FAQ

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) has begun a new game by imprisoning eight victims in an abandoned house that is being filled with a slow-acting but deadly gas. This time his victims include Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith), Addison (Emmanuelle Vaugier), Gus (Tony Nappo), Obi (Timothy Burd), Xavier (Franky G), Laura (Beverley Mitchell), Jonas (Glenn Plummer), and Daniel Matthews (Erik Knudsen), son of Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg), who is also slated to become a part of Jigsaw's game. The victims have been informed that they have two hours to find the antidote to the gas. However, each syringe filled with the antidote is only obtainable through a trap that can severely harm or even kill the person trying to get it. The police have also cornered John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, at his workshop. He has agreed to cooperate but only if Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) sits with him until the clock runs out, after which he will find his son, who is missing and was actually kidnapped by Jigsaw and held "in a safe place."

Saw II is the second film in the Saw series, preceded by Saw (2004), which was based on a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and James Wan. The screenplay for Saw II was co-written by Leigh Whannell and director Darren Lynn Bousman. The final script was largely based on an unrelated screenplay that Bousman had written previously, which he had unsuccessfully tried to get filmed. When Saw became a hit, Leigh Whannell helped to rewrite Darren Lynn Bousman's screenplay into a full sequel to Saw. The other six films in the series include Saw III (2006), Saw IV (2007), Saw V (2008), Saw VI (2009), Saw 3D (2010), and Jigsaw (2017).

The main reason why everyone is put together in the same location is to put pressure on Eric Matthews. Eric arrested and framed all of the victims (except for his son Daniel). If the victims find out that Daniel is Eric's son, Daniel will be in danger. John assures Eric that the only reason he has orchestrated this game is because he wants to talk to him for a few hours so Eric can truly understand the meaning of John's work.

From the tapes provided by Jigsaw: Obi was guilty of arson, lies, cons, deceit and kidnapping. Xavier is a drug dealer responsible for destroying other people's lives. According to the commentary track on Saw II, Gus was guilty of embezzlement and Laura was a kleptomaniac. Addison was a prostitute. Jonas didn't state his crimes nor was his tape heard, but he may have ties to the mafia or some crime ring based on his fear for his family should he disappear. Daniel apparently has no sin (other than stealing on one occasion) and is only there to put pressure on Eric. Amanda is there to protect Daniel and make sure that he makes it out unharmed.

Eric Matthews' sin is that he is corrupt and brutal. He framed people for crimes they never committed, and manipulated justice by shooting unarmed suspects. He is also a failure as a father and husband; he had an affair with Detective Allison Kerry (Dina Meyer) that cost him his marriage, and he is not there for his son. According to unused parts of the script, he was also caught while having extra-marital sex with Addison (one of the victims in the house) and was demoted for it, so he framed her too. So Eric Matthews' game is psychological in nature: the "trap" is that he has to play by the rules for a change, by watching his son suffer among people who have a grudge against him. He needs to sit and let the game play out, against his nature of interfering with and manipulating the normal course of things.

On the tape, Jigsaw stated, You all possess the combination to the safe. Think hard. The numbers are in the back of your mind. The clues of their order can be found over the rainbow. Turns out that each person has a color-coded number on the back of their neck. "Over the rainbow" refers to the seven primary colors that make up a rainbow in order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet (ROYGBIV). The numbers and colors that we saw were: Red = 2 (Gus); Orange = ? (it was either on Daniel's or Amanda's neck - we did not see either); Yellow = 16 (Jonas); Green = 11 (Obi); Blue = 8 (Laura); Indigo = 9 (Addison); and Violet = 7 (Xavier).

Addison, the prostitute, gets stuck in this trap, but according to the director's commentary, the trap was meant for Gus, the man who was shot through the eye when they tried to open the door. Gus is guilty of financial fraud at his work, and the Razor Glass Box was meant to represent the proverbial "cookie jar" he would steal from. In addition, there is a lock with a key in it on the back of the box, so obtaining the antidote would have been easy, but Jigsaw had correctly guessed that its victim would not bother to check.

To secure that the film was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), over 50 censorship cuts were made. The unrated Special Edition, which was released on DVD and Blu-ray disc, contains the uncut version. It offers more than 81 altered scenes compared to the theatrical version.