Set between the events of Saw and Saw II, a sick and desperate John Kramer travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer. However, he soon discovers that the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through a series of ingenious and terrifying traps.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
September 29, 2023 |
Running time |
118 minutes |
Genre |
Horror
Mystery Thriller |
Budget |
$13,000,000 |
Box Office |
$111,821,304 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Kevin Greutert |
Produced by |
Mark Burg Oren Koules |
Written by |
Peter Goldfinger Josh Stolberg |
Music by |
Charlie Clouser |
Cinematography |
Nick Matthews |
Edited by |
Kevin Greutert |
Production Co. |
Twisted Pictures |
Distributed by |
Lionsgate |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #10 in Saw Collection
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The Plot
The Miracle Cure
Set between the events of the first two films, John Kramer faces a grim prognosis: his cancer is advancing rapidly, leaving him with only months to live. While attending a cancer support group, he reconnects with Henry Kessler, a survivor who claims to have been cured by an experimental treatment. Henry directs John to Dr. Cecilia Pederson, a physician who operates outside the jurisdiction of American pharmaceutical restrictions. She claims to use a revolutionary method developed by her father to save terminally ill patients.
Desperate for life, John contacts Cecilia, who invites him to join her latest test series for a fee of $250,000. She instructs him to travel to a remote location outside Mexico City, explaining that she operates out of an improvised clinic within an abandoned chemical plant to evade interference from powerful medical conglomerates. Upon arrival, John is charmed by the staff and undergoes surgery. He wakes up believing the tumor has been removed and that he has been given a second chance at life.
The Deception Revealed
Filled with gratitude, John purchases a bottle of tequila and returns to the chemical plant to personally thank Cecilia and her team. However, he finds the facility completely deserted. The medical equipment has been stripped, and the bustling clinic is now a hollow shell. Exploring the office, John discovers a medical video simulation of his "surgery" and realizes the horrific truth: the operation was a scam, the tumor remains, and he was never treated. The hope he felt was merely a fabrication designed to rob a dying man.
The Pipe Bomb Test
John immediately shifts from patient to punisher. He tracks down the taxi driver, Diego, who had posed as the neurosurgeon "Dr. Ramón Cortez." John abducts him and brings him back to the chemical plant, strapping him into a chair for a brutal interrogation. Once Diego confesses to his role in the scheme, he is subjected to the first game.
Diego wakes up with two pipe bombs attached to his forearms via galvanized cables. The rules are simple but agonizing: he has three minutes to cut through his own flesh and sever the cables to release the bombs before they detonate. Driven by adrenaline and pain, Diego manages to mutilate his arms and remove the devices just in time. Impressed by his will to survive, John patches his wounds and uses the information Diego provided to locate the remaining conspirators.
Gathering the Players
With the assistance of his apprentice, Amanda Young, John abducts the core members of Cecilia’s operation. The group wakes up shackled within the main room of the chemical plant, realizing they are now at the mercy of the man they defrauded. The victims include Mateo, a veterinarian who posed as an anesthesiologist; Valentina, a prostitute who acted as a nurse; Gabriela, a drug addict who falsely claimed to be a cured patient; and their ringleader, Cecilia Pederson.
John confronts them, explaining that they must now play a game to prove their willingness to live and to atone for preying on the dying. He watches from a surveillance room above, while Amanda patrols the floor to ensure the rules are followed.
Valentina’s Sacrifice
The first individual test falls to Valentina. To survive, she must use a Gigli saw to amputate her own right leg at the thigh. However, the amputation is only the first step; she must then extract three ounces of bone marrow from the severed limb and place it into a suction device to deactivate the trap. If she fails, a wire saw will decapitate her.
Valentina screams in agony as she saws through her flesh and bone. She successfully severs the leg, but the shock and pain slow her down. As she frantically tries to suck the marrow out with a syringe, the timer reaches zero. The automated wire saw engages, wrapping around her neck and decapitating her instantly.
Parker’s Intrusion and Mateo’s Surgery
During the downtime between tests, Amanda and John discuss the morality of the subjects. Amanda expresses deep conflict regarding Gabriela, sympathizing with the young woman's history of drug addiction. Meanwhile, Cecilia manages to retrieve her confiscated phone and makes a desperate call for help before Amanda catches her. Shortly after, a man named Parker Sears—a thyroid cancer patient who believes he was also scammed—storms the factory demanding a refund. Amanda subdues him, and John decides to shackle him as an observer for the ongoing games.
Next, Mateo is forced into the dentist's chair. His task is to perform brain surgery on himself. He must drill into his skull, extract a piece of his own cerebral tissue, and drop it into a beaker of enzymes to dissolve it. This will complete an electrical circuit and unlock the mask aimed at his face. Mateo manages to breach his skull and remove the tissue, but he fumbles the transfer. The timer expires, and the mask snaps shut, searing his face with heat coils and electrocuting him to death.
Gabriela’s Trial and The Betrayal
The game turns to Gabriela. She is suspended by chains near a powerful radiation machine. To escape being burned alive by ionizing radiation, she must use a sledgehammer to shatter her shackled hand and ankle, allowing her to slip free. Despite her terror, Gabriela summons the strength to break her own bones. She falls to the ground, severely burned and battered, but alive.
Before Amanda can take Gabriela to receive medical attention, Parker Sears reveals his true colors. He was not a victim, but Cecilia’s lover and secret partner whom she had called for backup. Parker holds Amanda at gunpoint and frees Cecilia. In a display of cold-blooded cruelty, Cecilia approaches the injured Gabriela. Instead of helping her, Cecilia stomps on Gabriela’s neck, breaking it and killing her instantly to eliminate a "loose end."
The Blood Trap
Now in control, Cecilia and Parker force John Kramer into one of his own traps. To inflict maximum psychological pain, Cecilia also drags Carlos—an innocent local boy John had befriended earlier—into the trap alongside him. The mechanism is a seesaw-like bloodboarding device. As it activates, the platform tilts, drowning John in a cascade of blood. To save him, Carlos must pull a lever that tilts the platform the other way, drowning himself instead. The two begin a selfless cycle of sacrificing their own breath to save the other.
While John and Carlos suffer, Cecilia and Parker head to the surveillance room to retrieve the bag containing the scammed millions. Cecilia greedily grabs the bag, but as she lifts it, she triggers a tripwire. The doors to the control room slam shut, locking them inside, and a timer on the main floor stops.
The Final Lesson
The bloodboarding trap deactivates, releasing John and Carlos. It is revealed that John anticipated Parker’s arrival and Cecilia’s betrayal all along. The true game was for the two ringleaders. As John, Amanda, and Carlos stand safely outside the glass, a deadly acidic gas begins to fill the sealed control room. The only source of oxygen is a single ventilation hole in the wall, large enough for only one person’s head.
Realizing there is no escape for both of them, Cecilia turns on Parker. A brutal struggle ensues, ending with Cecilia stabbing Parker to death. She shoves her head through the ventilation hole, gasping for air while her lover’s corpse corrodes in the chemical fog behind her. John watches her survival with a stoic gaze. She has won her life, but she is left trapped in the chemical plant, defeated and destitute. John, Amanda, and Carlos walk out of the factory into the sunrise.
Mid-Credit Scene: Loose Ends
Some time later, John Kramer returns to the dilapidated bathroom from the first film, accompanied by Detective Mark Hoffman. Bound to a chair is Henry Kessler, the man from the support group who first lured John into Cecilia’s web of lies. As Henry screams through his gag, John activates a new device attached to Henry’s torso, signaling that the games are far from over.
