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Who proved through hard work and dedication, that the people who died did not die in vain. Today we honor the newly promoted Detective Lieutenant, Mark Hoffman. Hoffman promoted by the chief of the police |
Lieutenant Mark Hoffman is a fictional character in the Saw film series. He is portrayed by Australian actor Costas Mandylor. The character is a long-serving police officer for the Metropolitian Police Department, as well as the first accomplice, and subsequently the successor of, the Jigsaw Killer. Like his mentor and partner, he designs death traps that, for survivors, give them reason to appreciate their lives. There are a few major differences however. Unlike Amanda, most of his traps give the victims the chance to escape. On the other hand, he has no emotion towards his victims, and in general, brandishes a very monotone personality. Hoffman after Saw IV becomes the primary antagonist for the rest of the movies
Biography
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I know about your sister. I know how you cared for her. I know she was your only family. You sit in bars until closing. You drink so you can sleep. You stagger to your car and then you start it all over again the next day. John about Hoffman after his sister was killed |
Much of Hoffman's backstory is presented in Saw V. It was revealed in the movie that Hoffman had spent nearly twenty years as a police officer.
Seth Baxter, the murderer of his sister, spent five years in prison before being released on a technicality. Angered by this, Hoffman set up a trap that mirrored the M.O. of the Jigsaw Killer, and did so in a manner that will kill him regardless of his choice. Hoffman then abducted Seth and placed him in the trap, then watched as the murderer of his sister was cut in half by it.
Arriving to his apartment, he unknowingly meets John (Jigsaw) in an elevator. Noticing that only one button (the button he pressed upon entering) was lit, he was then attacked from behind and abducted. Hoffman then wakes in Jigsaw's lair at the time and strapped to a modified double-barreled shotgun aimed at his head. John calmly warns him that if he attempts to escape, he will trigger it and kill himself. John then explains that he has evidence that proves Hoffman committed Seth's murder, and then proceeds to test Hoffman's will to survive by pulling the unloaded barrel's trigger. He then releases Hoffman and offers him an ultimatum: he can kill John and have all the evidence released, thus destroying him and his career, or learn to see how Jigsaw's method of "rehabilitation" truly works. As Hoffman ponders his choice, John shows him he could have killed him by firing the loaded barrel, and questions what his sister would think. Hoffman then accepts his offer.
Hoffman firsts assists John by abducting a victim and placing him in a razor-wire maze trap. Hoffman informs John during the trap that the police are apparently getting closer. John then instructs Hoffman to plant evidence that will lead the police to Lawrence Gordon. He later assisted John in putting together the test of Eric Matthews by placing Amanda (as John instructed) in the house along with the other seven victims. During this, John gave Hoffman advice on how to predict people's actions regarding chance.
In the films
Saw III
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I need you to set up a game, I insure you that the people being tested part of something much larger, they're connected. So in the end all the pieces fit to getter. John tells Hoffman to set up The Fatal Five games |
Hoffman first appears as a forensic detective; he was one of the first to arrive at the scene of an explosion in an abandoned school that was revealed to be the trap area for Troy, whose burnt and disfigured corpse had been found among the debris of the detonated bomb. He told Allison Kerry what he knew before she did her own analysis on the trap. He made a special note that the trap did not follow Jigsaw's usual M.O., as Kerry had said, due to the fact that the door to the room was welded shut, making it impossible for Troy to escape. While Lieutenant Rigg and Kerry were arguing, Hoffman pocketed some of the evidence. Amanda and Hoffman then place Kerry in a trap which kills her even though she did as she was instructed to.
Hoffman at Troy's crime scene, pocketing evidences.
As they begin to put John's final tests into action, Hoffman and Amanda begin fighting over John's affections and legacy. Hoffman tries to win John's favor by warning him against Amanda's now murderous take on his legacy. John instead chooses to allow the game to progress. Hoffman, knowing the test was actually meant for Amanda, proceeded to sabotage the test by switching John's letter for Amanda with one of his own: a letter informing her that, if she did not kill one of the subjects, he would tell John about her role in his wife (Jill Tuck's) miscarriage. Amanda does so, but is killed by the subject's husband, who then proceeded to kill John as well.
Saw IV
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Are you there, detective? If so, you are probably the last man standing. Now, perhaps you will succeed where the others have failed. You feel you now have control, don't you? You think you will walk away untested. I promise that my work will continue. That I have ensured. By hearing this tape, some will assume that this is over but I am still among you. You think it's over just because I am dead. It's not over. The games have just begun. Jigsaw warn Hoffman |
Hoffman, Rigg, and the SWAT arrive at an unidentified location where they come across Kerry's rotting corpse. Peter Strahm and Lindsey Perez arrive at the scene shortly after the discovery and begin to question Hoffman about Kerry; Strahm implies that because of the vast difference between Amanda and Kerry's bodyweight, someone else had to have assisted her in putting Kerry inside of her trap.
