In October of 2004, horror fans were ready for the newest franchise to enter the scene. When Saw hit theaters, it became one of the most profitable horror films since the release of Scream in 1996. The Saw franchise, spanning eight movies since 2004, is one of the most recognizable entries in the genre. A new entry in the Saw franchise, titled The Organ Donor, is set to be released on May 15. Its predecessor, Jigsaw (2017), was the lowest-grossing film in the series. While it’s possible that audiences just aren’t interested in Jigsaw’s games anymore, it’s possible that continuity errors are contributing to decreasing interest in the franchise.
Jigsaw’s Claim That He ‘Hates Murderers’
In Saw, Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) is put in the “Reverse Bear Trap.” Before the timer counts down, Amanda has to remove the trap before it tears her face apart and kills her. The catch, however, is that the key to remove the trap is in a paralyzed man’s stomach. Amanda cuts the man’s stomach open with a knife, killing him to retrieve the key. She then removes the trap from her face just seconds before the timer goes off.
In Saw II, the audience finds out that Amanda is one of John Kramer’s (Tobin Bell), who is also known as “Jigsaw” or the “Jigsaw Killer,” accomplices. In Saw III, Jigsaw proclaims, “I don’t condone murder and I despise murderers.” Amanda murdered a man to pass her test and John decided to take her on as his accomplice. Isn’t that a direct violation of John’s moral code?
Dr. Gordon Didn’t Actually Win Jigsaw’s Game
Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) is the protagonist in Saw. He wakes up in a filthy bathroom, chained to a pipe, with no recollection of how he got there. Adam (Leigh Whannell) wakes up on the other side of the bathroom in a bathtub full of water. A corpse holding a cassette player and a gun lies on the floor between the two men. The men find cassette tapes in their pockets. When the men play Gordon’s tape, they hear Jigsaw say that Gordon and his family will die if he does not kill Adam before 6 o’clock.
To escape the dingy bathroom, Gordon cuts off his foot with a hacksaw, puts a bullet in the gun lying in the middle of the bathroom, and then shoots Adam. The catch, however, is that Gordon didn’t complete his task until after six o’clock.
Even though Gordon fails Jigsaw’s test, the audience finds out in Saw 3D (released six years after Saw) that John actually saved Gordon from death. John tended to Gordon’s wounds when Gordon passed out after cauterizing his foot on a pipe. John provided medical attention to Gordon and fitted him with a prosthetic foot.
What’s The Goal Of Adam’s Game?
Gordon’s game is quite clear–kill Adam before six o’clock or Gordon will be left for dead and his wife and daughter will be killed. The instructions on Adam’s tape aren’t as clear. Adam is simply told that he has to “watch himself die” or “do something” before six o’clock. Unlike Gordon, Adam actually succeeds at his game. When the time reaches six o’clock, Adam is still alive. Unfortunately for Adam, he is left for dead and John gives Gordon a second chance at life. Even after Adam survived being shot by Gordon.
Based on the rules of the game, shouldn’t John have saved Adam?
Incompetent Police Work Galore
When Detective Tapp (Danny Glover) is scouring through old Jigsaw tapes, he recognizes the location in the video left at Amanda’s trap. Instead of calling for backup, Tapp asks Detective Sing (Ken Leung) to join him in raiding Jigsaw’s lair.
If Tapp called for backup when raiding a serial killer’s lair, the premises would have been cleared before the men entered. The story could’ve ended quite differently– Sing may not have died in one of Jigsaw’s traps, and Tapp may not have been wounded. If neither of these injuries were sustained, Sing and Tapp could have actually had a chance at catching Jigsaw.
‘Jigsaw’ Retcon: Logan Nelson Timeline
Jigsaw takes place 10 years after John’s death, and we get a flashback in which one of John’s first “games” take place. In this, John’s test subjects doesn’t wake up until the others have already freed themselves from the trap, which means he will die, but John decides to save him.
The man’s name is Logan Nelson (Matt Passmore), and his “sin” was accidentally switching John’s x-ray with another man’s x-ray. Which delayed professionals from diagnosing John with an inoperable frontal lobe tumor. Because John showed pity and saved Logan from dying in his trap, Logan becomes one of John’s accomplices.
Although this is a nice redemption arc for John, the timeline presented in Jigsaw doesn’t make any sense. In Jigsaw, Logan explains that John recruited him as an accomplice before recruiting Amanda, Gordon, or Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor). Logan never knew Amanda, Gordon, or Hoffman because Logan ended his partnership with John before the others entered the picture.
When John “tested” Amanda, Hoffman was already one of John’s accomplices. If Logan supposedly quit before John recruited Hoffman and Amanda, how do we see Logan assisting John with the Reverse Beartrap?
Jigsaw’s Victims Never Wake Up Until Game Time
Throughout the eight Saw films, we see Jigsaw involve 86 people in his “games.” Although some of these characters are not directly involved in his traps, they serve as pawns and are killed simply because a major character failed his or her test.
In all of Jigsaw’s years of kidnapping people and forcing them to play his disgusting death games, how do his victims never wake up until game time? Yes, he drugs them, but how does he never make a mistake estimating how long the victim would remain unconscious? Jigsaw would’ve had to made a mistake somewhere along the way.
How does Jigsaw know exactly which decisions his victims are going to make?
Part of Jigsaw’s “game” is guessing his victims’ responses during the testing. He researches his test subject, sure, but it seems highly improbable that Jigsaw always knows exactly how these people are going to behave when put in a life or death situation.
Observing someone in a normal situation doesn’t always predict how someone will behave in a high-stress situation. Jigsaw also doesn’t observe his victims for very long, and even if he did observe them extensively, it wouldn’t make him omniscient.
The Amount Of Time Amanda Had To Complete Her Test
When Gordon explains to Adam that he knows who put them in the bathroom, the audience sees a flashback sequence. It shows the police questioning Gordon because they believe that he could be Jigsaw, but After Gordon gives the police his alibi for the night that a Jigsaw murder took place, Amanda is brought to the police station for interrogation about her Jigsaw “test.” The police asked Gordon to stay at the station for this, in an attempt to guilt him into a confession.
This scene, however, causes a different question to arise–after hearing Amanda’s testimony, the audience is left in utter disbelief that she could pass her test in one minute. How could she completely mutilate a living man’s body with a medieval knife and find/pull a key out of his stomach in just 60 seconds?
A Cellphone That Can’t Call 911?
In Saw, Jigsaw hides a box behind the tile in the bathroom wall for Gordon. The box contains a note, a cellphone, two cigarettes, and a bullet. Like any rational person, Gordon tries to call 911 on the cellphone, but it doesn’t work; however, the cellphone is able to receive calls. This is inconsistent with today’s laws, as all cellphones–even those without a current service plan or those that are blocked from making calls–can make calls to 911.
Shock Value
Adam and Gordon are electrocuted through the chain connecting them to the pipes on the bathroom wall. According to IMDb, this scientifically couldn’t have happened. In order for the men to have received the shocks, the electric current had to have a path that connected the ground and the body. However, the bathroom floor is made up of ceramic tile, which would prevent electric shocks from occurring.
Next: 10 Most Dangerous Horror Movie Villains, Ranked
