Saw III

◄

Saw II

Saw III

Saw IV

►

Saw III is a horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by James Wan and Leigh Whannell. It was the third film in the Saw franchise and was released on October 27, 2006.

Plot

Following the ending of Saw II, Detective Eric Matthews is trapped in the dilapidated bathroom after Amanda Young chained him to a pipe. However, he eventually frees himself from his shackle by breaking his foot with a toilet tank lid.

Six months later, Lieutenant Daniel Rigg and detectives Allison Kerry and Mark Hoffman find another victim of the Jigsaw Killer in a trap set up at an elementary school. The victim, Troy, had to rip out several chains pierced through various parts of his body to escape a nail bomb. However, the trap was inescapable as the exit door was welded shut, leading Kerry to assume that someone other than John Kramer was responsible for Troy's death.

Later, Kerry is abducted from her apartment and wakes up in a trap. She has one minute to retrieve a key from a beaker filled with acid and deactivate the device hooked into her chest. Although she manages to obtain the key in time, her trap has been manipulated, just like Troy's, and subsequently kills her as it tears her rib cage apart.

Shortly afterward, Amanda Young abducts the surgeon Dr. Lynn Denlon and takes her to her and John Kramer's hideout in an abandoned meatpacking plant. John, who has become bedridden due to his cancer, gives her an ultimatum and forces her to keep him alive until another victim manages to pass a series of tests. Amanda locks a collar around Lynn's neck to ensure she follows the rules. This collar is connected to John's heart monitor and will detonate if he dies or Lynn moves out of range.

Meanwhile, the other victim, Jeff, wakes up inside a crate somewhere else inside the plant. Jeff is tested because he lost his son, Dylan, in a car accident three years earlier and has become obsessed with his feelings of vengeance against the people he deemed responsible. An audiotape left by Jigsaw informs him that he will have to undergo several tests, ultimately leading him to "the man responsible for the loss of his child."

Soon afterward, Jeff finds a naked woman, Danica Scott, chained up in a freezer room. Danica was the only witness of his son's death but had refused to testify against the drunk driver, resulting in the latter only receiving a light sentence. As the game begins, her body is sprayed with ice-cold water at regular intervals, which quickly freezes due to the low temperature. Jeff can let her die or save her by obtaining a key hanging behind several frozen metal bars. Eventually, Danica manages to convince him to help her. However, even though he manages to retrieve the key, Danica ultimately freezes to death before Jeff can unlock her chains.

In his second test, Jeff encounters Halden, the judge who presided over the case of Dylan's death. He is chained to the bottom of a large vat that slowly fills with liquefied pig intestines. Again, Jeff can let him die or retrieve the key to Halden's shackle by burning his son's possessions in an incinerator. After some initial hesitation, Jeff finally activates the incinerator and saves the judge with the key.

Eventually, Jeff and Halden reach the room of Jeff's third test, where they find the drunk driver, Timothy Young, strapped to a device that will slowly twist his limbs and head. Despite his hatred and desire for vengeance, Jeff ultimately tries to save Timothy and retrieves a key connected to the trigger of a shotgun. However, as he does, Halden, who accidentally walks into the line of fire, is fatally shot. In the end, Jeff tries to deactivate Timothy's trap but fails to save him in time. Unable to rescue him, he watches as the contraption breaks Timothy's neck.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lynn Denlon decides to perform brain surgery on John to keep him alive. While undergoing the operation, he hallucinates and professes his love for another woman, whom Amanda mistakes for Lynn. Jealous of Lynn and distressed by John's impending death, Amanda cuts herself to deal with her emotions. Several flashbacks show how she became John's apprentice after surviving one of his games. It is also revealed that she assisted him in setting up the game in the bathroom of the first film and later returned to kill Adam Stanheight.

Amanda finds a letter in her desk drawer after the surgery, which distresses her even more. When she returns to John and Lynn to tell them that Jeff has finished his third test, John tells her to free Lynn from her collar. However, Amanda refuses to do so and holds her at gunpoint. While John tries to calm her down and convince her to let Lynn go, Amanda confesses that she does not believe in John's philosophy. She also reveals that she had manipulated Troy's and Kerry's traps and left Eric Matthews for dead after the two of them had engaged in a brutal fight after he escaped from the bathroom.