Later, he cooperates with the two agents in order to uncover clues that lead him to Jill, Jigsaw's ex-wife. During one of his visits at the precinct, Perez spotted him with a stuffed toy while leaving the office, and when confronted about it, Hoffman replied that he had a girl, yet wasn't married (it's later revealed to be Corbett's stuffed animal; the young girl who he kidnapped, along with her father). Hoffman next appeared to be kidnapped and put into a trap that was the final part in a series of tests made for Rigg. He was strapped to a chair on one end of a scale, with Eric Matthews hanging from the ceiling and standing on an ice block at the other end of the scale. If Matthews was not on the melting ice block, the scale would tip and send the runoff water towards Hoffman, hitting an electrode beside his chair and presumably electrocuting him. Art Blanc watched over them, a victim himself, waiting to push a button to free them all once the 90 minutes Rigg had been given were up. At the end of Rigg's test and after he was shot, Hoffman unstrapped himself from the chair, revealing both that he was never in any danger throughout the game and that he himself was the second apprentice to Jigsaw. He left Rigg to bleed to death, and then proceeded to lock Peter Strahm inside of the sick room.
Saw V
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Hoffman: There's another detective that you should be aware of. His name is Tapp. He is smart and is getting closer. John: I know who he is. I need you to lead him to someone for me, a doctor. A healer who needs some healing.
Hoffman, making Dr. Gordon a suspect. |
In Saw V, Hoffman walks out of the Gideon building with Corbett Denlon, the daughter of Lynn Denlon and Jeff Reinhart. Hoffman claims no one survived, until we see that Agent Peter Strahm is still alive after escaping the trap that was meant for his execution. Strahm then begins investigating Hoffman as a Jigsaw apprentice as Hoffman walked out of the Gideon building untouched, and Perez spoke his name just before she "died".
He then realizes Agent Strahm is closing in on him being a suspect, and decides to set up a test which he plans for Peter to fail. He proceeds to take Strahm's phone and plant it near the location of the current game being played. It is here that he plans for Dan Erickson, who is in charge of the Jigsaw case at the FBI, to find the phone and suspect Peter of being the new accomplice. He's assisted in the framing by Jill, who goes to the FBI precinct and fuels Erickson's suspicision of Strahm by maki
Hoffman in the shotgun chair
ng up a false story about how he's stalking her.
Meanwhile, Strahm follows Hoffman into his home. He goes downstairs, and uncovers a room with a transparent box filled with glass in the middle of the room. This is the same box Jigsaw had been constructing in Saw IV. Strahm also finds a tape, instructing him to get into the box. If he does, he might suffer some pain, but his life will be spared. He decides to ignore the warning, and turns off the tape as he hears Hoffman approach the room. Hoffman walks into the room, with no sign of Strahm. Strahm soon appears behind Hoffman, attacking him. The two engage in a fight that ends with Strahm pushing Hoffman into the glass box. Hoffman is sealed in the box, and the door to the room closes behind Strahm. Strahm furiously demands to know how to open the door. Hoffman points down at the tape Strahm had just played. Strahm plays the rest of the tape, which states that if he didn't get into the box the room would become his tomb and he would simply 'vanish'. The glass box, with Hoffman in it, begins to lower into the ground while the walls in the room begin to close. Strahm tries to shoot Hoffman but the glass is impenetrable. The tape reveals that Hoffman's legacy would soon become Strahm's, since all evidence in the Jigsaw case now points to him. The walls close, crushing Strahm in the room. The final shot shows Hoffman looking up, through the box covered with Strahm's blood as the walls come to a final close.There is a possiblty that after the events of Saw IV and Saw V,Hoffman was called to the cornor's office to hear the tape found in Jigsaw's stomach.This scene was shown in Saw IV.
Saw VI
Following Strahm's death, Hoffman uses one of his severed remaining hands to plant fingerprints at the site of another game. He later arrives at the site after being called there by Erickson, who confirms the results. Erickson then introduces him to Agent Perez, who survived her trap in Saw IV. Hoffman reluctantly agrees to work with them. Later, he is again called to the morgue with news from Erickson and Perez: the coroner proves that the knife used to cut a Jigsaw piece from one of the victims was different than the one used by John Kramer, and used only in one other instance - the murder of Seth Baxter. The two explain that they are looking for the tape (which Hoffman had modified to make his voice sound like Jigsaw's) to prove Strahm was behind it as well.
Unnerved by this, Hoffman arrives at Jill Tuck's clinic and forcefully takes control of John's final game, which was meant for them both to perform. He then demands Jill give him the envelopes which came in the box Jill received from John's will.
