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Saw film series
Saw logo
Directed by	Darren Lynn Bousman James Wan
Produced by	Mark Burg Daniel Heffner Gregg Hoffman Oren Koules James Wan Leigh Whannell
Written by	Darren Lynn Bousman Marcus Dunstan Thomas Fenton Patrick Melton James Wan Leigh Whannell
Starring	Tobin Bell Shawnee Smith Leigh Whannell Cary Elwes Donnie Wahlberg Dina Meyer Lyriq Bent Bahar Soomekh Angus MacFadyen Costas Mandylor Scott Patterson
Music by	Charlie Clouser
Cinematography	David Armstrong
Editing by	Kevin Greutert
Distributed by	Lions Gate
Release date(s)	2004 — present
Country	United States  United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$25.2 million (Combined Total; I to IV)
Gross revenue	$471,783,718 (Worldwide to Date - November 3, 2007)

The Saw film series is a horror/thriller film franchise created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell.

Contents 1 Premise 2 Media 2.1 Films 2.2 Other Media 2.3 Future development 3 Prominent characters 4 Synopsis 5 Records 6 References 7 External links

The plot of the series revolves around the Jigsaw Killer, a dying vigilante who kidnaps his victims and places them in deadly traps to test them and give them an opportunity to repent from their former lifestyle in which they took their lives for granted. The films typically consist of several small traps that are resolved within a short length of time and lay foundation for a larger trap which occupies most of the time of the movie. Each movie tends to conclude with a twist-ending that wraps things up, but also creates more questions to be answered in the following film.

There have been four Saw movies in total, with a latest released on October 26, 2007.^[1] Each film has been rated R by the MPAA, though each was originally rated NC-17. Each movie is often released in theaters close to Halloween and released in an uncut version on DVD the following October.

• Saw, released on October 29, 2004.
• Saw II, the first sequel, released on October 28, 2005.
• Saw III, the second sequel, released on October 27, 2006.
• Saw IV, the third sequel, released on October 26, 2007.
• Saw V, the fourth sequel, to be released on October 24, 2008.

• Saw, a 2003 short film which served as a promotional tool in pitching the films potential to Lions Gate, included on the DVD release of Saw.
• Saw: Rebirth, a comic book prequel to the original film released to promote Saw II. Its continuity was later contradicted by events in Saw IV.
• Brash Entertainment LLC has licensed the film property from Lions Gate Entertainment to develop a video game based on the Saw series.^[2]

Tobin Bell has stated that he was signed on for a total of five sequels,^[3] and Producer Oren Koules confirmed on June 22, 2007 that both Saw V and VI are currently being written, quite possibly set for a Halloween 2008 and 2009 release. Authors of the script include Marcus Dunstan, Thomas Fenton. Lionsgate has also hinted at a third writer. The name Brennan Nold was mentioned by Lionsgate founder Jon Feltheimer, in a recent interview.^[4][5] Saw V has been said to start production after Christmas.^[6]

• Main article: List of Saw characters.

Role	Actor
John Kramer/Jigsaw	Tobin Bell
Amanda Young	Shawnee Smith
Detective Allison Kerry	Dina Meyer
Adam Faulkner	Leigh Whannell
Dr. Lawrence Gordon	Cary Elwes
Detective Eric Matthews	Donnie Wahlberg
Lieutenant Rigg	Lyriq Bent
Dr. Lynn Denlon	Bahar Soomekh
Jeff Reinhart	Angus Macfadyen
Forensic Hoffman	Costas Mandylor

Flashbacks from Saw IV reveal the earliest roots of the series, which presented John Kramer as a successful civil engineer and devoted husband to his wife Jill, who opened a rehab clinic for drug addicts. Tragically, Jill lost her baby due to the inadvertent actions of a drug addict named Cecil, who fled the scene. John grieved over the loss of his child and distanced himself from his friends and wife.

Jill and John eventually drifted apart and divorce. After this turn of events, John found himself in a rut that he is too complacent with to give up. This lifestyle continued for years until John became sick and was diagnosed with an inoperable frontal lobe tumor. Extremely bitter over his squandered life, John began observing the lives of others, and was even more depressed when he sees them squandering the gift of life that he had just been denied. After surviving a suicide attempt when he drove his car over a bridge, John became "reborn", and nurtured the idea that the only way for someone to change is for them to change themselves. He designed a test for Cecil and decided to use the rest of his existence to design more of these traps, changing the world "one person at a time", thus assuming the identity of the "Jigsaw Killer", so named because he removed a puzzle piece shaped chunk of flesh from those who do not escape his traps.

