Amanda Young
Encyclopedia
Amanda Young is a fictional character
in the Saw film series
. She is portrayed by Shawnee Smith
. At first a minor character in the original film, her role expanded in the sequels until she became one of the most important characters in the series, being the only character besides Jigsaw
himself to have been featured in every Saw film.
. She was the only known survivor of the Jigsaw Killer
(John Kramer), a man who abducts people he sees as unappreciative of their lives and forces them into death traps. Her trap is depicted in a flashback while it is described to police and Dr. Lawrence Gordon: she wakes up with a device attached to her head set to rip her jaws open. The key is in the stomach of her "dead cellmate," who has actually been heavily sedated; she nevertheless kills him and frees herself moments before the device springs open.
Detective David Tapp comments that Amanda was targeted by Jigsaw for that game because she was a drug addict. At the end of the scene, she remarks of Jigsaw, "He helped me."
that Amanda started using heroin in jail. She was sentenced to prison after being framed by Detective Eric Matthews, for a crime she did not commit. She appears in most of the film as one of the subjects Jigsaw traps in the Nerve Gas House along with several other people who Detective Matthews had framed, as well as the detective's son, Daniel. As the last surviving female in the Nerve Gas House, it seems that her character is filling the role of a final girl
of the film, yet this is a red herring. In a twist ending it is revealed that Amanda is working with Jigsaw, seeing him as a father figure
and agreeing to become his apprentice. Amanda claims that the test she experienced in the first film ultimately saved her life, and this is what caused her to join Jigsaw. She survives the nerve gas house, saved from the violent victim Xavier by Daniel, and upon the arrival of the elder Matthews she abducts him as her first "test subject" and rescues Jigsaw from his custody. Amanda expresses vengeful tendencies toward Eric as she tells him that the "tables have turned" and that she will make him experience what it is like to be imprisoned, as she traps him in a bathroom to rot. At the end of the film Amanda claims that she intends to carry on Jigsaw's work after
he dies.
Saw III
specified that Amanda had been working with Jigsaw since the time of the first film, that she is the kidnapper of one of the film's protagonists, Adam Stanheight, and that she had killed Adam out of guilt
shortly after said film. Flashbacks in Saw III
also clarified that Matthews had escaped from his trap, and engaged in a vicious fight with Amanda for the whereabouts of his son. Amanda succeeded in defeating him, and left Matthews for dead.
By the third film, Amanda is depicted as ignoring Jigsaw's modus operandi
by creating inescapable traps that kill the subject regardless of whether or not they solve the test correctly. She also displays tendencies of cutting herself
under stress. The dying Jigsaw decides to put Amanda through a test to see if she is still stable enough to carry on his work by having her work with Dr. Lynn Denlon to keep him alive while he oversees the tests of Jeff Denlon. During the film, Amanda acts abusively toward Lynn, jealous of the attention Jigsaw is giving her, even having a fight with her at one point. At one point, she goes into another room to find the envelope that Jigsaw told her to read before his surgery, she finds a letter inside it which causes her even more distress, and upon reading its contents (which are unknown to the viewer), she breaks down and cries. The contents are revealed in Saw VI. After hearing John unwittingly profess his love for Lynn during surgery (when in fact he was delirious and thought he was with his ex-wife, Jill) she refuses to remove the "Shotgun Collar" from Lynn, that will kill her if Jigsaw flatline
s. A heated argument about John's ethics and whether or not Lynn learned anything ensues, revealing that Amanda made her traps inescapable because she felt that the victims wouldn't have learned anything from the test they were put through (as she herself, despite John's "help" does not feel cured from her various troubles), and ending with Amanda shooting Lynn in the abdomen. Jeff appears and shoots Amanda fatally in the neck. As she dies, a saddened Jigsaw explains the nature of her test – revealing Lynn and Jeff as husband and wife – and expresses disappointment at her effectively defeating the point of his actions by giving her victims no chance to learn from the experience with her.
A deleted scene in Saw III shows Amanda killing Matthews viciously, cutting his body several times while on top of him. Darren Lynn Bousman
fought to keep this scene in, but the producers removed it because they thought it would be better to leave the door open for Matthews' return in Saw IV. Leigh Whannell
confirms on the Saw III DVD commentary that Amanda murdering Eric was the first time she killed out of spite and that it was this incident which caused her straying from Jigsaw's intentions.
Also in Saw III, there were two other deleted scenes detailing Amanda. The first was a flashback which showed Amanda meeting Adam in his apartment building prior to abducting him for Jigsaw's game. Adam complimented Amanda's hair, gave her a flyer promoting a friend's concert and flirtatiously took a photo of her. The second deleted scene took place between Amanda and Lynn in which they engaged in a catfight that left Amanda bleeding at the arms. Both of these scenes were included on the special features of the Saw III DVD.
