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For the past two years, every time October comes to a close, the box office report nearly wrote itself thanks to a certain unstoppable horror franchise, and this year was no exception as the fourth chapter Saw IV (Lionsgate) opened with slightly less than the last chapter, an estimated $32.1 million, after making nearly the same amount as its predecessor on Friday. It averaged an impressive $10k per theatre to become the 6th highest opening movie for the month of October and amongst the top 5 horror sequels.
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Jigsaw's 10 Best Quotes
To celebrate Saw IV's release, we get jiggy with the man himself.
October 26, 2007 - In case you haven't heard, the man himself, Jigsaw, is back with another Saw movie. With his penchant for taking your box office dollars, while maiming and killing all those around him, Jiggy and his movies make for a great Halloween tradition. So we figured we'd celebrate the release of Saw IV with a look at the 10 greatest Jigsaw quotes. Partake (but watch out for spoilers):
"You might be in the room that you die in."
Movie Where He Said It: Saw (2004)
Context: Two guys, a dirty, slimy room, and a tape recorder.
Getting Jiggy With It: In the opening scene of the very first Saw film, Jigsaw is introduced to the world - and the film's two main captive characters, Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and Adam Faulkner (Leigh Whannell) - via tape recordings left in the run-down "cell" where we find our pair of confused abductees. Having awoken in the strange place, chained to the wall and with no idea where they are or what they're doing there, they each find audiotapes with foreboding messages from Jigsaw. On Adam's tape, we hear the above quote, a prophetic message of the killer's standard operating procedure that would follow for several films to come…
"Live or die. Make your choice."
Movie Where He Said It: Saw (2004)
Context: Future Jigsaw apprentice Amanda and a reverse bear trap.
Getting Jiggy With It: The first time we ever meet Amanda (Shawnee Smith), Jigsaw's future apprentice, is when she is one of his victims, strapped to a chair with a huge mechanical device connected to her jaw - and the clock is ticking. Jigsaw (appearing here via everyone's favorite Saw puppet) describes the thing as a sort of "reverse bear trap" that will tear her mouth open if she doesn't act - she must cut open her dead cell mate's stomach and find, in his entrails, the key that will release her from the device. But at the last moment, she realizes that the guy is still alive! Nonetheless, Amanda still does the deed and tears the guy open to free herself, killing him in the process and securing her position as Jigsaw's eventual heir apparent. The quote illustrates Jigsaw's mantra - that all of his victims have the ability to save themselves.
"Game over."
Movie Where He Said It: Saw (2004)
Context: The jig is up when the mastermind reveals his ultimate agenda.
Getting Jiggy With It: The pieces of the Jigsaw puzzle in the first film are finally all put together by the viewer - and his prisoner, Adam Faulkner - in the closing moments of the film. Here, it is revealed that the killer was in the cell with Adam and Lawrence Gordon throughout the entire movie; he was on the floor, posing as a dead body. As he stands, and his final tape recording plays, it dawns on us who Jigsaw really is, and what his methods are: It's all a game to him, and if you can figure out how to win, you can escape.
"Don't worry, you're sound asleep and can't feel a thing."
Movie Where He Said It: Saw II (2005)
Context: Human fly trap rocks dude's world.
Getting Jiggy With It: As the second film in the series opens, the usual Jigsaw tricks are underway, with a guy trapped in a room, getting the torture treatment from the madman. But perhaps this quote can be interpreted on a level beyond the literal - could Jigsaw be referencing the fact that he sees most of mankind as "sleepwalking" through life? Never appreciating what they have until it is too late?
"It will be like finding a needle in a haystack."
Movie Where He Said It: Saw II (2005)
Context: Jigsaw can be funny…
Getting Jiggy With It: When tormenting a room full of victims, a drug dealer named Xavier in particular, Jigsaw unveils a pit full of hypodermic needles. Once again, he notes that there is a key that will save the day - as long as one of the victims is willing to dig through said needles to find it. With tongue firmly in cheek, Jiggy has a bit of fun with his patrons while intoning this line - before getting back to the nasty business at hand, of course!
"Death is a surprise party. Unless of course you're already dead on the inside."
Movie Where He Said It: Saw III (2006)
Context: A dying Jigsaw and a dying doctor (though she doesn't know it yet).
Getting Jiggy With It: In the third film, Dr. Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) is brought to Jigsaw's lair by Amanda, to help keep the dying killer alive long enough for him to complete his various "tests" and the training of his apprentice. His comment about being dead on the inside may apply to Jigsaw himself, though it is also apparently a reference to Denlon as well. For Denlon is another example of Jigsaw's victims, people who take their lives for granted and don't fully appreciate what they have.
"The rules of our game have been made very clear. You need to abide by those rules."
Movie Where He Said It: Saw III (2006)
Context: Amanda bucks against Jigsaw's authority.
Getting Jiggy With It: One of the most interesting aspects of the Saw series is the relationship between Jigsaw and Amanda, a former would-be victim of the killer's who becomes his apprentice.
But while Jigsaw trains the girl to take over his work after he dies, a difference in their philosophies emerges. Whereas Jigsaw always allows for his test subjects to find a way out of his traps, Amanda makes hers unbeatable, and therefore guaranteed to kill - no matter the case. This difference eventually ruins them both.
"Never better."
Movie Where He Said It: Saw III (2006)
Context: Brain surgery is fun!
Getting Jiggy With It: This quote reminding us that there's a certain level of dark humor lurking just below the surface of Jigsaw's actions. When he receives some homegrown brain surgery in the third film - while awake! - and is asked how he feels, the madman responds (practically with a wink), "Never better."
"Yeah."
Movie Where He Said It: Saw III (2006)
Context: Jigsaw goes out in style.
Getting Jiggy With It: In the final moments of Saw III, as Jigsaw's last two test subjects reach the end of their tasks, Jeff (Angus Macfadyen) is challenged with the question of whether or not he should let his tormentor live or die. Jeff chooses death, and slashes Jigsaw's throat, sealing his doom, along with his wife and daughter's in the process. But Jigsaw, even though he knows he truly is about to die at this moment, seems to take a certain satisfaction in the fact that his machinations are bearing fruit, even in his last moments. He utters a simple "Yeah", just when the blade is about to slice him. It truly illustrates his insane devotion to his "work."
"You think it is over, but the games have just begun."
Movie Where He Said It: Saw IV trailer (2007)
Context: See the movie and find out.
Getting Jiggy With It: With Jigsaw and his apprentice seemingly dead at the end of Saw III, where can the fourth film possibly go with the premise? We know Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith are both confirmed to be in the film, so what does this message the killer delivers at the end of the Saw IV trailer mean? The game never ends, apparently! Or at least, it won't end until the box office magic dies.
MovieMiguel.com
