Scene Anatomy 101 10.22.08: Saw II

Posted by George H. Sirois on 10.22.2008

For me, this was the real starting point to the franchise...


ISSUE #189 – 11 TO GO

A couple years ago, my wife and I finally sat down on the couch, popped the Netflix DVD into the player and watched the 2004 hit film Saw. I had heard mixed reviews about it and was curious to see how this story had become such an annual event every Halloween weekend since. I like to be up to date on the modern-day horror icons, and Jigsaw had become a member of that exclusive club, so I was anxious to see him in action for myself.

As we watched it, I found myself admiring the concept and saying how this would be a great short film (little did I know at the time that it actually started as a short film and was later developed into a feature), but that the execution of the feature was very flawed. I wasn't a fan of Cary Elwes' performance and it felt so much longer than it was since the middle was so stretched out to turn the short film into a full-length.

Plus, it had the biggest WTF moment I'd seen in a movie in a long while. Of course, I'm speaking of the iconic moment when Cary Elwes' character – Dr. Lawrence Gordon – saws his own foot off to get to the cell phone that was juuuuuust out of his reach. The entire time, all I was thinking was, "Take your shirt off and use that to drag the phone over to you!" If Dr. Gordon didn't have a shirt on, then it would have been easier for me to accept the situation.

So despite the amazing little twist at the end – when Jigsaw himself made his presence known in the room – I was prepared to write off Saw as just one of those films that I wouldn't get into and move on. However, I was still hearing much better buzz about the second film in the franchise, and I just couldn't completely throw away a whole horror series based on the merits – or lack thereof – of the original. So I took a look at the 2005 hit film...



Right from the start, I knew this was going to be better than the original. The setup feels more like a feature film, and this time around, there doesn't seem to be any real filler or dragging of feet to stretch out the running time. Writers Leigh Wannell & Darren Lynn Bousman introduced us to Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg), a police officer who is trying to balance tracking down the murderer known as "Jigsaw" and dealing with his troublesome son Daniel. When Eric finds Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), we see that he is incredibly weakened by cancer, which is a fantastic addition to his character since so many horror icons are defined by their looks and strengths instead of their weaknesses.

Jigsaw has a little surprise for Eric when he and the arresting officers see the row of monitors that is on a nearby table in Jigsaw's hideout. A group of young men and women who all have an arrest record are trapped inside an old house and have to find various vials of antidote to a deadly nerve gas that is slowly seeping through the vents. Of course, all the vials have traps assembled by Jigsaw that have something to do with what these young men and women are guilty of doing, and one of the captives in the building is Daniel. While Eric is helpless to save his son, since the building is an undisclosed location, Jigsaw provides him with a way to make sure he survives the incident. All Eric has to do is sit down and talk with Jigsaw for a few hours. They still have to keep the monitors on, but Eric can't intervene and track down where the building is. If he talks with Jigsaw for a few hours, his son will be found in a "safe and secure state."

As this scene begins, we see the situation on the monitors slowly getting more desperate. And yet, Jigsaw is speaking calmly, his voice raspy as the cancer continues to overtake him. His only means of comfort is a glass of water that he is slowly sipping as he talks to Eric. It's during this moment that we get a much-needed glimpse inside Jigsaw's motivations.

JIGSAW: You see, Detective, Darwin's Theory of Evolution - "survival of the fittest" based on his little trip to the Galapagos - no longer applies on this planet. We have a human race that doesn't have the edge... or the will... to survive.

Eric's nerves are already frayed and idle conversation like this doesn't help him any. He slams his fist on the table.

ERIC: What the fuck do you want?!

JIGSAW: It's hard to remain calm when your son is walking around on those monitors.

Eric looks back at the monitor and can see Daniel still walking around. He doesn't see any sign of his son in immediate jeopardy so he still has time to reach him. When he responds to Jigsaw, he keeps his voice down to a whisper.

ERIC: I can't give you what you want if you won't tell me what the fuck it is.

JIGSAW: I told you what it is. Just remember the rules.

Now, Eric's voice raises again. He's very quickly losing his patience.

ERIC: No. You said you wanted to talk. Then you said you wanted to play a game. You're talking, but it means NOTHING!

Jigsaw quickly changes the subject.

JIGSAW: What do you think the cure for cancer is, Eric?

Eric is taken aback by this question.

ERIC: What?

JIGSAW: The cure for cancer. What is it?

ERIC: I don't know what it is. But I know it's not killing and torturing people for your own sick fucking pleasure.

Jigsaw scoffs at this accusation. He has heard all these stories about the "Jigsaw Killer" and that label goes against everything that he's been doing. He takes another sip of his water as he responds to what Eric is saying.

