Learn the Philosophy of ‘Jigsaw’ With New Featurette

After a seven-year absence from theaters, the Saw saga returns on October 27 with Jigsaw. For those who can’t remember what took place in the previous seven films, a new featurette reminds you the methods of the killer’s madness, which you can watch above.

Thanks to the success of the Saw films, Jigsaw, played by Tobin Bell, has become one of the more iconic killers of the last two decades in the realm of horror. As the above featurette reminds you, however, the “killer” shouldn’t even be described as a killer, based on a few rules that distinguish him from his peers.

For starters, Jigsaw never actually kills his victims, but places them in situations where the mechanics of his traps would result in death. In the first film, two men had their ankles cuffed to a radiator and they were provided with handsaws. These saws weren’t strong enough to cut the chains that bound them, but could cut through their own flesh. The two men, like everyone targetted by Jigsaw, could either sacrifice a part of their body or eventually perish from the situation they were put in.

Another distinction is that Jigsaw doesn’t target random people with no motivation. Rather, he does research on people who he feels don’t value their lives or take their lives for granted to put them in heightened situations. Additionally, the trap in which a person is placed in is often a representation of their misgivings, such as a drug addict having to sift through a pit of hypodermic needles to find a key to release themselves.

There’s no denying that Jigsaw acquires “victims,” but more evidence that he shouldn’t be referred to merely as a killer is that oftentimes, his victims accomplish their tasks and escape these traps. Those who escape these traps after a worthy sacrifice also typically go on to appreciate their lives in ways they previously hadn’t, proving the effectiveness of Jigsaw’s ways.

With the original Jigsaw killer having died years earlier, the latest installment in the series has detectives puzzled about who could be carrying out his horrifying deeds.

Jigsaw hits theaters on October 27.

[H/T Bloody Disgusting]