Lionsgate wouldn’t let Saw X include one particular trap for the franchise’s landmark tenth entry.
The Saw films are known for their iconic death traps. John Kramer, the man known as the Jigsaw killer, looks to test those he feels don’t appreciate their life—usually subjects who have actively done something ethically questionable.
This leads to the villain putting people in intricate traps that require them to commit some harm to themselves (or others) in order to get free.
One of these traps in the upcoming Saw X film sees someone strapped to a machine that will suck out their eyeballs straight from their skull if they don’t willingly break their fingers.
The Saw Trap That Lionsgate Said No To
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim, Saw X director Kevin Greutert revealed one trap that Lionsgate prevented from being added to the movie.
He shared how in the script when audiences "first see John Kramer in the MRI machine," they originally "played it as a kind of fantasy trap in his head:"
"... In the script, when we first see John Kramer in the MRI machine, we played it as a kind of fantasy trap in his head that echoed what happens later in the film. And I don't know, for some reason we were told not to do that. So we just, it is what it is now."
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for Saw X.
The director also divulged how "the final trap" in the film, where Cecilia and Parker are fighting for their lives in the sealed factory office, "was very different in the original script:"
“Well, I can say that the final trap in this, there's a kind of fight scene at the end of this movie, and that was very different in the original script. But it just wasn't practical to pull off. So we did what we wound up doing in this movie."
Greutert then admitted that "the hardest part of these films" is "the conceiving of these traps:"
"...You know, the conceiving of these traps, it really is the hardest part of these films. And we brainstorm and throw out a lot of different ideas.”
Why Was the MRI Trap Too Much?
It’s unclear what exactly the fantasy MRI trap contained, so it’s impossible to know for sure why it was cut. So while the franchise is known for how graphic and gorey it can get, for whatever reason, this MRI scenario crossed that line for Lionsgate.
While it could have simply been too intense, like Spiral’s removed face-skinning trap, this sequence was probably nixed due to the sensitive nature of its context—focusing on a cancer patient and possibly warping hospital machines into instruments of death likely didn’t give off the best impression.
Hopefully, over time, more details will slip through the cracks, and fans can hear more about what could have been. At the very least, the creatives liked the idea of John imagining traps in his head enough to include it in the final movie, as shown by the eye vacuum test, which never actually happened.
As for the final trap of the movie, where Cecilia and Parker are fighting for their life, it’s hard not to wonder what the sequence’s original version looked like. After all, Saw has done some pretty insane stuff (such as the Pain Train in Saw 3D)—what could have been too complicated to pull off?
Perhaps Kevin Greutert will have another chance to pull it off for Saw XI if such a sequel happens. After all, Cecilia is alive and well (sort of)—there’s no way she doesn’t end up getting herself into another Jigsaw trap.
Saw X is now playing in theaters worldwide.
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