JIGSAW: I've never murdered anyone in my life. The decisions are up to them.

Eric doesn't buy this at all. He's been in the department long enough to see and hear so many different cop-outs from criminals, and he's not about to let Jigsaw turn himself into a passive element in all of this.

ERIC: Putting the gun up to someone's head and forcing them to pull the trigger is still murder.

JIGSAW: Since when is force a problem for you?

What Jigsaw is referring to is Eric's actions as a police officer. He's framed a number of criminals in order to put them into jail, and Eric should take note of the fact that those criminals are all in the house with his son. If they discover who Daniel is, that will only place him in even greater danger than he is in now.

JIGSAW: Why are you so desperate to get your son back?

Eric gives him a look as if to say, "Are you kidding?" He chokes back his emotions as he answers.

ERIC: Because he's my son.

JIGSAW: What's the last thing you said to him before you left him?

Eric remains silent as he thinks back to the argument he had with Daniel. We can see the parting shot that Eric gave him.

ERIC: "Well then, go!"

We cut back to the present, where Jigsaw is leaning back in his seat, watching Eric becoming more and more emotionally frayed.

JIGSAW: Seems to me that the knowledge of your son's impending death is causing you to act. Why is it that we're only willing to do that when a life is at stake?

ERIC: I've always loved my son. That's never changed.

JIGSAW: No. It's changed now. You see, the knowledge of death changes everything. If I were to tell you the exact date and time of your own death, it would shatter your world completely. I know.

We then see a flashback to several years ago, when Jigsaw wasn't even thought to be conjured up in the mind of Jonathan Kramer, a recently divorced man who is sitting in a waiting room at a doctor's office. He looks quite nervous, bracing himself for the worst kind of news.

JIGSAW: Can you imagine what it feels like to have someone sit you down...

A nurse peeks her head in the door.

NURSE: Jon Kramer?

Jonathan then stands up and follows the nurse through the door.

JIGSAW: ... and tell you that you're dying?

Jonathan walks into a doctor's office.

JIGSAW: The gravity of that, that the clock's ticking for you...

The nameplate beside the door of the doctor's office reads: Dr. Lawrence Gordon. Thankfully, this is all we see of Dr. Gordon in this flashback.

We then flash ahead a bit to the aftermath of Jonathan hearing the news that he has colon cancer and an inoperable brain tumor. He is sitting in his car, trying to deal with his very short future, and he is looking around the parking lot. What his face is expressing is broken down by Jigsaw's words.

JIGSAW: In a split second, your world is cracked open. You look at things differently, you smell things differently. You savor everything, be it a glass of water or a walk in the park.

Eric is only passively listening to what Jigsaw has to say. He feels it necessary to remind his adversary about his latest project, and that he has involved his son in it.

ERIC: The clock is ticking, Jon.

But Jigsaw's not even acknowledging Eric's warning. He continues to go on about what he has realized about the majority of modern-day humanity.

JIGSAW: But most people have the luxury of not knowing when that clock's about to go off. And the irony of it is that is what keeps them from really living their life. It keeps them drinking that glass of water, but never really tasting it.

ERIC: You can still fix this, Jon.

Now Jigsaw is listening to what Eric has been saying. Without any effort, he turns the conversation back on to Eric, declaring him to have the power to make sure his son will be safe, as long as he follows the rules.

JIGSAW: Yeah, but can we fix you?

ERIC: Me?

JIGSAW: I'm not fixable. I've had cancer.

Eric shakes his head, almost pitying Jigsaw. He's watching his son's tormentor attempt to turn all of this around and say, "Poor me."

ERIC: You're using cancer as an excuse for what you do.

JIGSAW: No. The cancer is not what started me in my work. It was the moment I decided to end my life that started me in my work, and brought meaning to it.

This little bombshell that we had not known about Jigsaw comes to life before our eyes in a flashback showing Jonathan Kramer trying to pull himself from the burning wreckage that used to be his car.

JIGSAW: I had literally driven myself to suicide. I had failed. My body was not strong enough to repel cancer cells, yet I had lived through a plunge off a cliff.

We see Jon slowly grab a large piece of metal that's stabbed him in the chest and pull it out. He is injured, but he's still breathing, which is better than he would have expected considering how far he and his car fell from the cliff.

JIGSAW: To my amazement, I was alive, and I was determined to spend the rest of my days testing the fabric of human nature.

Jigsaw lets that last line set in, and he is also asking the audience if they understand why he is in this position, and why he does what he does. Despite his disowning of the name "Jigsaw," that's basically what he's become by letting his new obsession take over his life and give him a whole new persona.

