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Still from Saw III (2006)
Film 3 of 9 · by Callan Brooks

Saw 3 (Saw III, 2006): Cast, Plot, Ending and Where to Watch

Saw 3, officially Saw III, is the third film in the Saw series, released on October 27, 2006 and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. It turned a $10 million budget into $164.9 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, and it follows Dr. Lynn Denlon, who must keep the dying Jigsaw alive while a grieving man named Jeff plays a game of his own.

Image: TMDB
Saw III (2006) theatrical poster
US release
October 27, 2006
Runtime
1h 48m
Rating
R / 18 / MA 15+
Budget
$10 million
Worldwide
$165 million

Saw III Trailer

Official Trailer

Saw 11 trailer

Saw 3 Plot: The Setup

Saw 3 begins six months after Detective Eric Matthews gets out of the bathroom trap he was left in, and police soon find a fresh Jigsaw game that does not follow the usual rules. A man named Troy had to tear chains out of his own body to escape a bomb, yet the exit of his room was welded shut, so nobody could have survived it. Detective Kerry spots the problem, and soon afterward she is kidnapped and put into a harness that is hooked into her ribs.

At the same time, Dr. Lynn Denlon is taken from her hospital and brought to a hideout, where the dying John Kramer lies in bed with terminal cancer. Amanda fits Lynn with a shotgun collar wired to John's heart monitor, which means Lynn has to keep him alive while a second game plays out for a man named Jeff. His son Dylan was killed by a drunk driver, and Jeff has been consumed by grief and revenge ever since.

Saw III (2006), directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, is the third release in the series. In chronological order it is the fourth film, because Saw X is set between Saw (2004) and saw 2. The full sequence is laid out in saw movies in order.

Saw 3 Cast and Characters

Saw cast

More of the cast: Billy Parrott (Male Nurse), Timothy Burd (Obi), Christopher Marren (Additional Voice Talent (voice)), Franky G (Xavier (Dead)), Kelly Jones (SWAT Member Pete), Costas Mandylor (Forensic Hoffman), Betsy Russell (Jill), Niamh Wilson (Corbett), Bill Vibert (Cop).

Saw III Stills

  • Still from Saw III (2006)
    Saw III (2006), still 1
  • Still from Saw III (2006)
    Saw III (2006), still 2
  • Still from Saw III (2006)
    Saw III (2006), still 3
  • Still from Saw III (2006)
    Saw III (2006), still 4
  • Still from Saw III (2006)
    Saw III (2006), still 5

Release Dates

MarketDateSource
USOctober 27, 2006reportedboxofficemojo.com
UKOctober 27, 2006reportedboxofficemojo.com
AUNovember 2, 2006reportedboxofficemojo.com

Where to Watch Saw III

MarketSubscriptionRent or buy
USMovieSphere+ Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon ChannelAmazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
UKHBO Max Amazon Channel, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, HBO MaxApple TV Store, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Sky Store, YouTube
AUStan, Lionsgate+ Amazon ChannelJustWatch TV Store, Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Fetch TV

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, checked 2026-11-03.

Darren Lynn Bousman and the Saw III Crew

DirectorDarren Lynn Bousman
WritersLeigh Whannell, James Wan
ProducersOren Koules, Mark Burg, Gregg Hoffman
MusicCharlie Clouser
CinematographyDavid A. Armstrong

Box Office

Budget$10 million
Domestic (US and Canada)$80 million
International$85 million
Worldwide$165 million
Worldwide, in September 2026 dollars$276 million

Saw box office for every film.

What Songs Are in Saw III?

Charlie Clouser composed the score for Saw III (2006), and the album "Saw III" was released on October 24, 2006 by Artists’ Addiction Records. The soundtrack release runs to 20 tracks, so it covers far more than a single licensed song.

The featured song is "Monochrome" by Helmet. It plays over the end credits after the final scene, which means the film closes its last trap sequence and then hands the audience to a rock track on the way out of the theater. In practice that gives the credits a very different texture from the score that carries the rest of the film.

