While the Home Alone and Saw films don’t exactly seem like they were designed for the same audience, you could probably make a pretty solid case that the former helped prepare many kids for the latter, once they got old enough for horror movies. Given how many of us spent part of our childhoods taking sadistic glee in seeing the Wet Bandits fall victim to Kevin McCallister’s elaborate traps, it’s perhaps only logical that we would later seek out even more twisted thrills in Jigsaw’s similarly intricate setups.
But according to one fan theory, the connections between these two franchises don’t end there, with the claim being made that little Kevin and the psychotic Jigsaw are in fact one and the same. As another defender of justice who eventually went down the wrong path once put it, it seems that you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Apparently there are quite a few parallels between the behavior of the oft-neglected McCallister child and the killer also known as John Kramer. The theory, published on Grantland, observes Kevin’s occasional hot temper, as well as his willingness to threaten others – often through the use of deceptive audio clips – to get what he wants. What’s more, the writer points to similarities in the physical appearances of the two characters, along with the presence of a clown doll in Kevin’s basement that’s vaguely reminiscent of Billy the Puppet from the Saw movies.
But as you’d imagine, the real focus of the justification is the traps that each character sets up for supposed wrongdoers. The author includes a few amusingly horrific quotes from the writing of Dr. Ryan St. Clair of the Weill Cornell Medical College, who was asked to evaluate the extent of the injuries that burglars Harry and Marv suffered when they threatened to ruin Kevin’s Christmas. Just take this excerpt about the doorknob that Kevin heated to unbearable levels – a seemingly fun bit of mischief that realistically would’ve yielded horrific results.
“If this doorknob is glowing visibly red in the dark, it has been heated to about 751 degrees Fahrenheit, and Harry gives it a nice, strong, one- to two-second grip. By comparison, one second of contact with 155 degree water is enough to cause third degree burns. The temperature of that doorknob is not quite hot enough to cause Harry’s hand to burst into flames, but it is not that far off … Assuming Harry doesn’t lose the hand completely, he will almost certainly have other serious complications, including a high risk for infection and ‘contracture’ in which resulting scar tissue seriously limits the flexibility and movement of the hand, rendering it less than 100 percent useful. Kevin has moved from ‘defending his house’ into sheer malice, in my opinion.”
So, are these parallels between the two characters really enough to suggest that Kevin grew up to be the infamous Jigsaw killer? We’re not convinced, but feel free to adopt this theory if you believe that Macaulay Culkin’s family comedies could benefit from some darker undertones.
Because the Saw movies continue to bring in audiences, there’s reportedly an eighth installment on the way, though details are very thin at the moment. Unfortunately, as far as we can tell, this may also be the closest thing we get to a Home Alone sequel for the time being.