A sequel to the hit horror Saw, Saw II saw the green flag pretty quickly. Directed by Darren Lyn Bousman and written by Leigh Whannell, Saw II premiered on the screens on October 28th, 2005 bringing back the Jigsaw Killer to the fans.
The second installment stars Tobin Bell as John, the Jigsaw killer, and Shawnee Smith as Amanda Young. Donnie Wahlberg plays the role of Eric Matthews, and Franky G is cast as Xavier. The film does not have a wide ensemble but still does well with the selected actors.
The movie has a group of ex-convicts trapped in a house with the Jigsaw killer. We see them struggling to keep themselves alive while trying to get their hands on an antidote that may kill them in the following two hours. The group does their best to pass certain life-threatening tasks to retrieve the antidote while the viewers wait at the edge of their seats to see who survives.
The movie was a sequel to the hit movie Saw and had on itself immense pressure to be just as successful, if not more. After its release, critics and fans of the prequel gave the sequel mixed reviews, with some saying that Saw II did not meet the bar set so high by the first film and others saying that the movie turned out to be utterly clever and gruesome.
Saw II Movie Ending Explained
The movie starts with a police informant named Michael, who is alone in a room with a spiked mask around his neck. Once fully awake, a video recording tells him he barely has a minute to get the key behind his right eye. But the pain of reaching the key is too much for the man to bear, and soon, he gets killed because of the mask.
Eric Matthews and Allison Kerry, the two detectives investigating the murder of Michael, find a letter addressed to them, written by the Jigsaw Killer himself. Their team finds the murderer’s hideout, and Eric hesitantly agrees to join Allison and the SWAT team on their way to the location.
They reach an abandoned plant called Wilson Steel Plant, where they finally get their hands on John Kramer, but the man is severely weakened by his cancer. It is known that John, better known as the Jigsaw Killer, is downright crazy and could not possibly go down without even a squeak.
He proves us right because just as the police are about to take him away, he stops everybody in their tracks when he mentions a surveillance monitor that shows on the screen a total of eight people trapped in some place. Two of the eight people are Matthews’ son, Daniel, and Amanda, the only victim known to survive John’s tactics.
It seems like John is in a mood to play because he informs the police that the eight victims are breathing in a toxic agent that, if not dealt with properly, will kill them in the next two hours. He has hidden the antidote within the house’s perimeter, and all the eight people have to do is find it, use it, and run to freedom. John demands to talk with Eric for the two hours the people trapped in the house trying to find the antidote.
At The Playhouse
We are then taken to the house to meet with the eight people: Daniel, Amanda, Xavier, Jonas, Gus, Addison, Laura, and Obi. They find a recording that informs them of the game and its time limit. His sick game is set in motion once the group finds clues all over the room.
They ignore the killer’s warning telling them not to use the key so blatantly kept in front of them, which results in Gus getting shot by some hidden trap somewhere in the lock. It is Christmas for the Jigsaw Killer and the Purge for the group.
They become more cautious, but it is barely of any help as Obi is the one who dies next when a letter tells the group that Obi is working with the Jigsaw Killer. He is forced to enter the furnace area to get the antidote, but he burns alive.
The next task is meant for Xavier, who has an intimate drug experience. Still, his cowardly nature takes over, and he pushes Amanda, forcing her to get the antidote, while he runs for his life after abandoning the group.
Back at the steel plant, John is completely engrossed in his conversation about his cancer and his attempts to kill himself. Eric willfully ignores the latter’s growing anxiety and anger. He reveals his twisted take on the game, saying that he wants the group to have a near-death experience so that they can appreciate their life more. He also mentions how Daniel’s life would be unsafe when the game nears its end.
Xavier’s Second Attempt
At the game house, Xavier, the coward druggie, is back with the group though he does kill Jonas in just a few moments. While he tries to get the number from everybody’s neck, Laura gives in to the toxic agent and faints.
The rest find that Daniel and Eric are related and decide to go forward without him. While trying to escape Xavier, Addison finds herself in a room with an antidote, but she hurts her hands while trying to reach for it. Xavier, obviously, instead of helping her, takes a look at the number and lets her die.
Next on his hunting target list are Amanda and Daniel, who are trapped in a bathroom. Xavier finds them just when Daniel gives in and faints. The former even cut the skin from his neck to get a look at his number, making him unstoppable. Thankfully, Daniel gets up before Xavier can do anything to the two. Daniel ends up killing Xavier, and the audience finally gets a breather.
Cut to the steel plant, Eric’s patience has reached its limit, and he has resorted to physically assaulting John. John has something up his sleeve, but it isn’t easy to guess what. He agrees to take Eric to the house where the group and just as the two leave for the house, the tech team working on finding the house’s location finds something mind-boggling.
A Shocking Revelation
After a frustratingly long ride with John, the two reach a house that fans of the first movie may be familiar with, as it was where most of the first movie was set up. At the same time, the tech team finds another set of monitors set up, and it is revealed that the entire two hours that the police spent trying to get the house’s location to save the trapped group, the game had been over long ago.
They were looking at a recorded video of the game, which had gotten over way before the police had even discovered Jigsaw Killer’s whereabouts, instead of a real-time video of the house. Eric was unaware of this shocking revelation and was alone with John.
At the steel plant, as the two hours finally get over, a large door to a safe opens, and out comes Daniel, completely safe and alive. Still not knowing about the game’s reality, Eric trusts the Jigsaw Killer’s words and finds the bathroom where he thinks his son is trapped. He is alone in there but suddenly finds himself attacked by someone in a pig mask.
He faints and wakes up sometime later, completely alone with his ankles attached to a bathroom pipe. As he struggles to free himself from whatever keeps him tied, he finds a recording device with a recording left for him.
It reveals to him the reality of the game and how it was not Obi but Amanda, the apparent only survivor of the Jigsaw Killer and someone who had been wrongfully accused by Eric, who had collaborated with John to set up the entire game. She was in the house to confuse the rest and keep an eye on them.
The recording tells him that Amanda would keep Jigsaw Killer’s name alive and continue his play business even after John’s death. Eric becomes Amanda’s first-ever murder victim or tests subject in less cruel terms.
Right after the audio recording ends, Amanda, the Jigsaw Killer replacement, shuts the door to the bathroom, seals it with a ‘game over’ tag, and leaves the place, leaving a screaming Eric to rot and then die alone.
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