Having taken a much-needed extended weekend before entering the editing suite for the first time today, Bousman speaks highly of the third entry’s 30-day shoot in Canada. “I’m so surprised by how quickly everything came together for this and how smoothly it went,” Bousman says elatedly. “I learned a lot of mistakes from SAW II, and part three is definitely not a copy of the first two films. It’s very, very different.”

Actors Bahar (CRASH) Soomekh and Angus (EQUILIBRIUM) Macfadyen find themselves cast as Jigsaw’s latest victims. The former plays a doctor who must keep the ailing killer (encoring Tobin Bell) alive just long enough to see Macfadyen’s Jeff get out of one of Jigsaw’s fiendish and thought-provoking games. Dina Meyer and Shawnee Smith also make their return to the series which has already grossed over $200 million in worldwide theatrical ticket sales.

“Fans don’t realize how much say they have in this franchise,” says Bousman, sounding rather like a carnival barker luring ticket buyers into his refurbished haunted attraction. “This movie is for them. Last year’s film was a balls-to-the-wall gorefest and it didn’t have too many scares. I believe SAW III has a lot more of what made both previous movies good—we took the best elements of each and combined them. It’s got a lot more scares in it and has so many Easter eggs for the fans to discover. For those who really know the franchise well, they’re going to be blown away by some of the things we did this year.”

As for the gore quotient, Bousman insists on skirting the intricate details, yet he is optimistic that what will make the final cut will be weighted by a healthy dose of realism. “We’ll see what remains. All I can say is SAW III is the real deal and it’s not f’in around. I don’t get disgusted easily; I think the time that happened with a movie was when I watched CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. There’s one scene in that movie that made me squeamish—and there were about four separate occasions on the [SAW III] shoot that made me want to throw up.”