From Saw III onwards, all bets are off. John Kramer’s philosophy of valuing one’s life and enduring great sacrifice for redemption goes out the window once Amanda Young and Mark Hoffman take Jigsaw’s modus operandi into their own vengeful and maniacal hands.
However, there are Jigsaw contraptions that are laughably easy to evade. Sometimes, it’s the reliance on selfless human nature that saves the day. But if Jigsaw were real, which Saw traps would be all bark and no bite?
15. Brazen Bull — Saw 3D
Named after the real-life Brazen Bull, which was designed and used in Ancient Greece to execute criminals, Jigsaw’s Brazen Bull claims Joyce as a victim in Saw 3D when Bobby fails to hoist himself to connect two cables. It’s worth noting that there are several shelves and pipes scattered around the room that Bobby could have used to climb to the cords or he could have stepped on the hooks to shimmy up the chain.
14. Bucket Room — Jigsaw
Granted, many traps in Saw V and Jigsaw especially require prior knowledge of the outcome in order to beat them. But The Bucket Room Trap or ‘Bucket Head Trap’ from Jigsaw is fairly self-explanatory; if you listen closely to John’s instructions, he tells you exactly what you need to do, albeit in riddle form — as he does. Just donate a small laceration and you’re good to go. Nothing lost, nothing gained.
13. Glass Grinder — Spiral
Although not designed by John Kramer himself, the copycat killer in Spiral certainly understood the assignment. We’ll chalk the failure down to Zeke’s stupidity, an ailment most Saw protagonists suffer from. We get it, adrenaline is high, but all you had to do was find an object to jam the recycling machine or make more of an effort to find the key. Really, Zeke wasn’t trying as hard as he could have.
12. Amanda’s Reverse Bear Trap — Saw
Ah, the iconic Reverse Bear Trap, used on Amanda Young in the original Saw. Hoffman and Jill’s trials in the RBT were less avoidable than Amanda’s, who only had to harm someone else to secure her freedom, not herself. If it’s me or you, it has to be you. No hard feelings. Amanda could have remained still in the chair to buy herself more time, as well.
11. Freezer Room — Saw III
Many of Saw III‘s traps are difficult to judge, especially since the fate of the victims rests in Jeff’s not-so-capable hands. And it’s difficult to decide whether or not to willingly harm someone who wronged you, especially if you’re Jeff. Either way, if he’d tried harder to retrieve the key faster, Danica would have likely survived.
10. The Rack — Saw III
The execution of Timothy Young is one of the hardest scenes to stomach in all of Saw history. Once again, good ol’ Jeff is slow to the mark. But there are numerous ways to beat The Rack; reaching into the glass box at an angle to retrieve the key and avoid getting shot, jamming the gears of The Rack, or even cutting the cables powering the gears.
9. Almost Every Trap in Saw III — Besides the Rigged Ones
Besides the traps rigged by Amanda Young, namely the Angel Trap and the Classroom Trap, many of Saw III‘s games are winnable — Jeff is just an idiot. Oftentimes, it’s the moral dilemma that slows him down, which we can sympathize with to an extent, but when push comes to shove, you need to get a move on. You don’t want to be an accomplice to murder, so you get your butt in gear and do the selfless thing.
8. Almost Every Trap in Saw V
Likewise, almost every trap in Saw V concerning the group of corporate workers is beatable, so long as teamwork takes priority. Of course, you’d expect middle-management suck-ups to look out for themselves, and Jigsaw counted on it. If only they’d acted in someone else’s best interest instead of their own, they would have all survived with minimal injuries. But if there’s one thing you can count on, it’s brown-nosers being in it for themselves.
7. Ceiling Jars — Saw V
Speaking of the ridiculously harmless Saw V traps, the most predominant is the Ceiling Jars Trap, where participants must find shape-coded keys to secure a spot in one of three chambers and avoid the imminent explosion of nail bombs. It’s painfully obvious that those tunnels were designed to fit more than one person, so again, if someone had ignored their survival instincts, everyone would have escaped relatively unscathed.
6. Lawnmower Trap — Saw 3D
We don’t get to see much of the Lawnmower Trap from Saw 3D, since it plays out in a recollection from the game’s sole survivor, Sydney. This is a similar scenario to Amanda’s game; it’s either you or them, so you have to choose them. You could also shimmy along the barbed bars to the wall and attempt to climb down, at the risk of cutting up your hands. But if it’s you or your abusive husband, it isn’t a hard choice.
5. Wisdom Teeth Combination Trap — Saw 3D
Realistically, pulling teeth is the least of your worries in any of Jigsaw’s trials. For the Wisdom Teeth Combination Trap, it’s literally do or die. You just have to do it. It would suck, but there are much worse fates. Either that or cycle through infinite combinations to try and pop the lock. Which seems like the safer bet?
4. Grain Silo — Jigsaw
The Grain Silo Trap looks intimidating, but it’s a lot more straightforward than it seems. Once the grain stops pouring, simply swim (is that the right word?) through the grain to reach the edge of the silo, ideally underneath the opening through which various weapons are falling. You could also grab a circular blade and use it to shield your head, again preventing minimal injury.
3. Hangman — Saw 3D
The Hangman Trap has a tight time constraint, so that’s the only downfall. Otherwise, Bobby could have moved a lot faster to get over to the key and/or Cale. At this point, directing a blind person across rickety wooden beams isn’t the smartest move. You, with full vision and mobility, should be the one giving 90 percent effort here. and for the love of all things holy, do not toss the key at someone with limited sight and movement. Don’t be a Bobby.
2. Suspended Cage — Saw 3D
You’ll notice that Bobby appears in a lot of these easily escapable traps. It’s almost as if Jigsaw knew he was an idiot and wanted to embarrass him. As for the Suspended Cage Trap, it’s about as self-explanatory as the Bucket Head Trap. Hoist yourself up to grab the pulley and open the cage, then either swing to safety as if you’re on the monkey bars at the playground or just drop down between the spikes — there’s plenty of room!
1. Furnace — Saw II
Oh, Obi. Poor, sweet, naive Obi. The simplest way to avoid this Furnace Trap is to not get in — easy as that. You’ll miss out on the antidote, but at least you won’t be in a situation that prevents you from escaping at all. Besides that, someone could have held the door open while Obi climbed inside, but we’re not naming any names (Xavier). Survey your surroundings before climbing inside a scary furnace, kids!
