Top 10 Smartest Decisions in Saw Movies

“Saw” (2004) The Gordons are a pretty darned smart family. Not only does Lawrence prove one of Jigsaw’s survivors, but his wife Alison effectively frees herself from Zep’s control. Alison and her daughter Diana are held captive by Zep, who’s ordered to take them out if Lawrence doesn’t do the same to Adam. Quite the resourceful woman, Alison managed to free herself from the binds, and in an act of extraordinary intelligence and forward-thinking, she pretended to remain tied up. When Zep returned to execute Alison, she sprung her trap and wrestled the gun away from Zep. Following a brief struggle, Alison stabbed Zep in the leg with a pair of scissors, buying her time to be saved by Detective Tapp.

“Saw III” (2006) Alison Gordon is not to be confused with Allison Kerry, a homicide detective working on the Jigsaw case alongside Detective Tapp. Unfortunately, Allison became a victim of Amanda, who rigged her trap to be inescapable. Right before she was abducted, Allison realized that she was being filmed from a hidden camera in her closet. After seeing herself on the TV screen, Allison quickly grabbed her gun and shot through the closet door, believing an assailant to be hiding inside. It was very quick thinking on her part, and a very smart move. Unfortunately, there was no one in the closet, and she was ambushed by Pig Mask and taken to her fatal trap.

“Saw II” (2005) Serving as one of the main antagonists of “Saw II,” Xavier was an aggressive drug dealer who was framed by Detective Matthews. His personal test inside the nerve gas house was to dig through hundreds of used needles to find a key that unlocked a metal door. Behind the door was the antidote to the nerve gas. Not wanting to dig through the pit himself, Xavier picked up Amanda and tossed her in. It wasn’t a very nice gesture, to say the least, but it was pretty smart on his part. The plan actually worked, as Amanda dug through the needle pit and was successful in finding the key. It was only Xavier’s bungling at the door that prevented him from obtaining the antidote.

#7: Brad & Ryan Team Up

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“Saw 3D” (2010) You know what they saw about bros. Brad, Ryan, and Dina (deena) are abducted by Mark Hoffman and taken to a hardware store. Dina was secretly dating both men, and their trap served to conclude the love triangle in a dastardly and deadly manner. Brad and Ryan were forced to push saw blades into each others’ chests, the stronger man obviously proving the victor. However, Dina makes the very stupid decision to encourage both men, reaffirming her love for both and telling each to take out the other. Realizing that they are still being played, even in the midst of a life or death trap, Brad and Ryan decide to spare each other and sacrifice Dina to the saw. No pun intended.

#6: Hoffman Tricks Strahm

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“Saw V” (2008) Peter Strahm is an FBI agent who was thwarted by Hoffman in the famous Glass Coffin trap. The trap was set by Hoffman and seemed deceptively straightforward - simply climb inside the coffin and live. Strahm doesn’t, and Hoffman soon intervenes, preventing Strahm from hearing the rest of his tape. The two engage in a brief physical struggle, and Hoffman is pushed inside the glass coffin. While inside, he gloatingly gestures to the tape recorder, which asks if Strahm trusts Hoffman. As the tape plays, the glass coffin is lowered into a secret compartment in the floor while the walls of the room slowly close in around Strahm, eventually crushing him. We guess he should have trusted him after all...

#5: Daniel Plays Dead

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“Saw II” (2005) Xavier has nothing on Daniel Matthews. After finding the dilapidated bathroom from the first movie, both Daniel and Amanda realize that there is no way out and that they will soon be accosted by the now-psychotic Xavier, who is hot on their heels. To trick Xavier, Daniel pretends to be dead while Amanda keeps up with the ruse - a ruse we’re sure she was happy to undergo, considering what Xavier did to her earlier in the film. Just as Xavier approaches Amanda, Daniel springs up, kicks him in the shin, and puts a hacksaw to effective use. Daniel certainly has a good heart. And as it turns out, he’s also quite the badass as well.

“Saw VI” (2009) Mark Hoffman becomes a victim of his own games in “Saw VI” when he is approached and incapacitated by Jill Tuck, who outfits him with an inescapable version of the reverse bear trap. Immediately after Jill leaves him for dead, Mark manages to break his own hand with the trap and free himself from his restraints. Thinking very quickly, Mark makes the genius decision to stick the trap between two metal bars on the door window, effectively preventing the trap from springing all the way open. The bear trap shreds his right cheek, but Hoffman survived the ordeal, eventually making his way to an abandoned hangar to stitch up his gaping wound.

#3: Gordon Cauterizes His Wound

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“Saw 3D” (2010) The end of the first “Saw” famously sees Gordon hacking off his own foot with the provided hacksaw to escape his shackle and find help. The movie ends on an ambiguous note, with viewers quite literally left in the dark regarding Gordon’s fate. Fans were finally provided an answer in “Saw 3D,” and said answer was quite genius on Gordon’s part. Shortly after crawling out of the bathroom, Gordon cauterized his bleeding foot stump on a steaming pipe. The pain caused Gordon to pass out, but the cauterization was nevertheless successful. He was soon found by Jigsaw, who treated the wound and outfitted Gordon with a prosthetic.

“Saw VI” (2009) Simone was a victim of the brutal Pound of Flesh trap, alongside her overweight business partner, Eddie. The two were outfitted with some type of deadly head device and tasked with cutting off pieces of themselves. The person who accrued the most flesh would “win”, and the other would die via the head device. Eddie begins cutting off strips from his stomach. Simone is much smaller than Eddie, but also much smarter. She wraps a tourniquet around her arm and cuts it off with a provided meat cleaver. The entire arm was obviously heavier than Eddie’s stomach flesh, and Simone survived. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Staging Perez’s Death, “Saw VI” (2009) Perez Faked Her Death & She Went Into Hiding Emily Uses Her Children, “Saw VI” (2009) Emily Pleads with Easton Using Her Kids, Effectively Saving Her Life Mark Hoffman Uses a Human Shield, “Saw VI” (2009) Hoffman Uses Sachi to Protect Himself from Perez’s Gunfire Logan Tricks Halloran, “Jigsaw” (2017) Logan Fakes His Death to Coerce a Confession from Halloran Halloran https://youtu.be/7ysBoKXNsKk?t=36 Anna Jams the Bike, “Jigsaw” (2017) Anna Briefly Saves Mitch by Stopping the Motorcycle Powering the Blade Anna https://youtu.be/kmLRMNcKECM

“Saw V” (2008) Hoffman may have gotten one over on Strahm, but that doesn’t change the fact that Strahm performed the smartest act in the entire “Saw” franchise. Not to mention one of the ballsiest. For his test, Strahm’s head was placed inside a glass cube which quickly filled with water. Once the water completely filled the cube and submerged Strahm, he took a pen from his pocket and stabbed himself in the throat, successfully performing a tracheotomy on himself. It allowed Strahm to breathe underwater, and it bought him enough time to be saved by the arriving paramedics. It’s amazing what the mind and body are capable of when in life-ending distress!