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Saw II: Information from Answers.com

  • ️Fri Nov 04 2005
Saw II
SawIIposter2.jpg
Saw II film poster
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman
Produced by Gregg Hoffman
Oren Koules
Mark Burg
Written by Leigh Whannell
Darren Lynn Bousman
Starring Donnie Wahlberg
Tobin Bell
Shawnee Smith
Erik Knudsen
Franky G
Glenn Plummer
Emmanuelle Vaugier
Beverley Mitchell
Timothy Burd
Dina Meyer
Lyriq Bent
Noam Jenkins
Tony Nappo
Music by Charlie Clouser
Distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment
Release date(s) October 28, 2005
Running time 93 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Budget $4,000,000 (estimated)
Preceded by Saw
Followed by Saw III
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Saw II is a 2005 horror film. It is the sequel to the 2004 horror film Saw. The entire film (apart from external shots) was filmed in one building over the span of 25 days. It was released in most parts of the world on October 28, 2005, but not released in Australia until December 1, 2005. Darren Lynn Bousman took over directing duties, and also co-wrote the story's script with Leigh Whannell, the original film's co-writer.

The film features the antagonist of the previous film, the Jigsaw Killer, finally being apprehended, but trapping the arresting officer in one of his own games while showing another "game" of eight people in progress at the same time. It also explored the character's back story, explaining why he became a serial killer.

The film is currently #16 on Bravo's Even Scarier Movie Moments. Following the film's opening weekend gross of $31.5m, Lions Gate Films commissioned Saw III, released on October 27, 2006.

Plot

After arguing with his rebellious teenage son Daniel, Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is called to the scene of yet another death perpetrated by the Jigsaw killer (Tobin Bell), on account of his name being written on the wall. Realizing that a padlock on the iron maiden-like device around the victim's neck mask bares a Wilson Steel logo, he gathers a SWAT team and arrives at the company's abandoned factory, which has now become another lair of Jigsaw's. A set of computer monitors shows several people trapped in a mysterious house, with Daniel being among them; a timer is also present, with less than two hours left. Considerably weakened by his rapidly-advancing brain cancer, Jigsaw informs detective Mathews that he will see his son in a "safe, secure state" if he can sit in the room and converse with him long enough.

In the house, the kidnapped characters begin to awaken; other than Daniel, Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) is also present, a familiar face from the first Saw film wherein she was the only character to escape her trap. The characters learn from a micro cassette that, though the doors to the house will open in three hours, a toxic nerve gas is leaking into the house which will kill them in two unless they can find antidotes. One of these is in a safe in the room with them; the combination to which is said to be "in the back of [their] mind." Embezzler Gus is quickly killed while peering out the door's peep hole because Xavier, a drug dealer, attempts to unlock the door with a key found next to a note reading "do not attempt to use the key on the door to this room."

Saw II now intercuts between Jigsaw's lair as Mathews talks with Jigsaw in an attempt to buy time while the video signal is traced, and the captives in the house trying to secure antidotes. In the basement, they find a message for arsonist Obi (Tim Burd), revealing that he helped in the capture of everybody in the house. Soon after, he is burned to death by a furnace after attempting to take the two antidotes from inside.

Another tape is found, in which Jigsaw condemns Xavier for being a drug dealer; a pit with thousands of used hypodermic syringes is revealed, with a key to an antidote hidden within. Instead of searching the pit himself, Xavier throws Amanda in. Amanda retrieves the key, but Xavier fails to unlock the door before the timer runs out.

Back in Jigsaw's office, he reveals that the people trapped in the house are all criminals who were framed by Matthews at one point, and that his son may be killed should the others discover his identity. Matthews, growing impatient with Jigsaw's philosophical ramblings, trashes Jigsaw's models and plans; Jigsaw remains unmoved.

Xavier, having abandoned the others, finds a colored number written on the back of Gus' neck. Realizing this is where the combination to the safe must be hidden, Xavier kills Jonas to retrieve his number and begins stalking the remaining four captives, who have been made aware via a photo included by Jigsaw that Daniel is the son of their arresting officer. Soon after discovering this, Laura succumbs to the poison.

Addison stumbles upon a glass box containing an antidote, a trap meant for Guss, and becomes caught in it. Xavier comes to Addison, alerted by her screams for help, but only to obtain her number; rather than unlock the box he leaves her to die of blood loss. Xavier then discovers that Daniel is Matthews' son and hunts him and Amanda down.

Watching this on the monitors in Jigsaw's headquarters, Matthews loses control and violently assaults Jigsaw, nearly killing him and ultimately forcing him to take him to the house at gunpoint. As they depart, the tech team discovers the signal and follows it.

