The Saw Slasher: A Discussion Regarding Detective Mark Hoffman

The Saw franchise is not considered by most to be a slasher series, largely because of the philosophy of the main villain and the way his subjects parish. John Kramer (aka the Jigsaw killer) places his victims, or in more accurate terms subjects, into macabre and deadly traps. These traps are designed to be a symbolic representation of the wrongs the subject has committed or how they have failed to appreciate their own life. What makes many fans not see him as a traditional slasher killer you might ask? This is because his subjects are granted a violent sort of redemption where they have the chance to escape, but do not get to escape unscarred or without a sinister lesson. If the subject completes his or her objectives successfully, they are granted freedom and are supposed to have a newfound appreciation for life after the devastating trauma they had to endure. Throughout the Saw franchise Jigsaw recruits disciples, such as Amanda Young who survived the reverse bear trap and of course the corrupt Detective Mark Hoffman. Amanda failed Jigsaw’s teachings and would rig the traps her subjects were put in to be escape proof, meaning they had no chance to escape and were merely victims of a grisly demise. Detective Mark Hoffman went even further into the depths of sadism than Amanda and not only rigged the traps to be escape proof, but also enjoyed watching his victims suffer and would even kill people by his own hands in the way a typical slasher villain would. While Jigsaw believed his methods were a form of rehabilitation, Hoffman viewed these methods as merely a form of torture for those he hated and despised. Hoffman took the lessons Jigsaw taught him and used them for his own personal gain, therefore perverting Jigsaw’s message into something more sadistic than what was originally intended. In the following paragraph, we will explore more of the backstory of Hoffman’s character. This post will be more centered around Hoffman and will only briefly focus on other aspects of the films.

Costas Mandylor as Detective Mark Hoffman.

Detective Mark Hoffman first appeared in the film Saw III (2006) and his appearance was brief. Judging off of his brief appearance at a crime scene in Saw III (2006) many probably wouldn’t have assumed his character would become more developed and also a crucial component for later parts of the franchise. Hoffman is more established as a character in Saw IV (2007) as we see him in the opening of the film being called to the morgue to investigate a tape that was discovered in Jigsaw’s deceased remains. Later in the film we discover that the opening scene with Hoffman took place after the events of the rest of the film, which was actually occurring at the same time of the events of Saw III (2006), meaning Saw III (2006) and Saw IV (2007) both take place at the same time. In Saw IV (2007) Hoffman is largely there to try and convince Officer Rigg, who is the main character of the film and who also briefly appeared in Saw II (2005), that he cannot save everyone. He also tried to convince Rigg that he should not be reckless and put the investigation or himself at risk. Throughout the film Hoffman is also seemingly being held in a trap with Detective Matthews, Donnie Wahlburg’s character from Saw II (2005). By the end of the film, however, it is revealed that Hoffman is not being held against his will and is actually an unknown apprentice of John Kramer. In the opening of Saw V (2008) we find a man who is stuck in a pendulum trap that seems to be rigged to be escape proof. We later find it was set up by Hoffman to kill the man who murdered his sister, meaning it was simply meant to kill him and not test him or give him any chance at redemption. Later on in the film, we discover these events occurred while Jigsaw was still alive, has kidnapped Hoffman and offered him a proposition. Hoffman can either turn Jigsaw in or join him on his quest for bloody redemption. We also learn Hoffman was involved in helping set up traps as early as the events of the first film, Saw (2004), as he helped Jigsaw orchestrate the barbed wire trap from the first film. During the events of Saw V (2008) Hoffman also sets up games of his own even though John and Amanda are already dead at this point in the timeline. Hoffman also traps and kills Agent Strahm, who was beginning to suspect Hoffman. By the time Saw VI (2009) and Saw: The Final Chapter (2010) come along, Hoffman’s actions cement him even further as the true slasher villain of the Saw franchise.

Hoffman on a killing spree in Saw: The Final Chapter (2010).