Few of John's victims are able to survive his brutal tests, which are often ironically symbolic representations of the problems in the victim's life and require them to undergo severe physical or psychological torture to escape. The first surviving victim, Amanda Young, views Jigsaw as her hero who ultimately changed her life for the better. Amanda, upon Jigsaw's request, agrees to become his protégé. She oversees Detective Eric Matthew's test in Saw II, but is angry when she observes that the test has not changed his selfishness and begins designing inescapable traps, much to Jigsaw's chagrin. Forensic Hoffman, who seems to be on the trail of Jigsaw since Saw II is eventually revealed to be his actual successor when Amanda fails to abide by Jigsaw's rules.

In the first Saw, Jigsaw has chained Dr. Lawrence Gordon, who diagnosed his cancer, in a dilapitated industrial washroom with Adam Faulkner, the private investigator who has been taking pictures of the doctor cheating on his wife. Lawrence has instructions to kill Adam in eight hours, or else his wife and daughter will be killed. Meanwhile, detectives David Tapp and Steven Sing, who suspect Lawrence of being the killer, follow a trail of clues from his other traps. Eventually, Lawrence saws his own foot off to escape and leaves Adam alone, when it is revealed that the supposed corpse that has been in the room the entire time is actually a disguised Jigsaw, who leaves Adam sealed in the room to die. Flashbacks from later films show that Amanda returns and suffocates Adam as a mercy killing.

Saw II begins with the police tracking a severely weakened Jigsaw in his newest lair. However, another test is in place, as he has kidnapped the son of Detective Eric Matthews and trapped him and a group of seven convicts previously framed by Matthews in a house that is slowly being filled with a toxic nerve gas, Amanda among them. He will trade Daniel Matthews' life for Detective Matthews' time conversing with him until the game is concluded. Matthews loses his patience and assaults Jigsaw, and Jigsaw escapes as Eric goes to the house shown on Jigsaw's screens, only to discover that the test in the house occurred much earlier and was videotaped; although his son is safe, Matthews is knocked unconscious by a masked figure who is later revealed to be Amanda. Matthews wakes up imprisoned in the bathroom from the first film, in the foundation of the house.

The events of Saw III and IV occur concurrently. Saw III begins when Jigsaw, weakened from his disease, is confined to a makeshift hospital bed, and Amanda picks up his work, designing traps of her own. However, these traps have no escape, as Amanda is convinced that Jigsaw's traps have no effect. A kidnapped doctor is forced to keep Jigsaw alive while another test is performed on Jeff, a man obsessed with vengeance on the drunk driver who killed his son. Jigsaw, unwilling to allow "a murderer" to continue his legacy, designs a large, complex test for Amanda, which she ultimately fails, resulting in the deaths of both Jigsaw and Amanda. Saw IV, meanwhile, revolves around tests meant for Officer Rigg, which are overseen by Forensic Hoffman, who has been chosen to be Jigsaw's second apprentice in the event that Amanda is not capable of assuming that role. Rigg fails his tests and is locked in the factory by Hoffman, who later discovers Jigsaw's and Amanda's bodies.

Saw IV ends on a cliffhanger when an autopsy is performed on Jigsaw and a cassette tape coated in wax is found in his stomach. The tape informs Hoffman that, although he has been chosen to continue Jigsaw's purpose, he should not expect to go untested.

Saw

Saw II

Saw III

Saw IV

• With each year bringing a new dose of Saw, Saw IV has marked a Hollywood record for the most films to be released consecutively - one each year - in a movie franchise.^[7]
• Saw III gave Lions Gate its highest-grossing weekend in history, outdoing the previous record set by Saw II of $31.7 million to a bettering $33.6 million.^[8]
• Both Saw II and III broke records when they were released in the holiday period of Halloween. Both movies managed to top the "Halloween Weekend Openers" Saw II premiered with $31.7 mil in 2005, and Saw III, which bowed to a slightly higher $33.6 mil just last year 2006. Saw IV premiered at $32.1 million, making it number one at the box office on Halloween weekend 2007.^[9][10]
• All the movies in the Saw series have managed to gross over $50 million, putting them in the top 5 all-time highest total gross for Lions Gate.^[11]

• Official Saw movie site
• Official Saw II movie site
• Official Saw III movie site
• Official Saw IV movie site
• Official SAW Website and Fan Club
• Official SAW Props, Wardrobe and Autograph Auction

v • d • e Saw series
Films	Saw (short) • Saw • Saw II • Saw III • Saw IV • Saw V
Characters	Jigsaw • Amanda • Gordon family • Adam • Allison • Eric • Reinhart family • Rigg • Hoffman
Film Soundtracks	Saw • Saw II • Saw III • Saw IV
Other	Traps • Billy the puppet • Pig mask • Saw: Rebirth • "Hello Zepp"