Despite John's warnings that her life depended on Lynn, Amanda shoots her in the back just as Jeff enters the room. It is revealed that Lynn and Jeff are husband and wife, unknown to Amanda. Therefore, Jeff fatally shoots her with a gun he found earlier during his game. While Amanda succumbs to her wounds, John reveals that Lynn's test to keep someone alive was also meant for Amanda, as he already knew about her manipulated games and was unwilling to let a murderer continue his work.

Following Amanda's death, Jeff aims his gun at John and tries to shoot him. However, he has no bullets left. John manages to calm him down and promises to call an ambulance for Lynn in exchange for one final test. Jeff can either kill John or forgive him for the pain he had caused him and his wife to suffer. Although Jeff tells John he forgives him, he picks up a buzz saw and slashes his throat. Subsequently, the door of the room automatically slams shut behind him. John pulls out a tape recorder and plays his final message for Jeff. The tape informs Jeff that he failed his test by killing John and reveals that his daughter, Corbett, has been abducted, with John being the only person to know about her whereabouts. Jeff has to play another game to save her before she runs out of air. The recording ends as John dies from his injuries, and Lynn's collar promptly detonates and kills her, leaving Jeff alone in the sick room.

Cast

Production

Despite the financial success of Saw II, Darren Lynn Bousman, James Wan, and Leigh Whannell initially turned down the offer to work on Saw III. However, they changed their minds when producer Gregg Hoffman unexpectedly died a few weeks after the release of Saw II and decided to make Saw III in dedication to him.

Unlike the first two installments, Saw III was planned to become a more emotional film, primarily focusing on the relationship and character development of Jigsaw and Amanda Young. As with the previous movies, the complete script was only given to the actors and crew members involved in the film's ending. However, Darren Lynn Bousman stated that their primary goal was not to deliver another twist ending as in the first movies. Instead, they wanted to fully concentrate on the emotional aspects of the climax rather than any surprising reveals.

Saw III was also granted a higher budget of $10 million. Instead of rebuilding the bathroom set from scratch, the crew borrowed the set used for Scary Movie 4, which parodied the first two films. The principal photography took place at Toronto's Cinespace Film Studios from May 8, 2006, to late June.

Almost all the shifts from one place to another were not made using digital effects. Instead, the transitions were shot on the spot - a technique that Darren Lynn Bousman already used for Saw II. This way, he wanted to maintain the fast pace and rhythm that were essential to the first two films' visual styles.

Release

The opening scene of Troy's trap was shown at San Diego Comic-Con International on July 21, 2006. The same clip was also planned to be presented before the opening of Crank in theaters on September 1, 2006. However, the MPAA did not allow it. On October 10, 2006, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, and Darren Lynn Bousman appeared at Spike TV's Scream Awards to promote the film, and the clip of Troy's trap was shown again.

Lionsgate's president of theatrical marketing, Tim Palen, proposed making 1,000 posters with a small amount of Tobin Bell's blood mixed with red printing ink. The posters were sold for $20, the first being auctioned off. All the proceeds from the auctioned poster were donated to the Red Cross. Lionsgate also held the third annual "Give Til It Hurts" blood drive for the Red Cross and collected 23,493 pints.

The film was finally released in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on October 27, 2006. It was also released in Australia on November 2, 2006, and in New Zealand on January 4, 2007. Executive producer Daniel Jason Heffner said the film had to be cut and altered seven times to obtain an R-rating. According to Darren Lynn Bousman, the Motion Picture Association of America was less concerned with the film's graphic violence than the emotional torture that might disturb the audience.

Saw III was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Lionsgate Home Entertainment on January 23, 2007. It topped the home video charts in the United States and Canada with 1.6 million units sold on its first day and finished the week with 2.5 million units sold. The "Unrated DVD" was also released that day and featured a 113-minute cut, including more explicit splatter scenes. A 120-minute-long Director's Cut was released on October 23, 2007, to coincide with the theatrical release of Saw IV on October 26. It also included an extended, slightly altered ending.

Reception

Saw III was the highest-grossing film in the franchise, earning $80,238,724 at the box office in the US and $164,874,275 worldwide, despite receiving primarily unfavorable reviews. It received a rating of 29% from Rotten Tomatoes, based on 95 reviews, and 48 out of 100 from Metacritic, based on 16 critics. Most of the criticism regarded the extensive use of flashbacks throughout the film. Furthermore, several plot details were considered unbelievable and unrealistic, such as the ability of John and Amanda to set up the traps.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Saw III was composed by Charlie Clouser, who had already been responsible for the soundtrack of the previous films. It was released on October 24, 2006, by Artists Addiction Records. The track "Monochrome" by Helmet was the lead-off single for the album.