, Amanda's ability to pick up the much heavier Kerry's unconscious body is questioned by the FBI, leading them to believe another accomplice is helping Jigsaw. It is discovered that the events of Saw III and Saw IV occurred at the same time, revealing that Amanda was alive during the events of the fourth film. Her blood-covered corpse is found by Agent Peter Strahm
in the makeshift operating room just moments after her death. It is later revealed that Lieutenant Mark Hoffman, Jigsaw's other apprentice, wrote the upsetting letter to Amanda in the previous movie.
, though only through flashbacks and voice appearances. On August 7, 2008, Shawnee Smith confirmed in an interview with Bloody-Disgusting that she had heard she would indeed feature in the fifth installment of Saw. However, she claimed that she was never on set for the fifth film. Smith guessed that her reappearance will most likely be through the use of archive footage that had been previously filmed.
In the fifth film, Hoffman questioned, in a flashback, why Amanda would be needed to be involved in the second films' nerve gas house trap. Amanda is briefly seen in this flashback, lying seemingly unconscious on the ground as Jigsaw and Hoffman set up that game. In another flashback, in the operating room seen in Saw III, Hoffman questioned Jigsaw as to why he was letting emotional attachment get in the way of his perception of Amanda. Hoffman also predicted that she would fail Jigsaw. Hoffman left the room through a secret exit merely seconds before Amanda entered the room with Lynn.
, a flashback showed that Amanda, desperate for drugs, sent Cecil into Jill's clinic to steal some for her. She consequently caused the miscarriage of Gideon in Saw IV
.
It was also shown that following Amanda's survival of her test in the first film, John also showed Amanda to Jill to prove to Jill that his method of rehabilitation was the only one that worked. It is hinted that Amanda was a patient at Jill's clinic once and that Jill had given up on her. Amanda told Jill that John's methods had helped her. Jill believed her and ended up becoming something of an accomplice to Jigsaw.
Amanda appeared in a flashback with John and Mark Hoffman as they set Timothy Young into his trap. It was shown that Amanda and Hoffman, although both apprentices to Jigsaw, had a very competitive and tense rivalry with each other. Amanda openly expressed doubt in Hoffman's abilities to set up the mechanics of their devices properly, remarking that she thought he was only useful for "heavy lifting". Hoffman in turn openly expressed his dislike for her, saying he was the one who truly cherishes his life. Amanda also questioned whether Hoffman should be tested, reflecting upon the fact that she had already passed a test. Amanda's close emotional attachment and care for Jigsaw was also further displayed. Amanda appeared awkward and uncomfortable when she and John later ran into Jill as they exited the room. It was also confirmed that the masked figure that kidnapped Lynn in Saw III
was indeed Amanda.
Another flashback showed Hoffman had plotted to sabotage Amanda's final test in Saw III. Hoffman, knowing of Amanda's involvement in Jill's miscarriage, blackmailed Amanda into killing Lynn Denlon in Saw III through the letter he left for her in Saw IV (It's the same letter she reads in Saw III). In the letter, Hoffman told Amanda he would inform John of Amanda's indirect role in the incident. Feeling the pressure not to disappoint her mentor, Amanda complied with Hoffman's threats and shot Lynn. This resulted in Amanda's failure to pass the final test Jigsaw had set for her and thus her death.
In the Director's Cut
of Saw VI there are some extra dialogue between her and Cecil in which Amanda convinces Cecil to enter the clinic by claiming, "I've been good to you." Also in the Director's Cut a scene was added after the end credits
in which she approaches the room Corbett Denlon is locked in (during the events of Saw III) and frantically tells her, "Don't trust the one who saves you."
. Tapp rushes to save her and she proceeds to follow him around the asylum. However, she is soon abducted by Pighead, a minion wearing Jigsaw's robes, to cover up Amanda's identity as Jigsaw's apprentice.
, writer of Saw's IV-VII, stated that "Shawnee Smith's
character [Amanda] represents a tremendous viable, emotional thread throughout the narratives." Fellow writer of Saw's IV-VII, Patrick Melton
, further stated that "I don't think we could have effectively told the story of Hoffman and John Kramer without including Amanda." Kevin Greutert
, the editor of Saw's I-V and director of Saw VI and Saw 3D further stated that "[Smith] did a great job, and [Amanda's] such a peculiar aspect of the Jigsaw character, with the fact that he had these tender feelings for this weirdo."
Through interviews with Shawnee Smith, it was revealed that Amanda's evolution into the killer she was at the end of Saw III
was in part due to a horrible childhood. Smith stated on numerous occasions that Amanda was severely abused and neglected when she was a child. This had been confirmed by Saw series writer and co-creator Leigh Whannell
, who also commented on Amanda's past in a commentary for Saw III
. In the original script of Saw III, dialogue between Jigsaw and Amanda made references to her past; in a scene she explains to Jigsaw that "When I was a little girl, my father would lock me under the stairs. I was terrified of the dark, and he would leave me in there alone. For hours." The scene had explained Amanda's emotional turmoil with the Bathroom Trap.
