2004’s Saw is a genre-defining film that brought torture porn to the forefront of horror with a grungy aesthetic and tightknit plot. However, within that dense web of character connections and storyline crossovers, one detail managed to slip through the cracks.
Saw presents a world where the Jigsaw killer (Tobin Bell) traps unsuspecting victims in elaborate traps as a way of enacting retribution for what he thinks are morally transgressive actions. Photographer Adam (Leigh Whannel) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) awaken chained to a filthy bathroom that contains a handful of items including a bone saw, a gun, and a dead body. Each is given a different instruction: Adam must escape; Gordon must kill Adam by six o’clock or else his family will be killed.
Saw was a box-office success, beloved by horror fans today. Its ninth instalment Spiral: From The Book Of Saw was due to hit theatres mid-2020 (prior to COVID-related rescheduling) nearly 16 years after the original film hit theaters. 2004’s Saw is the highest-ranking movie in the franchise to date. Its multi-level storytelling cleverly weaves character plots, delaying the release of information in a way that is tense and exciting. In its fast pace, it is easy to lose track, but one plot hole stands out more than any others.
How Did Jigsaw Get The Pictures In Saw 1?
![Saw 1’s Biggest Plot Hole: How Did Jigsaw Get The Pictures?](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Saw-Photos-Zep.jpg)
The disgraced detective Tapp (Danny Glover) has been stalking Gordon as part of his quest to uncover the identity of the Jigsaw killer. His set-up includes a camera pointed directly at Gordon’s house, which captures a clip of Zep (Michael Emerson), an orderly from Gordon’s hospital who is holding Gordon’s family captive. A still photograph of this makes its way into Adam and Gordon’s hands. It’s a tense scene when Gordon realizes his family is at risk, but how that picture made it into the bathroom is a mystery. How did Jigsaw get his hands on the photo? As is discovered later, the “dead” body in the bathroom turns out to be Jigsaw himself. Tapp captures the image while Jigsaw, Gordon, and Adam are locked in the bathroom, so Jigsaw couldn’t have physically accessed this information. Moreover, Tapp is in the car, carefully guarding his possessions, so even if the detective had printed the still, there wouldn’t be an opportunity to snatch the photo without Tapp noticing.
One workaround for actually accessing the photograph is the possibility of Jigsaw hacking into Tapp’s computer, able to see everything Tapp sees. After all, hacking was a staple of 2000s movie plot development. As Jigsaw couldn’t do it himself, though, he would need some help. It isn’t until Saw II that it is revealed Amanda (Shawnee Smith), one of Jigsaw’s escaped victims, is actually acting in cahoots with the serial killer. However, it is plausible that by this point in the narrative, she would be happy to lend a hand. In that way, Jigsaw, with the help of Amanda, could gain access to Tapp’s photo of Zep.
That said, the plot hole persists. Even with access to that photo, there is no way Amanda could have snuck it into the sealed room. It is taken after Gordon and Adam awaken, and they are conscious every moment thereafter. They would certainly have noticed a small wiry woman casually tossing some photographs into their dank prison. It is worth noting that this plot hole is a small detail that doesn’t break from the narrative of the overall movie. Even if certain ideas fall apart when deconstructed offscreen, as long as Saw is playing, its tense pace keeps questions like these easily at bay.