If he looked the same as he did when he discovered his fate in Dr. Gordon's office, he wouldn't look anywhere near as intimidating as he does now. Even with his body weakened by cancer, he has a presence about him that he didn't have before. It's as if he's a whole new person, which is what he is. He is the man who claims to provide the missing piece in the puzzle of other people's lives. Therefore, Jigsaw is the perfect name for him to have, which is why I referred to him as "Jigsaw" in the present time and in all of the dialogue.

JIGSAW: Do you understand, Eric?

Eric doesn't acknowledge whether or not he understands. All he can think about is getting his son out safely.

ERIC: You got a chance to do something good right now, Jon. Just tell me where my son is and I'll help you.

JIGSAW: I don't need your help and I can tell you still don't understand. Those who do not appreciate life do not deserve life.

That's the mantra that Jigsaw lives by, what Jon Kramer failed to realize until it was too late. He allowed his life to unravel and had very little to look back on. It's now his mission as a completely different character to make sure that other people have something to look back on in life, whether the end of their lives will come decades from now or in mere seconds.

ERIC: My son appreciates his life.

JIGSAW: But do you appreciate yours? Do you appreciate your son's?

What Jigsaw is asking Eric is, does he have what it takes to sit at this table and talk to Jigsaw and take every bit of his taunting, answer all of his questions and do what is required to make sure his son survives what's going on in that undisclosed building? Eric, however, doesn't see it like that. He looks at it as just another riddle and he slams his fist on the table once again.

ERIC: Oh, what is this shit?!

Eric then stands up and walks out of the room. Jigsaw calls after him with the limited strength in his voice.

JIGSAW: Don't forget the rules... if you want to find your son.

This scene is the perfect place to put a spotlight on when it comes to why I consider this film to be much better than the first film. While Saw shows a very effective premise with a big gruesome climax and a fantastic twist, there was very little else that could sustain it, in my point of view. Saw II, however, wisely continued right where the first left off and focused more on characters – specifically Jigsaw himself and Eric Matthews – that were interesting enough to carry the entire film. And Bousman and Wannell wisely stacked the deck with a very diverse group of potential victims to participate in Jigsaw's games, one of which being Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith), the only person to survive one of Jigsaw's traps in the original film.

While I've criticized the series as a whole in the previous 411Mania podcast for having everything set up so exactly that if a character goes left when he was supposed to go right, there's the possibility of Jigsaw's plot not working, that's not quite the case with this film. This is the only one out of the four that we've seen that has a very simple setup and has a very logical follow-through with the game that Jigsaw yearns to play with Detective Matthews. So combine that with the tight script, the above average performances – especially Tobin Bell doing a brilliant job as Jigsaw – and an effective balance of suspense and gore, and you have the best installment in the successful Saw franchise, and the one film that made me want to see Saw III and Saw IV.

Next week, we'll have a very special look at a crucial time in our recent history, but before we dismiss, let's hear from 411 writer Jeremy Thomas, who has this to say about Saw II...


One of the biggest mistakes a horror movie can do sometimes is take drastic steps explain its villain; in many cases, it is in the mystery that they are truly frightening. This is why prequels such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning failed—we don't need to know why Leatherface became a monster, we just need to know that he's a scary son of a bitch who kills people.

Saw is one of those rare exceptions where the back story really works, and it's due to both the brilliance of the character and Tobin Bell's top-notch performance. Jigsaw is one of the great cinematic serial killers in that he doesn't kill; rather, he puts people in dangerous situations where they can either improve their life or die. That intensely intriguing twist on the serial killer motif had horror fans dying to know what made him this way, and in Saw II they didn't disappoint.

The scene itself is such a simple set-up at first glance; Jigsaw (or Jonathon Kramer, if you prefer) sits in his lair, surrounded by police officers as he talks to Eric Matthews about his world was destroyed by his diagnosis of cancer. On another level though, it's very complex and shows the brilliance of Jigsaw and his motivations while he runs Matthews through his test. It's one of those rare scenes that both makes a horror villain more sympathetic and enhances him without making him any less terrifying.

As I said, a lot of credit has to be given to Tobin Bell for this. It would be such an easy role to ham up and go over-dramatic on…and in doing so, it would ruin the character. Bell plays it in a beautifully understated way, and Donnie Wahlberg is a great foil for him. For all the violence and carnage inherent in this movie, it is the scenes between Eric and Jigsaw that are the most compelling. They don't provide the great shock moments, but they (and Jigsaw himself) are what lifts Saw II from being a fairly standard torture porn shock film into something truly great as a horror film.


Thank you once again, Jeremy. And until next week, Class Dismissed!


-- George H. Sirois