Here is the song in short form:

  • "Monochrome" by Helmet, over the end credits after the final scene

It could be argued that the split is the point: Clouser's score does the work of keeping the traps tense, and the licensed track is the release once the story has finished. No source names a scene earlier in the film where a song is used, so the end credits are the one placement to point to.

For the music across the whole series, see saw soundtrack.

Saw III album cover

Saw III

Soundtrack album · Artists’ Addiction Records · October 24, 2006 · 20 tracks

Cover art via Cover Art Archive

Full tracklist

  1. 1This Calling · All That Remains3:40
  2. 2No Submission · Static‐X2:42
  3. 3Eyes of the Insane · Slayer3:23
  4. 4Walk With Me in Hell · Lamb of God5:13
  5. 5Monochrome · Helmet3:48
  6. 6Guarded · Disturbed3:22
  7. 7Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek · Blue October4:27
  8. 8No More · Drowning Pool4:27
  9. 9Burn It Down · Avenged Sevenfold5:01
  10. 10Your Nightmare · Eighteen Visions3:25
  11. 11Dead Underground · Opiate for the Masses3:59
  12. 12Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do) · Bullet for My Valentine3:37
  13. 13Fear Is Big Business · Ministry4:53
  14. 14The Wolf is Loose · Mastodon3:36
  15. 15Killer Inside · Hydrovibe, Shawnee Smith3:19
  16. 16Sakkara · Hourcast3:46
  17. 17Shed · Meshuggah3:37
  18. 18Effigy · The SmashUp4:37
  19. 19Siesta Loca · Ghost Machine3:51
  20. 20Shithole Theme · Charlie Clouser3:16

Songs in Saw III

  1. Monochrome

    Licensed song

    Helmet

    It plays over the end credits after the final scene.

Sources: musicbrainz.org, themoviedb.org, en.wikipedia.org

Saw soundtrack

Saw 3 Full Plot SummarySpoilers

The full plot of Saw 3 is two games running side by side: Jeff walks through a decaying meatpacking plant, while Lynn tries to keep John Kramer breathing in a hideout nearby.

Jeff's tests all involve people he blames for Dylan's death. In the first, he finds Danica, the only witness to the crash, chained in a freezer, but she dies before he can free her. In the second, he saves Judge Halden, who gave the driver a light sentence, from a vat filling with rotting pig carcasses. In the third, the driver, Timothy, is locked in a machine that twists his body, and Jeff cannot reach him in time.

Meanwhile, Lynn performs rough surgery on John to ease the pressure on his brain, and she keeps him alive. She begs Amanda to take the collar off, but Amanda refuses. She admits she has stopped believing in John's ideas and that she rigged her traps so nobody could win. Amanda shoots Lynn just as Jeff arrives, and Jeff shoots Amanda dead.

John then reveals that Lynn, who is Jeff's wife, was Amanda's real test, because he would not let a killer carry on his work. Jeff is offered a last choice between calling an ambulance for Lynn and taking revenge on John. He cuts John's throat with a power saw, and that sets off Lynn's collar.

Saw 3 Release Date and Opening Weekend

The Saw 3 release date was October 27, 2006 in the United States and the United Kingdom, and November 2, 2006 in Australia, according to Box Office Mojo.

The film opened with $33.6 million in the US, which was then Lionsgate's biggest opening. It finished with $80.2 million domestic and $84.6 million international, for $164.9 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo. That is more than both Saw (2004) and Saw II made worldwide. The full table is on saw box office.

Saw III is rated R in the US, 18 in the UK and MA 15+ in Australia, and it runs 108 minutes, according to TMDB.

To watch it, the US flatrate listing shows the MovieSphere+ and Howdy Amazon Channels, while the UK has HBO Max and the Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, and Australia has Stan and the Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel. Rent and buy options exist in all three countries. The current list for every film is on where to watch saw.

Saw 3 Ending Explained: The Twist and the Missing GirlSpoilers

The twist in Saw 3 is that Lynn was never a bystander: she was Amanda's real test, set by a John Kramer who refused to let a killer inherit his work.