Because of her childhood, Amanda had never properly learned to deal with stress and emotional pain, and thus turned to self-injury as a way of dealing with her problems. While in prison, her abusive tendencies were replaced with heroin use. However, after surviving the Jaw Splitter device, she no longer used heroin and returned to cutting, burning, and other forms of self-injury. Her frail emotional state and somewhat mental instability made her quick to anger, and she would often act purely on impulse or emotion (such as trying to kill Eric Matthews, and her emotionally and physically abusive behavior towards Lynn Denlon).
A scene in Saw III
explores Amanda's self-injuring tendencies, and shows her cutting the inside of her thigh. The scene was not in the original script, and instead there was a brief scene in which Amanda is shown squeezing a razor blade (which was later replaced by a scene of Amanda squeezing a leather cutter), only hinting at Amanda self-injuring. Prior to filming, Smith had been reading A Bright Red Scream
, a book that explains the reasons one would turn to self-injury. It was Smith who insisted that a self-injury scene be filmed and put into the movie, believing it was necessary to show Amanda's tendencies for character depth.
Amanda displayed indications of guilt and remorse in her actions, as she had a nightmare of one of her victims in a deleted scene in the director's cut of Saw III. In her dream she was confronted by Adam for what she had done to him, thus further revealing the emotional turmoil that her character exhibited.
Jake Huntley wrote of the complexity of Amanda’s character in the Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies. Huntley noted that although Amanda sets herself as notably different from the Jigsaw killer, her attachment toward him and her desire to be like him are central to her character's state of mind. Huntley stated that:
Huntley further points out that the biggest dilemma that Amanda’s character faced is that she lost her sense of ‘self’ following her jaw splitter test in the first film. This is characterized by her claim to have been ‘reborn’, symbolizing her neurotic desire to be somebody else other than herself. The viewer is confronted with a character who grapples with trying to understand her own identity as she simultaneously attempts to emulate Jigsaw’s characteristics, while also setting herself apart as different from him. It is claimed by Huntley that it was this predicament that caused Amanda’s gradual emotional break-down. Huntley stated that:
To add to this, some film critics have interpreted Amanda's character to have suffered from Stockholm Syndrome
in regards to her complex relationship with Jigsaw.
Huntley further stated that: "For Amanda, Jigsaw as signifier can only ever stand in the place of a vexatious and frustrating lack and it is this which locates Amanda in such a conflicted position – having given “every cell” of herself to Jigsaw she is only able to act in an imitative and repetitive way, a second, or understudy, in danger of being only slightly more useful than the Billy doll, waiting both for and against Jigsaw’s inevitable and impending death."
, in which the traps she set were inescapable, even when the victims had achieved the goals of their games. While Jigsaw always refused to acknowledge his traps as murder, Amanda openly admitted that her actions did define her as a murderer.
Huntley pointed out that Amanda's traps are used as a creative tool of juxtaposition with that of Jigsaw’s, to effectively point out what the Jigsaw killer was not. Huntley outlined this, stating that: "If Jigsaw’s games are encounters with Deleuzian
affect, Amanda’s games are anti-deleuzian, operating more as encounters with Lacanian
notions of the signification of death within the symbolic order and the death drive. This is because Amanda, as a Lacanian subject, becomes caught between her own subjectivity and the object of her desire. In purely cinematic terms, Jigsaw directs his games while Amanda acts in hers... The subject’s of Amanda’s games, undertaken for Jigsaw, constitute only the throwing away, the discarding... At the most basic level, Amanda does not allow chance or potential to interfere, only ever seeing Jigsaw’s games as constitutive of the symbolic order, as an elaborate cover for staging the death of those who lack the survival instinct and thus do not deserve life."
said that while she was not able to completely identify Amanda Young with that of herself, she was however, able to perceive several of Amanda's characteristics to be admirable nevertheless. Smith stated that:
"When you first meet [Amanda], she’s at the bottom, she can’t go any lower and it’s the combination of that and having nothing left to lose and finding someone to love and to sacrifice for. Obviously she’s tragic, but 95% of her was capable of growing the strength to serve and sacrifice for another human being. Now that’s rare and it takes strength, courage, practice, diligence, and a fearlessness to build that."
Smith also stated that she attempted to find the human being in Amanda, and tried not to merely turn her into a "super killer". Smith remarked of Amanda's relationship with Jigsaw that it was not so much an apprentice relationship, but that she perceived it as "a true friendship and a real partnership"., a horror review site, claimed that: "I found Amanda the scariest part of the movie, not because Shawnee Smith can match the creepy gravitas of Tobin Bell
... but the sheer notion of her transformation. Jigsaw, while not physically powerful has the ability to reproduce his twisted world view in formerly sane people, including the ones he's 'tested.'"