Xavier pursues Amanda and Daniel through a trapdoor, which leads to the Bathroom trap from the first film, featuring a severed foot of Dr. Gordon and the remains of Zep Hindle and Adam Faulkner in an advanced state of decomposition. After Xavier threatens Amanda for her number, she asks him how he intends to read his own number. In response, Xavier slices off the piece of skin from the back of his neck where it is written. Xavier then attacks a prone Daniel, but he is revealed to be playing possum and slashes Xavier's throat open with Dr. Gordon's hacksaw from the previous film.

Meanwhile, Matthews arrives at the last house on the left (an allusion to one of the film-maker's inspirations, Wes Craven) and makes his way inside, eventually finding the trapdoor. The SWAT team, meanwhile, arrives at the location of the video signal, but it is not the same house that has been shown on the monitors in Jigsaw's lair; the events in the house took place on a previous occasion, and were broadcast from tape.

Matthews arrives in the bathroom and is stabbed in the thigh with a hypodermic syringe and knocked unconscious by a person wearing Jigsaw's pig mask.

The timer at Jigsaw's lair expires and a safe opens, revealing a hyperventilating Daniel inside wearing an oxygen mask.

Matthews awakens to find himself chained to a pipe. An audio tape lying next to him reveals that Amanda has put him there. In a series of flashbacks, we learn that Amanda has become Jigsaw's protégé, and that Matthews is her first victim, as revenge for framing her and sending her to prison where she acquired an addiction to Heroin. Amanda appears in the door and says "Game over," before closing the bathroom door, Mathews screaming threats and abuse; though different characters, the scene is otherwise identical to the ending of the first film. Outside the house, a barely-alive Jigsaw slowly forms a smile.

Cast

Actor Role
Donnie Wahlberg Detective Eric Matthews
Shawnee Smith Amanda Young
Tobin Bell John Kramer / Jigsaw
Emmanuelle Vaugier Addison
Franky G Xavier
Beverley Mitchell Laura
Glenn Plummer Jonas
Lyriq Bent Sergeant Rigg
Tim Burd Obi
Tony Nappo Gus
Erik Knudsen Daniel Matthews
Dina Meyer Detective Kerry
Noam Jenkins Michael
Kelly Jones SWAT Pete

Critical reaction

Even more so than in the previous film, critics found Jigsaw's diabolic "games" to require a large amount of planning and fortuitous timing in order to succeed, causing some to liken his murderous schemes to Rube Goldberg machines.[1][2][3] [4]Tobin Bell addressed some of these criticisms by saying, "My sense is that [Jigsaw] is so detail oriented that I think he thinks in terms of worst case scenario. I think he’s a very good judge of character, so his sense that, for example, that Detective Matthews was going to play right into his trap, which he did, was right on. Now, it seems to me that he’s got plan 2 always in place. And there’s probably been a number of plan 2s. I mean, we’ve only seen three movies. Maybe there are six more somewhere where he failed, where something didn’t play out." [5]

According to Rotten Tomatoes, the aggregate rating of this film was only 35%, with several reviewers revolted by the explicit gore and torture scenes.[6] Of the few critics who provided positive reviews, some remarked that it was a worthy follow-up, providing plenty of what fans of the first expected.[7] As with its predecessor, however, the film garnered far more positive reception with the public than with critics. It currently holds a rating of 74% by users at Rotten Tomatoes, and a score of 6.9 at the Internet Movie Database.[8]

Soundtrack

Unrated Edition

Saw II has been released on a standard as well as a "Special Edition" uncut DVD. Differences in this edition include:

  • When the police are entering the Wilson Steel warehouse, three short cuts are shown of Jigsaw upstairs, realizing the police have arrived. When he realizes this, he calmly goes back to what he was working on.
  • When the police are approaching Jigsaw several scenes are added where he is eating Cheerios (as stated in the commentary on the original DVD).
  • Jigsaw has a few extra lines of dialogue with Detective Matthews, mentioning that he has "wiped the slate clean", and that most people are merely "sleepwalking".
  • When Obi is trapped in the oven, he attempts to break the glass on the far side as he is burning alive.
  • The scene of Amanda searching the syringe pit is extended by about a minute; oddly, this minute does not consist of Amanda thrashing around, but is mostly taken up by her sitting motionless inside, afraid to move.
  • In the bathroom, Charlie Clouser's score begins as Xavier begins cutting off his skin, and continues until he dies from his throat being slashed.
  • The opening scene with "The Venus Headtrap" is extended and the song "Irresponsible Hate Anthem (Venus Headtrap Mix)" is playing in the background.
  • The scene where Matthews is beating up Jigsaw is extended with one extra punch.

This is the shortest unrated version in the series at 93 minutes, whereas Saw and Saw III's unrated versions are close to two hours.

In the Unrated Edition, as with the first Saw, there is an easter egg called "Saw 2 in 62". It has three "takes", the first one is using clay figures modeled after the characters in the film, the second replaces the character with common materials, and the third one uses photos from the film which are animated.

Box office gross

  • Made for only $4 million, Saw II grossed over $144 million worldwide, which includes $87 million in the United States.

References

External links

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