Original Motion Picture Score

1. Footcuffed

2. In Chains

3. Carrie

4. Rib Caged

5. Divorce

6. Amanda

7. Hello Lynn

8. Daughter

9. Tin Box

10. Freezer

11. Surprised

12. Some Things

13. Doll Hall

14. Pig Juicer

15. Prep

16. Surgery

17. Baptism

18. Shithole

19. The Ring

20. Hello Tim

21. The Rack

22. Lynn Talks

23. Rules

24. Fight Eric

25. Your Test

26. Fix Me

27. Final Test

Complete Motion Picture Score

1. Open Credits

2. Footcuffed

3. Smashfoot

4. SWAT Team

5. In Chains (A)

6. In Chains (B)

7. Chain Links

8. Welded Shut

9. Bathtub

10. On Camera

11. Rib Caged

12. Hello Carrie

13. Acid Hand

14. Divorce

15. Trauma Room

16. Pressure

17. Pignapped

18. Amanda

19. Hello Lynn

20. Hello Jeff

21. Drunk

22. Daughter

23. Tin Box

24. Dr. Lynn

25. It's Begun

26. Stupid C*nt

27. Convulsions

28. Face Fears (A)

29. Face Fears (B)

30. Freezer

31. Tin Son

32. Lynn Lair

33. Be Surprised

34. Some Things

35. Doll Hall

36. Pig Room

37. Pig Juicer

38. Prep

39. Surgery

40. Near Death

41. Baptism

42. Shithole

43. The Ring

44. Flashlight

45. Tin Daughter

46. Hello Tim

47. The Rack

48. Lynn Talks

49. Rules

50. Fight Eric

51. Fix Me

52. Your Test

53. Our Choice

54. Final Test

Music From & Inspired By

1. This Calling - All That Remains

2. No Submission - Static X

3. Eyes of the Insane - Slayer

4. Walk with Me in Hell - Lamb of God

5. Monochrome - Helmet

6. Guarded - Disturbed

7. Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek - Blue October

8. No More - Drowning Pool

9. Burn it Down - Avenged Sevenfold

10. Your Nightmare - Eighteen Visions

11. Dead Underground - Opiate For The Masses

12. Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do) - Bullet for My Valentine

13. Fear is Big Business - Ministry

14. The Wolf is Loose - Mastodon

15. Killer Inside - Hydrovibe featuring Shawnee Smith

16. Sakkara - Hourcast

17. Shed - Meshuggah

18. Effigy - The Smashup

19. Siesta Loca - Ghost Machine

20. Getting Closer - Dope Stars Inc.

21. Haunting - Lore featuring Sean Brennan

22. Anti - Samsas Traum

23. Hatredcopter - Dethklok

24. Organ Grinder - Emilie Autumn

Trivia

Unlike the other Saw movies, which got an R15+ rating in Japan, Saw III got an R18+ rating due to the Rack scene.
According to the DVD commentary for Saw 3D, Dr. Lawrence Gordon from the first Saw film was initially meant to be the main character instead of Jeff Denlon, trying to save his wife Alison from Jigsaw and Amanda Young and eventually killing her abductors. It is unknown whether or not Cary Elwes was asked to return for the film or if he declined in the aftermath of his lawsuit following the first film.
Obi Tate, a character from Saw II, can be seen in the background during Jigsaw's hallucination of Jill Tuck just after the brain surgery.
The Reverse Bear Trap seen in this film is the newer, smaller version later used to test Mark Hoffman in Saw VI.
Producer Oren Koules has an uncredited cameo appearance, reprising his role as Donnie Greco from the first film.
In the anime Lucky Star, Saw III is watched by Konata, Tsukasa, and Kagami.
The character of Mark Hoffman got his name in dedication to producer Gregg Hoffman, who died shortly after the release of Saw II.
With a running time of 108 minutes in the theatrical version and 121 minutes in the Director's Cut, Saw III is the second longest film in the entire series, with the first being Saw X.
Jigsaw's brain surgery scene remained uncut in both versions as it was not a torture scene.
At the screening in the United Kingdom, five people were reported to have fainted and passed out due to the shocking visuals.
Darren Lynn Bousman mentioned that Saw III was intended to contain a scene in which John showed remorse for his actions after seeing the results of his legacy.