The trailer for Jigsaw has dropped and, in turn, our jaws have also dropped. The eighth installment is shaping up to be the best in the franchise. Here are five takeaways from the new trailer that tell us why Jigsaw could be the Saw film we’ve been waiting for.
A cool opening moment
The trailer’s opening scene sees a woman jogging, and then a body hanging from a tree comes into view in the background This is the trailer’s coolest moment. Directors the Spierig brothers could have shot this moment in any number of conventional ways, most of which would have focused on the body. But they didn’t.
Firstly, they keep the body as a chilling reveal, having it appear above the unsuspecting woman’s head at the top of the screen. It’s a crafty blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. Secondly, they refrain from showing us a close up of the dangling corpse, leaving plenty to the imagination in a franchise that traditionally shows the audience EVERYTHING. Thirdly? The Spierigs don’t take you where you think they’re going to go, also refusing to whip this jogger off the street and plunge her into one of Jigsaw’s sadistic games. It’s an inventive moment in a series that historically saves its creativity for its intricate deadly puzzles. It gives us a glimpse of the way in which the directing duo behind Ethan Hawke vampire flick Daybreakers and sci-fi drama Predestination are injecting their own brand of freshness.
Jigsaw could be back
Okay, so we know that John Kramer has been dead for 10 years. Callum Keith Rennie’s character tells us that. As they’re examining a body – presumably the one from the opening scene – they’re chatting about it being a Jigsaw-style killing. He has a puzzle piece-shaped bit of flesh removed from his cheek.
“It’s not him. It can’t be,” says one of the team. That leaves the option of it being a copycat – but that’s unlikely. And the pathologist is clearly not convinced. She questions her own “It’s not him” assessment in her upward glance for reassurance. But if it’s not a copycat killer, how has Jigsaw orchestrated his plot from beyond the grave? Is he really dead? Bet you can’t wait to find out.
New gruesome scenarios
A Saw film isn’t a Saw film without a bunch of new elaborate — and deadly — set-ups. And Jigsaw looks packed with outlandish death traps. Not least that crazy bucket-head scene featuring chains drawing victims towards spinning circular saw blades embedded in the wall. More of this sort of thing is a cast-iron guarantee.
That Roy Orbison song
Music in movies is important. The trend of late is to set a trailer to a kickass tune. And the Jigsaw trailer features a doozy. Roy Orbison’s ‘Running Scared’ rings out as the trailer action unfolds. It adds cool, it adds chills and it makes the Saw franchise suddenly seem relevant again.
This line of dialogue
“No, that’s not creepy at all,” says one victim as he witnesses Billy, the iconic mechanical puppet, riding in on a bicycle. It’s a moment of self-awareness in a film franchise that exists to up the ante with each installment, and give the fans what they want. And of all the creepy things that happen in the Saw films, this one actually ranks way down the list. It’s there to heighten the impact of what happens after, when we see a group of victims hoisted aloft and the screaming kick in.
Here’s the trailer in full:
Jigsaw is released on October 27, 2017.