp Eight

32. End Credits

Development

It was confirmed February 1, 2016 Saw VIII is in development with a 2017 release.

According to Schmoes Know, co-producer Daniel J. Heffner has revealed that an eighth Saw film is currently in development.

On October 16th, 2014, Den Of Geek reported that Saw 8 was a possibility for 2016. In an interview with ShockTilYouDrop, the site quoted producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules' interview regarding the progression of Saw 8, and also the involvement of James Wan and Leigh Whannell. Regarding Wan and Whannell, the article stated that they, "...were so afraid of being the Saw guys. They were trying to make their own mark. They've certainly done that. Wan has moved on to The Conjuring, Insidious and next year's Fast & Furious 7. Meanwhile, Leigh Whannell is in post-production on Insidious Chapter 3."

"They're very comfortable to come back", Koules continued. "James and Leigh are absolutely going to put their mark on it. It's one of the reasons we agreed to do this again... The plan is to go to Comic-Con, not next summer but the summer after with our heads up saying 'here we go'", adding that now, "everyone has time and it's time."

The working title for this film was Saw: Legacy.

The film was named Jigsaw in June 2017.

Reception

Jigsaw has grossed $38.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $64.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $103 million, against a production budget of $10 million. The film was met with mostly unfavorable reviews from critics. It received a rating of 33% from Rotten Tomatoes, based on 87 reviews, while Metacritic gave it a score of 39 out of 100, based on 18 critics.

Trivia

This is the first Saw film to completely divert from the original story line, reportedly due to Lionsgate's envision to reboot the series. Supposedly, this film is furthermore the foundation for future Saw films.
Tobin Bell - portrayer of John Kramer is the only returning actor from the past films.