It's a good time to be a horror fan. The genre is in the midst of a renaissance, with challenging and exciting new properties being brought into theaters and making a ton of money. But the never ending franchises will always be at the heart of scary movies, as OG movies like Halloween and Friday The 13th are still being made today. They each have their own signature villain, and sometimes magic happens when they crossover like Freddy Vs Jason. But Saw villain Tobin Bell doesn't seem to have an interest in that. Because while he's terrorized audiences for eight movies and well over a decade, he doesn't really get the appeal of other fictional killers.
This question comes up because people are fascinated by Freddy Krueger and, you know, the chainsaw guy, and I'm not terribly familiar with their backstories, or with those franchises, so I don't know where the connection might be. But, are people fascinated with that kind of thing?
Looks like a crossover is one game that Jigsaw isn't particularly interesting in playing. While he's not a horror buff as one might assume, he does have a point regarding the lack of connective tissue between Saw and the more classic horror franchises.
Tobin Bell's comments to ComicBook.com do make some valid points. Villains like Jason Voorhees or Leatherface have a somewhat supernatural element about them. They're able to consistently slash through groups of teenagers without ever really being killed. The limitations of their powers are never really explored, and their motivations tend to be pretty basic.
Meanwhile, Jigsaw operates quite differently. When he was introduced in the original film, John Kramer is an elderly man who designs horrifying tests of endurance and grit for his victims. But Kramer was revealed to be very sick in the sequel, and eventually died in Saw 3. Yet he's still managed to return through flashbacks in every film, making him an oddly less threatening villain.
Additionally, Jigsaw is interesting because he never actually kills his victims. His bloody and disgusting machines usually have a way for the participant to "win", although it may cost them serious bodily harm and possibly a limb or two. It's their actions that ultimately result in death, especially because Jigsaw's code goes after "bad" people. He's like Dexter, but way less charming and handsome.
But if the Saw franchise were to crossover with a classic horror franchise, which one would make the most sense? Given a timeline where John Kramer was still alive, it might be interesting to see another modern villain like Mark Duplass' character from the Creep franchise. Seeing two modern (and powerless) villains would be fascinating, especially with their conflicting ideologies about killing and life itself.
Signs point to a ninth Saw movie being produced, so check back with CinemaBlend for more updates as they become public. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your trips to the movies this year.
