Trivia: When Jigsaw and Eric escape the lair via a hidden elevator, the film's low budget prevented the construction of an actual working elevator. Thus, some trick photography and editing was implemented. For the first shot of Jigsaw and Eric "going down", the scene was shot by raising the camera vertically to give the impression they were descending. For the next wide shot, simple digital effects were added to make it appear that the room was "lowering." And for the final shot where we see the top of the elevator going down an elevator shaft, stock footage from the film "Hollow Man" was used.
Trivia: Director Darren Lynn Bousman had originally started this project as a completely unrelated film based on a script he wrote which he was shopping around to producers. The original script was entitled "The Desperate" and more-or-less followed a similar storyline of a group of victims trying to escape a house filled with booby-traps. Several producers and potential investors who read the script dismissed it as being "Too much like that movie 'Saw' they're making now," and he wasn't able to find any backing. It eventually made its way into the hands of "Saw" producer Gregg Hoffman, who was in early development on "Saw II" after the first film had built a great deal of hype and positive buzz and was shaping up to be a massive hit. Hoffman and the fellow producers realised that "The Desperate" would make the perfect groundwork for a sequel to "Saw", and brought on the original film's screenwriter Leigh Whannell to help re-write the script with Bousman into a proper sequel.
Trivia: In Jigsaw's lair, where he was caught, you can see items around the room from the house in which the 8 victims were being held. You can see the oar Amanda picks up from the basement and the X marks the spot photograph. These are clues to show that the camera footage is recorded. This is confirmed on the DVD commentary.
Trivia: The needle pit scene was done with real syringes. The crew had to replace the tips with fibre optic ones. The pit was filled with slime to make the syringes slide around more. 120,000 syringes were used during this scene.
Trivia: During the beginning scene with Michael being tested you can see a close up of his eye and the knife very close. This was not actually filmed with the actor, it is one of the assistant camera men.
Trivia: In the room with the razor blade box, if you look at the top of the frame, you can see a lock with a key in it. If the actress walked a few feet further, she could've unlocked the box and gotten the syringe. Obviously this would've defeated the purpose of her dying, but interesting to point out. Confirmed in DVD special features. (01:06:00)
Trivia: During the opening scene Jigsaw shows the head-trap victim where the key is. Jigsaw is seen leaning over a table with the victim lying unconscious on it. This wasn't actually the actor who played Jigsaw; it was a cameo appearance from director Darren Lynn Bousman.
Trivia: The bathroom where Adam and Zep were found dead was a replica of the bathroom used in the first film. They re-created it from scratch by using movie stills from Saw 1. Confirmed on the Saw 2 DVD special features.
Trivia: During the scene where Detective Matthews is taking to Kerry in his office, you can see a mugshot of a man with an afro. This is the director Darren Lynn Bousman.
Trivia: Leigh Whannell stated that Donnie Wahlberg liked the script, but also gave him some notes during their first meeting - and his notes on the script were about the same length as the script itself.
Trivia: Shawnee Smith was pregnant during filming, and tried to keep it a secret from the crew. Director Darren Lynn Bousman only found out because Smith's daughter once blurted out "There's a baby in mommy's belly!" one day while meeting with Smith to discuss the film.
Trivia: Dr. Gordon's fate was left a mystery after the first movie's ending because actor Cary Elwes was involved in a lawsuit against the production company over a pay-dispute. This is partially why he is the only character from the original whose fate is not revealed in this film, why he doesn't physically appear in any flash-backs or stock footage in this film and why he is only referred to briefly in small nods to the first film. The case was eventually settled, although Elwes chose not to reappear until the final entry of the series to help book-end the films.
Answer: Daniel was in there the whole time...The events in the house took place MUCH earlier than when the police got there. Everything in the house was on a tape delay.
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