3) Saw III: The Rack
I pride myself on having a pretty strong stomach for Saw‘s signature gore, but that all changed once “The Rack” presented itself as the most vile trap to date. Sure, the coating of pig guts in the previous trap is pretty disgusting, but once “The Rack” starts firing on all cylinders, you begin to understand why Saw III was deemed NC-17 some seven separate times before a suitable cut was approved by the MPAA. The effects strike some of the most realistic bone-breaking I’ve ever seen in a horror movie, snapping a man’s limbs like they’re frail twigs in the hands of a child.
When Jeff first discovers the trap, he sees a man named Timothy being held against what resembles a cross. His arms and legs are outstretched and his head is firmly secured, as the trap works by twisting the different parts of Timothy’s body to the point of snapping. If Jeff can safely secure the trap’s key without blowing his own face off (it’s rigged to a gun), he can free Timothy, but we all know the odds of that happening in a Saw movie. Timothy’s body is twisted and contorted in ways humans should never move, proven by the nauseating breaking noises as each appendage exposes grotesque views of torn flesh and protruding, jagged bones. Timothy’s blood-curdling screams echo with each crunching twist, driving home the most unsettling trap in the entire franchise.
