Saw III (Sometimes but less known as Saw 3) is a 2006 American-Canadian horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and a story by Whannell and James Wan. It is the third installment in the Saw film series. The film stars Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfadyen, Bahar Soomekh and Dina Meyer. The plot follows Jeff, a man whose son was killed by a drunk driver and is put through a series of tests by Jigsaw meant to help him overcome his anger towards his son's killer. Meanwhile, a bed-ridden John Kramer has his apprentice Amanda Young kidnap Dr. Lynn Denlon, who is tasked with keeping John alive for one final test before he dies.
Much like its predecessor, Saw II, the film was immediately green-lit after the successful opening weekend of the prior film. Filming took place in Toronto from May to June 2006. Whannell aimed to make the story more emotional than previous installments, particularly with the Amanda and Jigsaw storyline. The film is dedicated to producer Gregg Hoffman who died on December 4, 2005.
Saw III was released in the United States on October 27, 2006, by Lionsgate
. It was a financial success, opening to $33.6 million and grossing $80.2 million in the United States and Canada. It is the highest-grossing film of the series in the international market with $84.6 million and the highest-grossing film in the series overall with $164.9 million worldwide. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Bell was nominated for "Best Villain" at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards and the film received nominations for a Saturn Award as "Best Horror Film". The film was released to DVD and Blu-ray on January 23, 2007, and topped the charts selling 2.5 million units in its first week. A sequel, titled Saw IV, was released in 2007.
Release date[]
First released on 26 October 2006
Released in the United Kingdom and United States on 27 October 2006
Age ratings[]
MPAA: R for strong grisly violence and gore, sequences of terror and torture, nudity and language
BBFC: 18
IFCO: 18
CSA: -18(Uncut)
CSA: -16(Cut, video version)
Useful websites[]