With John and Amanda being dead, you might think Hoffman would have stopped participating in creating traps. However, Hoffman would only become more active in facilitating his own traps and games simply for his own twisted amusement. With Jigsaw being dead, Hoffman is free to create his own rules and make the traps unescapable without having to worry about John’s repercussions. The Jigsaw name now belongs to Hoffman and he is free to do what he pleases with Jigsaw’s legacy, as he is the only remaining apprentice of Jigsaw; or so we think. In both Saw VI (2009) and Saw: The Final Chapter (2010) Hoffman continues creating games involving people who have wronged John Kramer in some way. I believe Hoffman did so for his own enjoyment and not so much because it was in John’s will or because he had any respect for John. In a scene in Saw VI (2009) the police are getting closer to finding the unknown Jigsaw accomplice and they discover it is Hoffman after decoding the modified Jigsaw voice on one of the tapes Hoffman created. Moments after this discovery, Hoffman quickly executes the other people in the room using hot coffee and sharp objects in true slasher fashion. Now Hoffman is not only putting people in unescapable death traps, but he is also killing people on his own in the way a slasher villain would. In Saw: The Final Chapter (2010) Hoffman is on the run because everyone now knows he is the new Jigsaw. He is pursuing Jill Tuck, John Kramer’s wife, after she attempted to kill him by leaving him restrained in a reverse bear trap which he wound up escaping at the end of Saw VI (2009). Jill did this because Hoffman was one of the people John left in his will to be tested. Despite Hoffman being on the run, he still has Jigsaw games being set up and is still pursuing revenge after Jill tried to kill him. Perhaps the best example of Hoffman being the definitive slasher villain of the Saw franchise came in a scene during Saw: The Final Chapter (2010). In this scene Hoffman jumps out of a body bag and proceeds to execute everyone left at the police station using a knife and a gun that he finds. The way he violently executes everyone in this scene is reminiscent of killing styles from the Friday The 13th franchise. Eventually Hoffman finds Jill and puts her in a reverse bear trap that winds up killing her. Hoffman thinks he is free until he is captured by yet another Jigsaw accomplice which is revealed to be Doctor Gordon from the first Saw film. Gordon then traps Hoffman in the bathroom from the first movie as he was instructed to act on John’s behalf should anything ever happen to Jill. Hoffman’s story ends with him being locked up in the bathroom from the first film.

Hoffman originally became an apprentice of Jigsaw simply because he didn’t want to get caught for the trap he created to kill his sister’s killer and framing Jigsaw. It is understandable Hoffman wanted to avenge his sister, but his lust for vengeance and bloodshed is still not satisfied. Hoffman’s sister was the only family he had left and it seems like she was the one thing holding his deranged mind together. Once Hoffman’s sister was killed and her killer was let go on a technicality, Hoffman’s urge to act violently was unleashed. Hoffman’s motive was somewhat understandable at first, but did not justify killing all of the other people he would later kill who had nothing to do with his sister’s death. Hoffman became addicted to torturing people and putting them in traps, even after Jigsaw was long gone. Hoffman had a bloodlust that could never be satisfied like most slasher villains, so he just kept killing and killing. Hoffman could not see the games the way Jigsaw did and it seems that becoming an apprentice of Jigsaw opened the door to Hoffman’s repressed desire to participate in sadistic acts. Hoffman had no interest in redemption or testing people’s will to live, he just enjoyed torture and killing. Hoffman participated in creating the traps because he enjoyed the feelings of power and control it gave him. It is interesting Hoffman originally just wanted to avenge his sister and then became a bloodthirsty sociopath who was addicted to killing in the same way Amanda was addicted to drugs. Hoffman was also the main villain in later films of the franchise which made him a crucial component for the franchise’s continuation. Hoffman even recently appeared in a cameo role in Saw X (2023), which took place in between Saw (2004) and Saw II (2005). Due to Hoffman’s permanently unsatisfied bloodlust and the vicious way’s he slaughtered people, it is easy to see why I see him as the definitive slasher villain of the Saw franchise.