From Hugh of @hughv302

On September 29th, the original Jigsaw Killer, John Kramer, returns to the big screen promising new complex traps and gruesome kills to add to the long legacy of the Saw franchise. Most diehard horror fans already know the story of this horror villain but there are some that may happen to not know of who John Kramer is outside of his association with the iconic puppet that delivers his instructions to his victims. Find out now about the life, death and legacy of the twisted mastermind Jigsaw below!

Origin

Jigsaw made his first appearance in the 2004 film Saw as the primary antagonist and would continue to be alive before his death in Saw III. But even after his death his legacy lived on as he had several apprentices and copycats that would continue his work and his story would be expanded upon through flashbacks in the following films. In the series' narrative, John Kramer is a former civil engineer dying from an inoperable frontal lobe tumor. After a suicide attempt, John discovers a new appreciation for life and becomes obsessed with forcing people into deadly scenarios, which he refers to as "games" or "tests". The victims are forced to inflict pain upon themselves or others in order to escape a locked room or building. The tests are typically symbolic of what Jigsaw perceives as a flaw in each person's moral character or life. He cuts the shape of a puzzle piece from the remains of people who fail to survive his "tests", hence the nickname Jigsaw Killer. In Saw II, John says that the puzzle piece is meant to symbolize that the subject "was missing a vital piece of the human puzzle: the survival instinct". The Jigsaw Killer's identity remains uncertain until the end of the first film. It is ultimately revealed that John has been posing as a corpse on the floor of a bathroom where one of his tests is taking place.

In Saw II, John leaves a clue to his location at the scene of a game. When the police apprehend him, John reveals to Detective Eric Matthews that Eric's son Daniel is trapped in a house filled with deadly nerve gas, along with several people who were framed by Eric for crimes they did not commit. John tells Eric that he will let Daniel survive if Eric talks to him until the game is complete. Eric eventually loses patience, assaults John, and forces John to lead him to the house at gunpoint. It is later revealed that the test in the house took place before John and Eric ever made contact, and Daniel was locked in a safe for the entirety of their conversation. Upon their arrival, John is rescued by Amanda Young, a survivor of an earlier Jigsaw test who has come to see John as a father figure and mentor.

In Saw III, John's cancer has progressed and he is on his death bed. His apprentice Amanda has begun designing inescapable traps, which John disapproves of. John administers a final test to Amanda to decide whether she will be a worthy successor. Meanwhile, Dr. Lynn Denlon is forced to keep John alive via emergency surgery. Her husband Jeff also undergoes a test, meant to be a punishment for his inability to forgive a drunk driver who killed one of his children. John attempts to prevent Amanda from failing her test, but she admits that she no longer believes in John's philosophy and shoots Lynn. Jeff subsequently shoots and kills Amanda. Jeff then kills John with a power saw. As he dies, John pulls out a tape player revealing that Jeff has failed his test by killing him, and that Jigsaw has abducted Jeff and Lynn's daughter Corbett. Jeff is forced to play another game to find Corbett. Saw IV opens with John's autopsy. A wax-coated tape is found in his stomach. The tape reveals to Detective Mark Hoffman that he will be tested. The end of the film reveals that Hoffman is in fact another one of John's accomplices.

Saw IV also explores John's backstory. John was a successful civil engineer and property developer, as well as a devoted husband to his wife Jill Tuck. Jill ran a recovery clinic for drug users and was robbed by Cecil, one of her patients. Cecil accidentally injured her during the robbery and she subsequently miscarried. John became bitter after the loss of their unborn child, and he and Jill ultimately divorced. After being diagnosed with cancer and attempting suicide, John becomes the Jigsaw Killer and Cecil is his first victim. John reappears in flashbacks in Saw V that explore the relationship between John and Detective Hoffman. Hoffman killed his sister's murderer with a deadly game that mimicked John's tests. Unlike John's tests, Hoffman's was inescapable. After discovering Hoffman's identity, John blackmailed Hoffman into becoming his apprentice. John also appears in a video will, in which he declares his love for Jill and leaves her a mysterious box. In Saw VI, John appears in flashback as well as in video recordings. The recordings are for John's victim William Easton, who inadvertently caused John's death by denying his insurance claim.

In a flashback set between the second and third films, John presents Amanda to Jill as proof that his games work as rehabilitation. A flashback set before the events of the third and fourth films explores the group dynamic between John, Amanda, and Hoffman. It is also revealed that John gave his ex-wife a key, which she later used to open the box he gave her in Saw V. In the present, it is revealed that the box contained six envelopes containing future test subjects, a thicker envelope, and an updated version of the "reverse bear trap". She gave Hoffman envelopes 1 to 5, but envelope 6 was intended for Jill to carry out alone. As per John's instructions, she places Hoffman in the "reverse bear trap"; fulfilling the promise made via the audio tape discovered in John's stomach during his autopsy in Saw IV that Hoffman would be tested. John returns in Saw 3D in a flashback meeting Bobby Dagen, a man who acquired quick fame and fortune after falsifying a story about surviving a Jigsaw trap, at a book signing. Hoffman later makes Bobby go through a series of tests (including re-enacting the very test that he falsely claimed to have survived) in which he comes face-to-face with those who knew he lied (except his wife), but refused to expose his secret; all are killed in separate traps despite his efforts to save them. John appears at the end of the film, where it is revealed that he recruited Lawrence (a survivor of one of Jigsaw's tests in the first film) as an apprentice.

In the 2017 film Jigsaw John's recorded voice is heard during the tests. He appears in person during the final test, confronting its two participants with the truth of their past misdeeds. After loading a double-barreled shotgun with one shell that he describes as "your key to freedom", he leaves the room. It is later revealed that this test took place ten years ago, and that John chose one of the five victims to become his first apprentice. And as for the 2021 Spiral, John does not appear (except in photographs) but is said to have inspired the copycat killer central to the film's plot. Spiral is the only film in the series in which John Kramer does not appear. 

What to expect?

Saw X is set to have John Kramer return being reprised by Tobin Bell and will take place between the events of Saw and Saw II. The plot is said to follow a sick and desperate John Kramer who travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer. However, he discovers the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Angered and 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 devious, deranged and ingenious traps. Based on what has been shown so far, Saw X is expected to act as sort of a mini chapter that explores a new part of John’s life but could also connect some things between the previous installments especially since this takes place between Saw and Saw II. It also seems that John Kramer may be considered the protagonist in this film given that the victims are con artists that screwed him and many others over making them characters you would have the least sympathy for compared to some of the previous victims. It’s unknown if Saw X will provide any major surprises but what is definitely expected is some majorly gory kills from very deadly traps for audiences to witness in theaters on September 29th.

Saw X hits theaters on September 29th, 2023.

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