Immediately following the Saw III presentation - and after the fans finished mobbing director Darren Lynn Bousman for photos and autographs - I sat down with the returning Saw II filmmaker to discuss the third film of the series:
Darren Lynn Bousman on the Saw III Script: When I interviewed Bousman right before the release of Saw II on DVD, the writer/director told me there was no way he’d return as director for Saw III unless the script was perfect. Shortly after our conversation Bousman agreed to direct the third installment of the Saw franchise. Explaining why he said yes to Saw III Bousman offered, “Even when they first approached me with the idea I said no. I turned it down. Leigh [Whannell] wasn’t involved originally. They just came to me and asked, ‘Would you do Saw III?’ And then Gregg [Hoffman, Saw producer] passed, and we all got together – James [Wan], Leigh and I all got together – and we started talking. We were like, ‘You know they’re going to have someone else direct this film. Someone else is going to write it.’ I was like, ‘That’s not what we want to leave behind. We don’t want to leave that legacy behind in the Saw films. Let’s do it right.” So James and Leigh came up with the story idea.
We all got together for about a week and threw some ideas around. By the end of it, we had this really cool story. A lot of work goes into this thing. The more they go on, the more gory they get and there’s no story left. We had a good story - a very intense story. In fact when we originally came up with the idea, we had no traps involved; or no gore in it. We had a story and it wasn’t until the script was written that were like, ‘F**k - we need traps.’ And so we then added the traps back in, which was what you saw [in the footage screened]. It was a really great development process, coming together with this story, so I decided to do it.”
The Gore Factor: During the Q&A session with Saw fans at the San Diego Comic Con Bousman said this third film will make the other two look like Disney movies. “I think the gore in this movie and the factor you’ll feel when you leave this movie is much harsher than any of the two films,” said Bousman. “It’s not for gore, and it’s really not for violence, it’s that you’re emotionally attached to all the characters. Saw II really wasn’t a scary movie. You had a bunch of people running around in a house and the only people you got to really know were Detective Matthews and Jigsaw. In this movie you know every character very well. You know ins and outs, idiosyncrasies and habits. So when they meet their demise or not meet their demise, whatever happens to them, you’re connected with them and it makes it so much more intense. That’s why I think that, you know, Saw II was a good action, gore, adrenaline rush.”
Continuing the Saw Franchise: While Saw III aims to get the audience more involved with each individual character, that doesn’t mean the overall tone of the third movie differs from the first two films. “No, not at all. In fact, this one is completely for the fans. There are things in this movie that if you’re a fan of Saw I and II you’re going to pluck out. Being a fan of the films myself, besides being the director, I can’t believe some of the stuff we did. There are like little nuggets, like little Easter Eggs from the first two films. For example you’ll find things in the movies that, if you look hard enough, were used in Saw I that are sitting there. The whole movie is full of that. We really wanted to tie the films together with the third one, and so we’re continually tying the film back to I and II. In the meantime, we have a separate story for Saw III so if you’ve never seen either film, you can still enjoy this movie. It’s 100% a stand-alone horror film but if you’re a fan of Saw I and II, you’re going to get a big kick out of it.”
Page 2: Darren Lynn Bousman on Directing, the Ratings System and Sequels