Don Summer, a writer for Best-Horror-Movies.com, commented that Shawnee Smith did a "fantastic job" in her recurring role as Jigsaw's "trusty sidekick
", Amanda.
A film critic for the website Angel Fire concurred that Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith performed very well in their roles. Particularly commenting on the third film, he went on to claim that "while Bell's Jigsaw played a major role in Saw III, most of the film is carried along by Shawnee Smith as Amanda" whom he believed presented an "interesting and intriguing character". He also expressed admiration for the manner in which Amanda began as a minor character in the original movie, only to have her character's prominence surely yet gradually increase in the sequels. He claimed that "You've gotta love the way her character has been expanded in the series from a victim in the first "Saw" movie, to a trojan horse in the second film, and to a major player in the third film."
Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith were nominated for the Spike TV
Scream Award
in the category of "Most Vile Villain" for their portrayals of Jigsaw and Amanda respectively in Saw III.
, film critic David Medsker acknowledged the iconic status that the character had attained, by labeling her as the "poster child for Stockholm Syndrome
". It has therefore been suggested that she has become a fictional icon of the condition.
In a list compiled by Scott Collura for IGN
of the top fifty villainesses in modern popular culture, entitled 'Top 50 Chicks Behaving Badly', Amanda Young was ranked as number forty-two. Collura remarked that Amanda was so villainous that she made "a killer like Jigsaw look like the good guy..."
On Tom Cullen's list of the top five most noteworthy fictional female serial killers, as featured on Asylum, Amanda Young was ranked as number four. In a list that included Sharon Stone's
iconic Catherine Tramell
, Cullen remarked that of all those featured on his list, Smith's Amanda would be the "most in need of psychiatric help".
Shawnee Smith has been acknowledged as a "scream queen"
due to the roles she has played in horror films, which includes her role as Amanda in the Saw films. This culminated in the selection of Smith as a judge and host for the reality series Scream Queens
, in which contestants competed for a role in Saw VI.
Smith's depiction of Amanda in the Reverse Bear Trap was used in promotional posters for the first film. The same image also appears on the soundtrack for the first film. A depiction of Amanda in this device was released as a collectable statue by Hollywood Collectables, indicating the iconic status that the character has obtained.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Saw film series
Saw (film series)
Saw is a horror franchise distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment and produced by Twisted Pictures that consists of seven films and two video games, published by Konami. The franchise began with the 2003 short film which was created by Australian director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell...
. She is portrayed by Shawnee Smith
Shawnee Smith
Shawnee Smith is an American film and television actress and singer. Smith is best known for her roles as Amanda Young in the Saw films and Linda in the CBS sitcom Becker....
. At first a minor character in the original film, her role expanded in the sequels until she became one of the most important characters in the series, being the only character besides Jigsaw
Jigsaw Killer
John Kramer is a fictional character and the central character of the Saw franchise. Jigsaw made his debut as the primary antagonist in the first film of the series, Saw, and he's later portrayed as an antihero in Saw II, III, IV, V, VI and 3D...
himself to have been featured in every Saw film.
Saw
Amanda's first appearance was as a minor character in the 2004 film SawSaw (film)
Saw is a 2004 American independent horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay, written by Leigh Whannell, is based on a story by Wan and Whannell. The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Whannell and Tobin Bell...
. She was the only known survivor of the Jigsaw Killer
Jigsaw Killer
John Kramer is a fictional character and the central character of the Saw franchise. Jigsaw made his debut as the primary antagonist in the first film of the series, Saw, and he's later portrayed as an antihero in Saw II, III, IV, V, VI and 3D...
(John Kramer), a man who abducts people he sees as unappreciative of their lives and forces them into death traps. Her trap is depicted in a flashback while it is described to police and Dr. Lawrence Gordon: she wakes up with a device attached to her head set to rip her jaws open. The key is in the stomach of her "dead cellmate," who has actually been heavily sedated; she nevertheless kills him and frees herself moments before the device springs open.
Detective David Tapp comments that Amanda was targeted by Jigsaw for that game because she was a drug addict. At the end of the scene, she remarks of Jigsaw, "He helped me."
