JIGSAW PUZZLER

Saw’s killer has been dead for years, so what’s he doing headlining his own spin-off?

and 74 of the most creative deaths in horror movie history, Saw finally crawled to its bloody end in 2010. Except now there’s Jigsaw: a new instalment that renders Saw: The Final Chapter a lot less final than it claimed at the time. It’s simultaneously a jumping-on point for newcomers and a Part VIII for those already up to, well, snuff.

We might reasonably expect a fresh encounter with John Kramer, the killer (played by Tobin Bell) nicknamed Jigsaw after the puzzlepiece signature he carves from his victims. As ever with this twisty-turny series, though, nothing is that obvious. Cancer claimed Kramer in Saw III, only for him to pop up in flashbacks for the subsequent sequels, usually to retcon past events in increasingly noodle-baking ways. Now, ten years after his demise, murders tallying with his modus operandi have begun again. So he’s back, right? Or is he? And if Kramer really is dead, who’s setting the fiendish new traps?

That mystery was crucial in luring Peter Spierig and his brother Michael — the Australian twins behind sci-fis Daybreakers and

Predestination — into this well-worn franchise. “We weren’t interested in out-grossing the previous films, and I don’t mean financially,” jokes Peter Spierig. “It was about doing a really exciting thriller.” The promise is for all the traps Saw devotees could wish for, but with an added twist of sleuthing. ‘CSI: Torture Chamber’, if you will. “What I love is the detective aspect,” adds Spierig.

The original studio pitch was for “less brutality [and] more thrills”. The entry had to stand alone, too. As anyone who’s tried to detangle the events of Saw IV without close reference to

Saw III will rue, this franchise isn't exactly kind to the newcomer. “If you haven’t seen any of the

Saw films before, you’ll be able to get it all pretty easily,” promises Michael Spierig. “Although if you have seen the others, that’s certainly helpful.”

So will the Bell be tolling again? Empire is met with a straight bat on the big question. “What makes you think Tobin is in it at all?” teases Peter Spierig. With or without the mysterious killer, this surprise addition to the

Saw franchise will take us back to the grungenoir roots of James Wan’s first instalment. The Spierigs want to play again.