Hoffman abducts John's former insurance agent, William Easton, and places him through a series of tests. During the game, Hoffman is forced to leave due to more developments in the case. Perez informs him that Strahm's fingerprints showed signs that they were contaminated, and that the tape was found. The three then go to the location where it is being decoded. Perez then begins questioning Hoffman's attitude and her disbelief of Strahm's involvement. Erickson takes over and reveals to Hoffman that, according to signs on Strahm's fingerprints, he was dead when they were left. Immediately following this, the tape is decoded, revealing Hoffman's voice. Hoffman then proceeds to kill Erickson, the technician and Perez. As Perez is dying, he demands to know who else knows. She tells him "everyone" before he finally kills her.
Hoffman, seconds after escaping the Reverse Bear Trap.
Hoffman quickly works to re-establish Strahm as the apprentice by planting his fingerprints around the room and setting it on fire. He arrives at the building where William's game is taking place just as it is ending. As the final seconds begin, Hoffman discovers a printout of his letter to Amanda. As he reads it, Jill enters and activates a device under his chair that knocks him unconscious. Jill then begins strapping him down before placing a modified Reverse-Beartrap similar to Amanda's on him. As he begins to wake, she shows him that she had received a sixth envelope from John, which instructed her to test Hoffman.
William's game culminates with his death at the hands of a family who William previously dropped a member from insurance, leading to his death. Jill leaves Hoffman to die with a 45-second timer on the device. Hoffman proceeds to break one of his arms with the device, freeing himself, before sending his head through a window as the timer ends. The device catches on the window frame and opens partially. Hoffman eventually manages to slip out, tearing his right cheek open as a result, and yelling loudly for a few seconds before the movie's credits begin
Saw 3D
After escaping the Reverse Bear Trap 2.0, Hoffman leaves, taking medical supplies, and returns to his hideout where he stitches his cheek and bandages his hand. Jill meets with Gibson, an internal affairs detective at Hoffman's precinct, and tells him that Hoffman has been involved as an accomplice in nearly every Jigsaw murder. The police attempt to raid the
Hoffman, chained in the bathroom, screaming at Dr. Gordon
area where Hoffman is, but he hides himself in a body bag and is rolled into the coroner's office. After escaping from there, he goes on a killing spree at the police station. He then finds Jill and puts her in the reverse bear trap, killing her. The last words of Hoffman to Jill where the famous words 'Game Over'. Hoffman destroys the hideout and prepares to flee the city, but is attacked by three men wearing pig masks. One of the pigheads reveals himself as Lawrence Gordon. Dr.Gordon puts Mark in the bathroom from the first movie. Mark tries to grab the hacksaw, but Dr. Gordon thrown it outside the bathroom so Hoffman couldn't escape. Dr. Gordon then shut off the lights and close the door, leaving Hoffman to rot alone with the remains of Adam, Zep, Xavier and Lawrence's decayed foot.
Personality
Hoffman outwardly acts as a hard-working and responsible police officer. Under the Jigsaw persona, however, he is much more cold-blooded and very apathetic towards his victims. He also shows signs of needing to be in control of situations, and modifying them to make himself in control if he isn't. It is shown in Saw V that Hoffman loved his sister and was angered when her killer was released from prison.
However, Saw V, Saw VI and Saw: The Final Chapter showed the lengths Hoffman will go to in order to protect his identity. When his identity is threatened, he becomes much more brutal and willing to break any rules and kill anyone he has to. This was shown when he murders two FBI agents and numerous police officers after his identity is revealed. In Saw: The Final Chapter, Hoffman kills six police employeees personally and several more indirectly in order to kill Jill Tuck.
Appearances/Actors
- Canon (5 films, 2 games)
- Saw (video game) (Case File Only)
- Saw II: Flesh & Blood (Case Files Only)
- Saw III (First appearance) - Costas Mandylor
- Saw IV - Costas Mandylor
- Saw V - Costas Mandylor
- Sav VI - Costas Mandylor
- Saw 3D - Costas Mandylor
Costas Mandylor on Hoffman
Prior to the release of Saw VI, Costas had stated in an interview that, "Hoffman is sort of torn of becoming a mad man or becoming a guy that's more composed, coming from a pure place like Jigsaw. That's my character's dilemma: does he go fucking crazy or follow the rules of the boss?", later saying that, when compared to Jigsaw and his morals, the rough edges of Hoffman are more pronounced.
Trivia
- On the Saw 3D commentary the writers confirmed that Hoffman "has no chance in hell of surviving the bathroom".
- According to producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg, Hoffman was named after late Saw producer Gregg Hoffman, who died shortly after the announcement of Saw III.
- It is believed that Hoffman might be Pighead II.
- Aside from flashbacks and tapes, Hoffman has appeared in more films than any other character, only not appearing in the first two films.
- In the original Saw IV-VI trilogy that Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan wrote back in 2006, Hoffman was supposed to be defeated in Saw VI finale by Peter Strahm.
Template:Saw Characters