Saw II
It is revealed in Saw IISaw II
Saw II is a 2005 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and co-written by Bousman and the first film's co-writer Leigh Whannell. It is a sequel to 2004's Saw and the second installment in the seven-part Saw film series...
that Amanda started using heroin in jail. She was sentenced to prison after being framed by Detective Eric Matthews, for a crime she did not commit. She appears in most of the film as one of the subjects Jigsaw traps in the Nerve Gas House along with several other people who Detective Matthews had framed, as well as the detective's son, Daniel. As the last surviving female in the Nerve Gas House, it seems that her character is filling the role of a final girl
Final girl
The final girl is a trope in thriller and horror films that specifically refers to the last woman or girl alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story...
of the film, yet this is a red herring. In a twist ending it is revealed that Amanda is working with Jigsaw, seeing him as a father figure
Father Figure
"Father Figure" is the U.S. number-one song written and performed by George Michael and released on Columbia Records in 1988 as the third single from the album Faith.-History:...
and agreeing to become his apprentice. Amanda claims that the test she experienced in the first film ultimately saved her life, and this is what caused her to join Jigsaw. She survives the nerve gas house, saved from the violent victim Xavier by Daniel, and upon the arrival of the elder Matthews she abducts him as her first "test subject" and rescues Jigsaw from his custody. Amanda expresses vengeful tendencies toward Eric as she tells him that the "tables have turned" and that she will make him experience what it is like to be imprisoned, as she traps him in a bathroom to rot. At the end of the film Amanda claims that she intends to carry on Jigsaw's work after
he dies.
Saw III
Saw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
specified that Amanda had been working with Jigsaw since the time of the first film, that she is the kidnapper of one of the film's protagonists, Adam Stanheight, and that she had killed Adam out of guilt
Coup de grâce
The expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer...
shortly after said film. Flashbacks in Saw III
Saw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
also clarified that Matthews had escaped from his trap, and engaged in a vicious fight with Amanda for the whereabouts of his son. Amanda succeeded in defeating him, and left Matthews for dead.
By the third film, Amanda is depicted as ignoring Jigsaw's modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
by creating inescapable traps that kill the subject regardless of whether or not they solve the test correctly. She also displays tendencies of cutting herself
Self-harm
Self-harm or deliberate self-harm includes self-injury and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology...
under stress. The dying Jigsaw decides to put Amanda through a test to see if she is still stable enough to carry on his work by having her work with Dr. Lynn Denlon to keep him alive while he oversees the tests of Jeff Denlon. During the film, Amanda acts abusively toward Lynn, jealous of the attention Jigsaw is giving her, even having a fight with her at one point. At one point, she goes into another room to find the envelope that Jigsaw told her to read before his surgery, she finds a letter inside it which causes her even more distress, and upon reading its contents (which are unknown to the viewer), she breaks down and cries. The contents are revealed in Saw VI. After hearing John unwittingly profess his love for Lynn during surgery (when in fact he was delirious and thought he was with his ex-wife, Jill) she refuses to remove the "Shotgun Collar" from Lynn, that will kill her if Jigsaw flatline
Flatline
A flatline is an electrical time sequence measurement that shows no activity and therefore when represented, shows a flat line instead of a moving one. It almost always refers to either a flatlined electrocardiogram, where the heart shows no electrical activity , or to a flat electroencephalogram,...
s. A heated argument about John's ethics and whether or not Lynn learned anything ensues, revealing that Amanda made her traps inescapable because she felt that the victims wouldn't have learned anything from the test they were put through (as she herself, despite John's "help" does not feel cured from her various troubles), and ending with Amanda shooting Lynn in the abdomen. Jeff appears and shoots Amanda fatally in the neck. As she dies, a saddened Jigsaw explains the nature of her test – revealing Lynn and Jeff as husband and wife – and expresses disappointment at her effectively defeating the point of his actions by giving her victims no chance to learn from the experience with her.
A deleted scene in Saw III shows Amanda killing Matthews viciously, cutting his body several times while on top of him. Darren Lynn Bousman
Darren Lynn Bousman
Darren Lynn Bousman is an American film director and screenwriter.-Personal life:Bousman was born in Overland Park, Kansas, the son of Nancy and Lynn Bousman. He is a graduate of the Film School at Full Sail University. He attended high school at Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park,...
fought to keep this scene in, but the producers removed it because they thought it would be better to leave the door open for Matthews' return in Saw IV. Leigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell is an Australian screenwriter, producer, and actor, best known for his work on the Saw franchise.-Life and career:...
confirms on the Saw III DVD commentary that Amanda murdering Eric was the first time she killed out of spite and that it was this incident which caused her straying from Jigsaw's intentions.
Also in Saw III, there were two other deleted scenes detailing Amanda. The first was a flashback which showed Amanda meeting Adam in his apartment building prior to abducting him for Jigsaw's game. Adam complimented Amanda's hair, gave her a flyer promoting a friend's concert and flirtatiously took a photo of her. The second deleted scene took place between Amanda and Lynn in which they engaged in a catfight that left Amanda bleeding at the arms. Both of these scenes were included on the special features of the Saw III DVD.
