The History of Jigsaw

23 October 2009

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Back in 2004 Saw, along with Hostel, kicked off this obsession we now seem to have with what has become to be known as torture porn.

And this week five years later the Saw franchise and the villain that is Jigsaw is amazingly back for a sixth movie, yes they really have managed to stretch this rubbish to six movies.

Over the space of six movie Jigsaw has become a bit of an iconic villains in the horror movie genre. Tobin Bell takes on the central role who rather than kill his victims outright, traps them in situations, which he calls "tests" or "games", to test their will to live via physical or psychological torture.

The first movie sees photographer Adam Faulkner and Dr. Lawrence Gordon are both chained up in a disused bathroom. A corpse lies in the middle of the room. What will they both do to protect themselves and their families?

However the movie does contain the best ending/twist of all time. Having been made on a budget of $1.2 million it was a major success when it went on to gross over $102 million globally.

We get a closer look at Jigsaw in movie two, as well as a bit of a back story, when detective Eric Matthews is called to a crime scene of a victim of Jigsaw, finding a lead to the place where he is hidden.

Once there, he realizes that Jigsaw trapped his son Daniel Matthews with three women and four men in a shelter, and they are inhaling a lethal nerve gas. If they do not use an antidote within two hours, they will die.

The Saw bug had really caught hold as the film was an even bigger box office success than it's predecessor grossing over $152 million.

Twisted Pictures knew that they were onto a good thing and just twelve months later the franchise became a trilogy as the originally entitled Saw III hit screens.

Tobin Bell was back in the central role as Jigsaw and the film focused in around him and his apprentice Amanda.

A 30 year old doctor by the name of Lynn Denlon is kidnapped and locked in a room with no other than Amanda and Jigsaw.

The cancer-ridden Jigsaw is on the brink of death and tells Lynn that she must keep Jigsaw alive for as long as it takes Jeff to complete one of his own games. Lynn must race against the clock of Jigsaw's own ticking heart.

The success of these movies showed no sign of slowing down as Saw III saw it's takings at the box office rise to $164 million.

Despite both Jigsaw and Amanda dying at the end of the third movie the franchise, and Jigsaw's games, continued into a fourth and fifth film in 2007 and 2008.

Jigsaw continues to 'teach' his victims the value of life as they battle to save theirs and others along the way. The movies also continue Jigsaw's story through flashbacks as it shows how all the traps were ready before his death.

This week sees the franchise return for a sixth movie as Jigsaw's legacy lives on. Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy.

However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood.

After a successful run at the box office over the last few years surely now is time to call it a day?

Saw VI is released 23rd October.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw