| “ | When the timer in the back goes off, your mouth will be ripped permanently open. Think of it like a reverse bear trap. | ” |
— The puppet introduces David to his test.[src]
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The Reverse Bear Trap is a trap from the Saw franchise, appearing in the original short film Saw.
Design and Function[]
The reverse bear trap was a complex mechanical contraption built with multiple metallic components. The frontal section consisted of two movable, bent metal parts that lay on each other. Each of these parts could be equipped with up to five blades. Those blades were shoved into the victim's mouth, preventing them from speaking or removing the device.
The trap's midsection consisted of an arch-shaped brace that rested on the victim's head. Therefore, their abductor could put the device onto their head like a helmet. The rear section of the trap consisted of a large metallic brace. Due to a hinge, it could be moved and laid around the back of the victim's head, where it was then secured with a padlock. A timer was attached to the trap right next to the lock. It started ticking down once a safety pin was pulled out.
The bear trap's three individual sections ran together on both sides of the victim's head, where the contraption's primary mechanism was. It consisted of cables, gears, coil springs, and a hydraulic pump. Once the timer on the back expired, the two frontal elements were divaricated vertically with enough pressure to break the victim's jaws and rip their face apart. The only way to survive was to find the key to the padlock and remove it before the timer went off. (Saw)
History[]
David's Test[]
| “ | Hello, David. You don't know me, but I know you. I want to play a game. I'll give you a demonstration of what happens if you lose. The device you are wearing is hooked into your upper and lower jaws. When the timer in the back goes off, your mouth will be ripped permanently open. Think of it like a reverse bear trap. I'll show you. There is only one key to open the device. It is in the stomach of your dead cellmate. Look around, David. Know that I'm not lying. Live or die. Make your choice. | ” |
— David's instructions[src]
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The reverse bear trap was designed by a psychopathic killer to test a hospital orderly named David and his willingness to fight for his survival. One day, in June 2003, David was about to leave the hospital after ending his shift. However, while waiting for the elevator, the killer suddenly approached him from behind, knocked him out with a bludgeon, and took him to an abandoned location. He strapped David to a chair and put the bear trap on his head. He also abducted another man and injected him with an opiate overdose, rendering him unable to move or feel anything. When the kidnapper prepared David's game, he made the second victim swallow a key and painted a black question mark on his stomach. After finishing all of his preparations, the killer left the building.
David in the trap
Shortly afterward, David woke up. Although initially confused, he quickly panicked upon realizing he was trapped. David desperately tried to free himself from the chair but stopped when a TV turned on next to him. A mechanical ventriloquist puppet appeared on-screen and introduced him to a perfidious game. The doll described the device on his head as a "reverse bear trap" and demonstrated its deadly function on a mannequin's head. The trap would rip David's mouth open if he did not free himself within 60 seconds. To do so, he had to cut the key to the device from the stomach of his supposedly dead cellmate.
David finds the knife.
When the TV turned off, David panicked again. After initially struggling, he ultimately freed his arms from his restraints. However, as he got up from the chair, a metal pin was pulled out of the deadly device, setting off the timer. David eventually spotted the seemingly lifeless body of his cellmate and the black question mark painted on his stomach. After a brief hesitation, David realized his cellmate was not dead but only paralyzed. Nonetheless, he took a knife lying next to him and repeatedly stabbed the helpless man.
After killing him, David searched through his stomach for the key. When he eventually found it, he unlocked the trap and freed himself only moments before its activation. Horrified by these events, David started crying when the mechanical puppet approached him on a tricycle. It congratulated him for his survival, telling him he had finally learned to appreciate his life. In a panic, David fled and ultimately found a way out of the building. (Saw)
Trivia[]
- The reverse bear trap was designed and built by Stuart Prain.
- David's test is almost identical to Amanda Young's game in the first Saw film.
- Leigh Whannell, the actor playing David, was the screenwriter for the short film and the first three Saw movies.
- The director James Wan confirmed that the Reverse Beartrap that has been used in the short film was actually real and it can rip open a person's jaw easily.
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Reverse Bear Trap | |