And though no-one could have anticipated, back in 2004, just how massive a phenomenon the Saw<\/em><\/strong> movies would go on to be, it turns out Bell always had strong opinions on who Jigsaw should be. \u201cWhen they came to me with a script for Saw II<\/em><\/strong>, I thought \u2018oh, interesting, now we get to find out what\u2019s on his mind,\u2019\u201d he remembers. \u201cI knew from the beginning that he was a really fascinating guy, so when we were doing Saw II<\/em><\/strong>, and I had all those scenes talking to Donnie Wahlberg, we spent ten days working on those scenes to get them just right.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d throw in things like Darwin and his trip to the Galapogos, because of the whole survival of the fittest idea. When people heard that, they think \u2018oh, that\u2019s what he\u2019s going!\u2019 And then they realise what\u2019s really pissing him off, which is the treatment of the terminally ill by the medical community, or people who use others to advance themselves. I like the karma aspect of it. In Saw IV<\/em><\/strong>, I say something like, \u2018people can lie and cheat and still get elected\u2019, so is there karma? It gives people something to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n And though all of the films earned themselves 18 certificates (for what the BBFC calls \u201cvery strong bloody gore and violence\u201d), and were dismissed as \u2018torture porn\u2019 at the time, Bell reckons fans saw past all that, and understood the underlying message Kramer was trying to convey. \u201cI\u2019ve had kids come up to me, they\u2019re 11- or 12-years old, and they\u2019ve seen these films,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen they talk to me about them, they don\u2019t talk about the scary parts. They talk about the concept. I say, \u2018what do you like about the films?\u2019 And they say \u2018they teach us stuff!\u2019 People tell me that the films have changed their lives. They\u2019re often people who have been in dire personal situations, and I\u2019m always like\u201d \u2013 he puts his hand on his heart \u2013 \u201cWow. That makes it worth doing. I don\u2019t think Saw<\/em><\/strong> is, you know, some sort of cure, but it resonated with people.\u201d<\/p>\n Kramer\u2019s relationship with his apprentice, Amanda (Shawnee Smith) was something Bell worked particularly hard on. \u201cThe character of Amanda is extremely powerful for many young women: her drug addiction, her cutting, her struggle with herself,\u201d he explains. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t a lot of dialogue around that, but Shawnee and I worked very hard on it in Saw III<\/em><\/strong>. We created moments between us that, small as they might be \u2013 a look, a touch \u2013 suggested their connection. That\u2019s the level I work on in these films.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s been seven years since Saw 3D<\/em><\/strong>, and Bell\u2019s clearly delighted to be able to step back into Kramer\u2019s blood-spattered shoes for Jigsaw. Directed by the Spierig brothers, Jigsaw<\/strong><\/em> is both a sequel and a reboot; different, but the same. \u201cIt has a completely different look,\u201d Bell explains, \u201cMichael and Peter wanted to give it a texture that departed slightly from the previous Saw<\/em><\/strong> films. Even the way music is used is slightly different. It\u2019s a fresh approach to the franchise while still being recognisable as what it is. It\u2019s complex, but it\u2019s standalone. You don\u2019t have to have seen all the other films to understand what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n Whatever else might\u2019ve changed, though, Jigsaw\u2019s appreciate-your-life value system remains very much intact. Bell made sure of it. \u201cThere are concepts in this film that have been there since James Wan and Leigh Whannell created the project,\u201d Bell insists. \u201cLike the idea of appreciating life. That resonates very strongly with so many fans, because it\u2019s true! It\u2019s so much easier to get wrapped up in negatives than to be aware and grateful of how lucky we are to be sitting in this room right now. Saw I<\/em><\/strong> through VII <\/em><\/strong>set a certain foundation with those concepts, and I think they\u2019re very clear in Jigsaw<\/em><\/strong>, too.\u201d<\/p>\n At this point, you might be starting to worry that Bell sees John Kramer \u2013 the villain of the Saw<\/em><\/strong> movies, lest we forget, the guy who kidnaps people and shoves them into sometimes unwinnable traps to try to teach them to mend their ways \u2013 as a kind of moral crusader, a heroic vigilante. And, well, while Bell doesn\u2019t endorse his character\u2019s methods, he does think he\u2019s got a point.<\/p>\n \u201cWe live in a world where people are upset about so many things, and they do nothing about them,\u201d he says. \u201cWe see things happening, and we do nothing. Whether you agree with what John does or not, he doesn\u2019t do nothing. He has an MO. He knows where he\u2019s going and why he\u2019s going there and what he\u2019s doing, and you could say he\u2019s making himself judge and jury, but he\u2019s not really, because he doesn\u2019t really kill anyone. He always gives people a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Feeling safe enough by now to challenge that, SciFiNow points out that some of Jigsaw\u2019s games were so difficult to escape that his victims didn\u2019t stand much of a chance. Bell leans forward in his chair and fixes us with that steady, terrifying gaze. \u201cI understand why you would say that,\u201d he says, and grins. \u201cI wasn\u2019t consulted on all <\/em>the traps!\u201d<\/p>\n Jigsaw is in cinemas today. Keep up with the latest horror news with the new issue of SciFiNow.<\/strong>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/saw.jpg\")
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