The horror genre has been in a bit of a renaissance lately, with new and exciting projects hitting theaters and making tons of money in the process. But the genre has always been built on long-running franchise and inevitable sequels. The Saw franchise had a long initial run, returning to theaters a few years ago with Jigsaw. The torture porn series will be back to terrify moviegoers this coming May, with a re-imagining produced by Chris Rock. And it looks like the traps are going to be especially nightmare inducing, even worse than iconic ones like Saw II‘s pit of needles.
Saw II hit theaters back in 2005, and expanded the narrative and scope of Jigsaw’s world. One of the most horrifying aspects of the movie’s giant trap involved a pit of used syringes. Jigsaw protegee Amanda is thrown into the pit, in a sequence that is truly harrowing to get through. But according to director Darren Lynn Bousman, his upcoming sequel features a trap that might give the pit a run for its money. As he put it:
Well, those are some big words. But considering how long Darren Lynn Bousman has been involved in the Saw franchise, the man knows his way around the villain’s gory traps. And it looks like he’s got something special up his sleeve for the next untitled installment in the property.
Darren Lynn Bousman’s tweet may excite the hardcore fans of the Saw franchise, who have been following the torturous adventures for well over a decade. James Wan created the world with his original Saw movie, but the sequels were free of his influence, and constantly tried to push the envelope regarding its traps, and the horrifying imagery moviegoers would be subject to. Saw II was the first of these sequels, and the needle pit is one of the first indications that Jigsaw’s sophomore run wasn’t pulling any punches.
The traps for the Saw franchise occasionally went off the rails (anyone remember that bone breaker from Saw III?), but the needle pit is so terrifying because of its simplicity. It’s a nightmare to have to dig through a pile of dirty needles, with every single movement proving more painful than the last. Amanda was forced into this game by another player in Jigsaw’s game, digging through the pain (literally) in an attempt to prove herself to her mentor.
As a reminder, you can check out the scene in question below, but it’s definitely NSFW.
Yikes. This is a trap that seems to have stuck with Darren Lynn Bousman, as he continued to work in the horror genre both within the Saw franchise and on other projects. Saw II was his first outing in the franchise, and it should be interesting to see what he does with the upcoming sequel.
Darren Lynn Bousman directed Saw II, III, and IV, with a new movie arriving every Halloween season to terrify moviegoers. But he hasn’t worked within the franchise since 2007, over a decade ago. We’ll have to see if this time away has resulted in a fresh perspective on the property, or if its just another Saw movie. Chris Rock’s inclusion as a producer and writer certainly brings fresh energy to the universe, hopefully one that will help Saw climb the ranks of the horror world again.
The new Saw movie is currently set to arrive May 15th, 2020. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.