Saw IV
During Saw IVSaw IV
Saw IV is a 2007 Canadian-American horror film and midquel to 2006's Saw III. It was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by newcomers Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton. The film was released in North America on October 26, 2007...
, Amanda's ability to pick up the much heavier Kerry's unconscious body is questioned by the FBI, leading them to believe another accomplice is helping Jigsaw. It is discovered that the events of Saw III and Saw IV occurred at the same time, revealing that Amanda was alive during the events of the fourth film. Her blood-covered corpse is found by Agent Peter Strahm
in the makeshift operating room just moments after her death. It is later revealed that Lieutenant Mark Hoffman, Jigsaw's other apprentice, wrote the upsetting letter to Amanda in the previous movie.
Saw V
Amanda reappeared in Saw VSaw V
Saw V is a 2008 Canadian-American horror film directed by David Hackl and written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor and Scott Patterson...
, though only through flashbacks and voice appearances. On August 7, 2008, Shawnee Smith confirmed in an interview with Bloody-Disgusting that she had heard she would indeed feature in the fifth installment of Saw. However, she claimed that she was never on set for the fifth film. Smith guessed that her reappearance will most likely be through the use of archive footage that had been previously filmed.
In the fifth film, Hoffman questioned, in a flashback, why Amanda would be needed to be involved in the second films' nerve gas house trap. Amanda is briefly seen in this flashback, lying seemingly unconscious on the ground as Jigsaw and Hoffman set up that game. In another flashback, in the operating room seen in Saw III, Hoffman questioned Jigsaw as to why he was letting emotional attachment get in the way of his perception of Amanda. Hoffman also predicted that she would fail Jigsaw. Hoffman left the room through a secret exit merely seconds before Amanda entered the room with Lynn.
Saw VI
In Saw VISaw VI
Saw VI is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert from a screenplay written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sixth installment of the seven–part Saw film series and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge, and Shawnee Smith...
, a flashback showed that Amanda, desperate for drugs, sent Cecil into Jill's clinic to steal some for her. She consequently caused the miscarriage of Gideon in Saw IV
Saw IV
Saw IV is a 2007 Canadian-American horror film and midquel to 2006's Saw III. It was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by newcomers Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton. The film was released in North America on October 26, 2007...
.
It was also shown that following Amanda's survival of her test in the first film, John also showed Amanda to Jill to prove to Jill that his method of rehabilitation was the only one that worked. It is hinted that Amanda was a patient at Jill's clinic once and that Jill had given up on her. Amanda told Jill that John's methods had helped her. Jill believed her and ended up becoming something of an accomplice to Jigsaw.
Amanda appeared in a flashback with John and Mark Hoffman as they set Timothy Young into his trap. It was shown that Amanda and Hoffman, although both apprentices to Jigsaw, had a very competitive and tense rivalry with each other. Amanda openly expressed doubt in Hoffman's abilities to set up the mechanics of their devices properly, remarking that she thought he was only useful for "heavy lifting". Hoffman in turn openly expressed his dislike for her, saying he was the one who truly cherishes his life. Amanda also questioned whether Hoffman should be tested, reflecting upon the fact that she had already passed a test. Amanda's close emotional attachment and care for Jigsaw was also further displayed. Amanda appeared awkward and uncomfortable when she and John later ran into Jill as they exited the room. It was also confirmed that the masked figure that kidnapped Lynn in Saw III
Saw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
was indeed Amanda.
Another flashback showed Hoffman had plotted to sabotage Amanda's final test in Saw III. Hoffman, knowing of Amanda's involvement in Jill's miscarriage, blackmailed Amanda into killing Lynn Denlon in Saw III through the letter he left for her in Saw IV (It's the same letter she reads in Saw III). In the letter, Hoffman told Amanda he would inform John of Amanda's indirect role in the incident. Feeling the pressure not to disappoint her mentor, Amanda complied with Hoffman's threats and shot Lynn. This resulted in Amanda's failure to pass the final test Jigsaw had set for her and thus her death.
In the Director's Cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
of Saw VI there are some extra dialogue between her and Cecil in which Amanda convinces Cecil to enter the clinic by claiming, "I've been good to you." Also in the Director's Cut a scene was added after the end credits
End Credits
"End Credits" is the first single from Drum and Bass duo Chase & Status' second studio album No More Idols. The single was co-written, co-produced and features vocals from Plan B and was released on 29 October 2009, reaching a peak position of No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart...
in which she approaches the room Corbett Denlon is locked in (during the events of Saw III) and frantically tells her, "Don't trust the one who saves you."