In my opinion, the film earns this because it turns Amanda's earlier choices into evidence against her. She has rigged her traps so that nobody can win, which breaks the one rule John always claimed to follow, that every victim gets a way out. John is therefore not betraying her so much as checking whether she has understood the games at all, and the collar on Lynn is the proof that she has not. It could be argued that this is the cleanest piece of structure in the first three films, because Jeff's revenge plot and Lynn's surgery both feed into the same final room.

The last choice belongs to Jeff, who can call an ambulance for Lynn or take revenge. He cuts John's throat with a power saw, and that sets off Lynn's collar, so both she and John die. John's final tape tells Jeff that a girl named Corbett has also been taken and that only John knows where she is. With John dead, nobody can say, so the question of what happens to her passes into the next film.

The deaths of Amanda and John also leave the series without its main villains, and the hint of an unseen accomplice points to the next film. That is the link to saw 4, which opens with an autopsy of Jigsaw's body, a small tape recorder found inside it and a message for Detective Hoffman. For comparison, in Saw (2004) Tobin Bell lay on the floor for six days, according to TheWrap, while here he is bedridden but central. The wider chain of cause and effect is mapped on saw timeline explained.

Saw 3 Filming Locations

Saw 3 was filmed in Toronto, Canada, at Cinespace Film Studios, where the whole film was shot over 27 days of principal photography starting May 8, 2006.

Cinespace was also used for Saw II.

Saw 3 Trivia

Saw 3 has several production details that explain how the film was made and sold.

  • The budget was $10 million, up from $4 million for Saw II.
  • Principal photography began May 8, 2006 and ran 27 days at Cinespace Film Studios in Toronto.
  • The film is dedicated to producer Gregg Hoffman, who died in December 2005, and the filmmakers decided to make it in his honor.
  • The pig carcasses in the vat trap were made of foam, rubber and latex, with live disinfected maggots attached using honey.
  • Lionsgate made 1,000 posters with a small amount of Tobin Bell's blood mixed into the ink, and a Red Cross blood drive tied to the film collected 23,493 pints.
  • The original cut ran over two hours, and several scenes were removed.
  • The bathroom set was borrowed from Scary Movie 4.

Facts

FAQs

Was Saw 3 a hit or a flop?

Saw 3 was a hit. It earned $164.9 million worldwide on a $10 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo, after a $33.6 million US opening, and that is more than Saw (2004) and Saw II made worldwide.

What is the twist in Saw 3?

Spoiler: the twist is that Lynn, Jeff's wife, was Amanda's real test. John Kramer would not let a killer carry on his work, and Amanda had rigged her traps so nobody could win. Jeff then kills John with a power saw, which sets off Lynn's collar.

How are Saw 3 and 4 connected?

Spoiler: Saw 3 ends with the deaths of John Kramer and Amanda, and Saw IV opens with an autopsy of Jigsaw's body, where doctors find a tape recorder meant for Detective Hoffman. Hoffman appears in Saw III as Forensic Hoffman, played by Costas Mandylor, and he is a lead in the next film.

Is Saw 3 disturbing?

Yes, Saw 3 is a disturbing horror film. It is rated R in the US, 18 in the UK and MA 15+ in Australia, and the traps include a freezer, a vat of rotting pig carcasses, a machine that twists a person's body and a collar that fires a shotgun. The film also spends long stretches on surgery and grief.

What happened to the girl in Saw 3?

Spoiler: John's final tape tells Jeff that a girl named Corbett has also been taken and that only John knows where she is. With John dead, nobody can say where she is, and the question carries into the next film.

Is Saw 3 available on Netflix?

No, Saw 3 is not listed on Netflix in the US, UK or Australia as of November 3, 2026, according to JustWatch via TMDB. In the US it streams on the MovieSphere+ and Howdy Amazon Channels, in the UK on HBO Max and the Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, and in Australia on Stan and the Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel. It can also be rented or bought in all three countries.