Top 10 Saw Traps Rigged for FAILURE
#10: Death Mask
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“Saw II” (2005) Police informant Michael Marks’s head is trapped in a mask with spikes protruding from inside both ends. With just sixty seconds on the timer, Michael not only has to extract the key from directly behind his eye, but also free himself. Asking someone to use a small scalpel to tear into a sensitive part of their body was never going to work out. As expected, Michael can’t bring himself up to endure such pain and fails. Even if he’d gone through with it, a singular minute is inconceivable for a person to brave through blood loss and unlock the heavy mask.
#9: Silence Circle
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“Saw 3D” (2010) Staying calm during moments of distress is incredibly difficult. But Jigsaw expects Nina to stay quiet while a literal hook is pulled from inside her stomach. In this trap, Bobby Dagen has to fish out the key to free Nina from her bonds but has only one minute. What happens if he fails? Nina gets impaled by pointy rods straight into her throat. She has no room for movement and Bobby’s flimsy effort leads to a lot of pain she can’t help but scream from. No normal person can withstand such agony and remain silent. Of course, the trap doesn’t take this into account and Nina has to endure a very nasty demise. Remind us to never go fishing with Jigsaw.
#8: Oxygen Crusher
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“Saw VI” (2009) “Saw VI” protagonist William finds himself in a contraption with Hank, a man who works in his office. The more a person breathes, the tighter metal clamps jam into a victim’s sides – the one who holds their breath longest gets to live. Except, William’s opponent is much older and has a history of blood pressure and heart issues. Basically, Hank is set up for failure even before the game begins. Despite his best effort, he can’t compete with the younger, healthier William, who watches Hank slowly be crushed. Considering the rest of the trials are designed for William to complete, Jigsaw never planned on Hank’s survival. Honestly, if this trap doesn’t motivate you to quit smoking, then nothing will.
#7: Classroom Trap
“Saw III” (2006) Amanda Young always intended for Troy to be executed, and that’s exactly what happens in this trap. The victim has to pull on hooks pierced into his body before the timer runs out and blows him into smithereens. Miraculously, Troy is able to pull on each chain and remains lucid enough to nearly finish the task. But since the last one is hooked into his jaw, Troy’s doom is sealed. And speaking of sealed, the door was completely locked, so Troy wasn’t going to escape anyway. Since his suffering doesn’t have any bearing on the outcome, it would’ve been less painful for Troy to wait for his death from the beginning.
#6: Flammable Jelly
“Saw” (2004) If there’s ever been a trap where the chances of winning are astronomically low, then this is it. Mark is injected with poison, has a flammable substance smeared on his body, and has to use a candle to find the code on the walls. The codes in question are hundreds of numbers with no logical way to figure out the combination. Oh, and he has to wade through shards of glass while barefoot. It’s an entirely unfair game the victim is thrust into, with absolutely no hint or clue to make things easier for him. All this because Mark lied about being sick to his company. Does skipping work really warrant being burned alive? Jigsaw certainly thinks so.
#5: The Rack
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“Saw III” (2006) When Jigsaw admits a trap is his personal favorite, you know the victim is doomed. Timothy is strapped into a contraption that twists his limbs and neck. He’s certainly at Jeff’s mercy, who has to find a key to release him. However, since Timothy caused an accident that claimed the life of Jeff’s son, the latter isn’t in a particularly merciful mood. The Rack acts a lot faster than it should, as Timothy’s limbs are shattered soon into the game. Even if Jeff were quicker, Timothy was never going to leave unscathed. The fact that he can do nothing about it makes it all the more tragic. By the time Jeff comes to his senses, Timothy’s death is inevitable.
#4: Pendulum Trap
“Saw V” (2008) Although it’s an impressively built trap, this one was meant to kill all along. Seth Baxter, the man who murdered Mark Hoffman’s sister, is bound to a table while a large blade swings toward him. Seth follows the rules and sacrifices his hands to stop the pendulum, only for it to keep moving. The man dies confused after doing what he was supposed to. But we learn that Hoffman created the trap for revenge while pinning the blame on Jigsaw. It’s a memorable trap both for its brutality and the catharsis Hoffman gains. It also goes to show that Jigsaw’s wonky philosophy can easily be twisted for straight-up murder.
#3: Angel Trap
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“Saw III” (2006) The Angel Trap is meant to test the victim’s will to survive. Pity Amanda had to be the Jigsaw apprentice on duty that day. Detective Allison Kerry is strapped to metal brackets that will tear her apart unless she frees herself. Kerry has the near-impossible task of plunging her hand into a jar of acid to retrieve the key. She proves her fighting spirit by completing the game, but Amanda rigs the trap to be inescapable. With no way out, Kerry accepts her fate and is brutally executed, continuing Amanda’s habit of making traps that are impossible to win.
#2: Water Cube
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“Saw V” (2008) Hoffman recognizes Agent Strahm as a threat who can expose him as Jigsaw’s apprentice. He uses the Water Cube to try and eliminate him for good. After Strahm ignores Jigsaw’s warning to proceed further, Hoffman ambushes his rival to set him up for the trap. Strahm wakes up with his head in a cube without any clues or tools around. Things get worse when the cube starts to fill with water. Leaving Strahm helpless was a deliberate choice, as Hoffman planned on drowning him to have no witnesses. The crafty agent escapes anyway, improvising with a pen for a makeshift tracheotomy. His survival surprises Hoffman as well, who never expected Strahm to make it out alive.
#1: Reverse Bear Trap
Various When it comes to the Reverse Bear Trap, someone is always meant to die. In Amanda’s game, she has to kill another man to break free. Meanwhile, Hoffman and Jill’s games are essentially executions. In the former, Jill binds Hoffman with the timer activated without leaving a key. However, Hoffman frees himself by using the bars on a door to stop the trap halfway through. He returns the favor in the next film, with Jill now on the receiving end. While most of the Reverse Bear Trap victims have escaped, this time it really is game over as Hoffman hangs back to witness Jill’s grisly end.