Saw 3D
Amanda briefly appeared in a flashback, seen in Saw II, with Daniel Matthews at the very end of the film in the bathroom escaping from Xavier.Saw: Rebirth
The character of Amanda Young is also featured in the comic book, Saw: Rebirth, which is set prior to the events of the first movie. It is revealed that while receiving treatment in hospital for his illness, John Kramer first notices Amanda. She is portrayed as a fellow patient at the hospital who was being treated for an overdose that she had suffered, due to her drug addiction. John expressed frustration that Amanda did not learn anything from her overdose. This motivates John to design her test which was featured in the first film.Scott Tibbs' Documentary
Amanda has a brief appearance in the short film "Scott Tibbs' Documentary" which is available on the Special Edition DVD of Saw II. In the short film she is being harassed by a news reporter who wants information on her experience when she was captured by Jigsaw. In response, Amanda punches the reporter in the face and storms off.Saw: The Videogame
Amanda also appeared in the video game, Saw, as the first victim that protagonist David Tapp had to save. Upon being placed in the asylum, she was held in a poison/ antidote injection trap to reflect her intravenous drug use habitsSubstance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
. Tapp rushes to save her and she proceeds to follow him around the asylum. However, she is soon abducted by Pighead, a minion wearing Jigsaw's robes, to cover up Amanda's identity as Jigsaw's apprentice.
Characterization
Several of the film crew behind the Saw film series have commented on the extent to which Amanda's character had been written to be one of the most important in the franchise. Marcus DunstanMarcus Dunstan
Marcus Dunstan is an American screenplay writer and director.-Life and career:Dunstan was born in Macomb, Illinois...
, writer of Saw's IV-VII, stated that "Shawnee Smith's
Shawnee Smith
Shawnee Smith is an American film and television actress and singer. Smith is best known for her roles as Amanda Young in the Saw films and Linda in the CBS sitcom Becker....
character [Amanda] represents a tremendous viable, emotional thread throughout the narratives." Fellow writer of Saw's IV-VII, Patrick Melton
Patrick Melton
Patrick Melton is an American screenwriter.-Early life:Melton was born in Champaign, Illinois. He attended Evanston Township High School, and graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies...
, further stated that "I don't think we could have effectively told the story of Hoffman and John Kramer without including Amanda." Kevin Greutert
Kevin Greutert
-External links:...
, the editor of Saw's I-V and director of Saw VI and Saw 3D further stated that "[Smith] did a great job, and [Amanda's] such a peculiar aspect of the Jigsaw character, with the fact that he had these tender feelings for this weirdo."
Through interviews with Shawnee Smith, it was revealed that Amanda's evolution into the killer she was at the end of Saw III
Saw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
was in part due to a horrible childhood. Smith stated on numerous occasions that Amanda was severely abused and neglected when she was a child. This had been confirmed by Saw series writer and co-creator Leigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell is an Australian screenwriter, producer, and actor, best known for his work on the Saw franchise.-Life and career:...
, who also commented on Amanda's past in a commentary for Saw III
Saw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
. In the original script of Saw III, dialogue between Jigsaw and Amanda made references to her past; in a scene she explains to Jigsaw that "When I was a little girl, my father would lock me under the stairs. I was terrified of the dark, and he would leave me in there alone. For hours." The scene had explained Amanda's emotional turmoil with the Bathroom Trap.
Because of her childhood, Amanda had never properly learned to deal with stress and emotional pain, and thus turned to self-injury as a way of dealing with her problems. While in prison, her abusive tendencies were replaced with heroin use. However, after surviving the Jaw Splitter device, she no longer used heroin and returned to cutting, burning, and other forms of self-injury. Her frail emotional state and somewhat mental instability made her quick to anger, and she would often act purely on impulse or emotion (such as trying to kill Eric Matthews, and her emotionally and physically abusive behavior towards Lynn Denlon).
A scene in Saw III
Saw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
explores Amanda's self-injuring tendencies, and shows her cutting the inside of her thigh. The scene was not in the original script, and instead there was a brief scene in which Amanda is shown squeezing a razor blade (which was later replaced by a scene of Amanda squeezing a leather cutter), only hinting at Amanda self-injuring. Prior to filming, Smith had been reading A Bright Red Scream
A Bright Red Scream
A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain is a 1998 non fiction psychology book written by American journalist Marilee Strong about self-harm...
, a book that explains the reasons one would turn to self-injury. It was Smith who insisted that a self-injury scene be filmed and put into the movie, believing it was necessary to show Amanda's tendencies for character depth.
Amanda displayed indications of guilt and remorse in her actions, as she had a nightmare of one of her victims in a deleted scene in the director's cut of Saw III. In her dream she was confronted by Adam for what she had done to him, thus further revealing the emotional turmoil that her character exhibited.
