Gothic Bite Magazine is officially relaunched this week! To kickstart our new beginning, we decided to do a week on how to survive an iconic slasher killer.

Putting the Pieces Together to Outwit Jigsaw

WARNING: Torture Porn

Like most horror franchises, the movies are countless, and each one comes up with a new plot and leaves viewers thinking. Now how would I outwit Jigsaw and survive the movie? 

The Saw franchise has released nine movies, and unfortunately, we all know Hollywood isn’t the greatest for titling their movies. So we have Saw, Saw II, etc. But the numbers are in roman numerals just to give it a slight edge. 

This piece will look at the whole franchise and present you with six ways to outwit Jigsaw and survive the Saw nightmare. 

Cheating never prospers 

No matter how beautiful your intern is or your secretary is, or that new guy in your workplace, that is not a reason to cheat on your spouse. Divorce them first. If you want to be known as the person who has an affair, bad news! One of you is more than likely to slip up and get caught.

If watching movies and reading books is any indication, unfaithful spouses always get caught. Just look at what happened when Dr. Gordon slept with his medical student. Is sleeping with a young blonde or toyboy worth getting killed over? 

Play your life safe and win the game

When I mention ‘temple,’ I mean our bodies are temples. We must look after them and remain as healthy as we can. It will keep you alive in more than one way with Jigsaw around. After all, a dying patient may find out what you’re doing with a body he would literally kill to have.

This is precisely what happened when Jigsaw, aka John Kramer, learned from Dr. Gordon that he had terminal brain cancer. Despite living a healthy life, he was staring down the barrel of death. Whereas Amanda Young—one of Jigsaw’s early victims but later part of the game—was waltzing around hooked on heroin after a stint in jail.

Don’t play the Hero

This one goes without saying. Every horror movie and the same goes for books! I am one of those who stand there and go JFC, run away and get help. Don’t run towards the serial killer. They have killed so many people. What makes you think that you might be the one to kill him? 

Again, this is a quick moment to weigh your options up. History dictates you won’t survive if you play the hero card. If you have nothing to lose and your life doesn’t mean much to you, then chase him. But if you want to live another day, it’s time to embrace that common sense and run the other way. 

Remember Detective Steven Sing? He tried to play the hero card and set off a bunch of shotguns. He died in a blaze of bullets in the first Saw and Jigsaw and got eight more movies.

Play. Follow The Rules. Read Instructions

Again, I know you would love to be currently doing anything but being in this situation. No one likes to be kidnapped by a madman. However, the truth of the situation can work in your favor. You are seen as playing into the killer’s game by following the rules. 

This can lead to the vulnerable side of the psychopath. They often show they think they won. Their guard lowers slightly, and wham bam! This is the moment to strike. 

The second part goes as follows: carefully read the instructions. We know Jigsaw loves puzzles. He was like the original “escape room” creator. 

In Saw II, we watched as Jigsaw said not to use the key to unlock the door. What happens? The key was used, and poor Gus took the bullet for Xavier‘s breaking the rule. 

We also saw in this movie that Obi ended up burned alive in the furnace. He would have been alive if he had known to turn off the furnace. If only he read the instructions between the lines that Jigsaw gave him.

Don’t Become A Criminal

Again, a nice and easy rule to follow, right? Well, you would think it is, but the number of people committing crimes is high. My advice is don’t choose to go down that path. You may end up robbing the wrong place and injuring the wrong person. Their loved one might come for you. 

It happened to Cecil in Saw IV after he helped rob the clinic where John Kramer’s wife worked. His wife was hit and ended up losing their baby.

John was furious, and Cecil became Jigsaw’s Guinea pig in one of his first traps. He had to push his face into knives to free himself from the chair. One wrong robbery, and you end up in the hands of a serial killer.

There Is No “I” In Team

If you are lucky enough to be captured by a serial killer with a group of friends. If you’re not alone, working together as a team is the best way to go. Multiple people can always overpower one person. It’s a bit like ‘don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.’

If a group works together, it can constantly maneuver and overpower one person. This is always one of my pet peeves in books and movies. The teams always split up, and each individual ends up dying. 

In Saw V, there were five original victims. It became a fight for survival, and the weakest were chucked under the bus first. They could have survived Jigsaw. If only they had worked as a team.

Paula Phillips