Top 10 Saw Traps

Let us say that the Saw movies (7 of them) are perhaps an acquired taste. Starting out simply and modestly, they have with each installment become more complex and labyrinthine. Along with that, the traps become more twisted, gross, and outrageous. Here’s our list of the Top 10 Best (or Worst, depending on your point of view) traps from the first fiveSaw movies. (Note: this list was made before Saw VI and Saw VII (aka Saw 3D) came out).

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Top 10 Saw Traps

10. See No Evil Speak No Evil
Saw IV

Sleazy lawyer Art Blank has his mouth sewn shut and has to fight off another guy who has his eyes sewn shut. Both are chained to a device slowly dragging them towards it. Naturally, the idea of them working together to escape is made difficult by the fact that the guy can’t see a damn thing and Art can’t say a damn thing (shutting a lawyer up – don’t we all wish we could do that?) The nature of this trap isn’t particularly interesting but we applaud Jigsaw’s dark sense of humor regarding the small twist he gives it.

9. Husband/Wife Trap
Saw IV

A woman who is the victim of her husband’s physical abuse wakes up to find herself attached to him by several metal rods. The rods are strategically placed so that if she removes them, her wounds will heal but her husband’s will not. Jigsaw implores her to “disconnect from the one thing that has brought so much pain” and to “remove the ties that bind”. It’s more amusing than The Burning Bed, isn’t it? Although this trap’s believability is suspect – John Kramer may have been a brilliant engineer but how could he get somebody to arrange the rods in just the right way? That sounds like the work of a master surgeon, and we doubt that Hoffman was such a person.

8. Judge in Pig Remains
Saw III

Jigsaw gives Jeff an interesting moral quandary. Either burn his dead son’s toys to retrieve a key to rescue the judge who failed to bring his son’s killer to justice, or watch the judge drown in liquefied pig remains. Not really “gory” in the way the other traps are but the “eww” factor is pretty high. Unless you happen to like swimming in pig guts. Gross.

7. Freezer Trap
Saw III

Danica, the woman who could have helped put Jeff’s son’s killer away, is suspended in midair, naked. You could call her “hot”, except that she’s in a freezer. Water sprays accelerate the freezing process, unless Jeff can free her first. “Icy” is a better word to describer her, but we’re not talking about her personality. As usual, Jeff is pretty slow and unreliable. We hope he wasn’t a waiter in real life.

6. Ice Block Head Smash
Saw IV

Speaking of ice, how about two giant blocks of it? They’re used in Detective Matthews’ trap, and there’s not a vodka tonic anywhere to be found. Poor Donnie Wahlberg. He goes through hell – has to break his own foot, gets beat up by Amanda, and then has to spend months in captivity before ultimately getting his head smashed in by two giant blocks of ice. We suppose this is what it means to be Donnie Wahlberg and not Mark Wahlberg.

5.Pendulum Trap
Saw V

Hoffman’s first trap shows he has a sadistic streak like Amanda. Poor Seth gets his hands crushed. It’s nothing compared to that pendulum. This trap would make Edgar Allen Poe run to his momma crying like a baby.

4. Classroom Trap (Chain Death)
Saw III

Poor Troy has many chains attached to his body, Hellraiser style. He almost makes it before the nail bomb goes off, but as we know, this trap was designed by Amanda. Pinhead would be proud.

3. Angel Trap
Saw III

Agent Kerry – another victim of the sadistic Amanda. The setup of this trap is nothing special – she has to burn her hand with acid to get the key. But the payoff is the real killer.

2. Rack Trap
Saw III

This poor guy is trapped in a particularly nasty torture device that slowly twists his limbs until he dies. The worst part is that he has to rely on Jeff for help – and as we have seen, Jeff ain’t exactly on the ball. It ends badly.

1. Needle Tub
Saw II

Xavier, the biggest asshole of the movie, throws Amanda into a giant pit full of needles. Ok, we know Amanda is in on it, but the fact that she’s willing to wade through a pit of needles seems like going a bit too far to maintain a cover, you know what we mean? The part where she emerges with needles stuck to her body is completely wince inducing. Her screams of agony make it worse. All we can say is Ewwww.