Jake Huntley wrote of the complexity of Amanda’s character in the Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies. Huntley noted that although Amanda sets herself as notably different from the Jigsaw killer, her attachment toward him and her desire to be like him are central to her character's state of mind. Huntley stated that:
Huntley further points out that the biggest dilemma that Amanda’s character faced is that she lost her sense of ‘self’ following her jaw splitter test in the first film. This is characterized by her claim to have been ‘reborn’, symbolizing her neurotic desire to be somebody else other than herself. The viewer is confronted with a character who grapples with trying to understand her own identity as she simultaneously attempts to emulate Jigsaw’s characteristics, while also setting herself apart as different from him. It is claimed by Huntley that it was this predicament that caused Amanda’s gradual emotional break-down. Huntley stated that:
To add to this, some film critics have interpreted Amanda's character to have suffered from Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm syndrome
In psychology, Stockholm Syndrome is an apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them...
in regards to her complex relationship with Jigsaw.
Emulation of Jigsaw's icons
After becoming an apprentice to Jigsaw, Amanda often took on many of Jigsaw's iconic symbols. For instance, she often wore a pig mask when capturing her victims. Also, in Saw III, she appeared wearing Jigsaw's iconic red and black theatrical robe. Huntley analyzed this as an attempt by Amanda to be "dressed as Jigsaw".Huntley further stated that: "For Amanda, Jigsaw as signifier can only ever stand in the place of a vexatious and frustrating lack and it is this which locates Amanda in such a conflicted position – having given “every cell” of herself to Jigsaw she is only able to act in an imitative and repetitive way, a second, or understudy, in danger of being only slightly more useful than the Billy doll, waiting both for and against Jigsaw’s inevitable and impending death."
Inescapable traps
Amanda eventually developed her own unique modus operandiModus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
, in which the traps she set were inescapable, even when the victims had achieved the goals of their games. While Jigsaw always refused to acknowledge his traps as murder, Amanda openly admitted that her actions did define her as a murderer.
Huntley pointed out that Amanda's traps are used as a creative tool of juxtaposition with that of Jigsaw’s, to effectively point out what the Jigsaw killer was not. Huntley outlined this, stating that: "If Jigsaw’s games are encounters with Deleuzian
Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze , was a French philosopher who, from the early 1960s until his death, wrote influentially on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes of Capitalism and Schizophrenia: Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus , both co-written with Félix...
affect, Amanda’s games are anti-deleuzian, operating more as encounters with Lacanian
Jacques Lacan
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy, and has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's...
notions of the signification of death within the symbolic order and the death drive. This is because Amanda, as a Lacanian subject, becomes caught between her own subjectivity and the object of her desire. In purely cinematic terms, Jigsaw directs his games while Amanda acts in hers... The subject’s of Amanda’s games, undertaken for Jigsaw, constitute only the throwing away, the discarding... At the most basic level, Amanda does not allow chance or potential to interfere, only ever seeing Jigsaw’s games as constitutive of the symbolic order, as an elaborate cover for staging the death of those who lack the survival instinct and thus do not deserve life."
Shawnee Smith
Speaking about her character, actress Shawnee SmithShawnee Smith
Shawnee Smith is an American film and television actress and singer. Smith is best known for her roles as Amanda Young in the Saw films and Linda in the CBS sitcom Becker....
said that while she was not able to completely identify Amanda Young with that of herself, she was however, able to perceive several of Amanda's characteristics to be admirable nevertheless. Smith stated that:
"When you first meet [Amanda], she’s at the bottom, she can’t go any lower and it’s the combination of that and having nothing left to lose and finding someone to love and to sacrifice for. Obviously she’s tragic, but 95% of her was capable of growing the strength to serve and sacrifice for another human being. Now that’s rare and it takes strength, courage, practice, diligence, and a fearlessness to build that."
Smith also stated that she attempted to find the human being in Amanda, and tried not to merely turn her into a "super killer". Smith remarked of Amanda's relationship with Jigsaw that it was not so much an apprentice relationship, but that she perceived it as "a true friendship and a real partnership"., a horror review site, claimed that: "I found Amanda the scariest part of the movie, not because Shawnee Smith can match the creepy gravitas of Tobin Bell
Tobin Bell
Tobin Bell is an American film and television character actor. After years of work doing stand-ins and background work on films, he got his first major acting job in Mississippi Burning and went on to star in made-for-television films and guest star in television shows throughout the 1990s.Bell...
... but the sheer notion of her transformation. Jigsaw, while not physically powerful has the ability to reproduce his twisted world view in formerly sane people, including the ones he's 'tested.'"
Don Summer, a writer for Best-Horror-Movies.com, commented that Shawnee Smith did a "fantastic job" in her recurring role as Jigsaw's "trusty sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
", Amanda.
A film critic for the website Angel Fire concurred that Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith performed very well in their roles. Particularly commenting on the third film, he went on to claim that "while Bell's Jigsaw played a major role in Saw III, most of the film is carried along by Shawnee Smith as Amanda" whom he believed presented an "interesting and intriguing character". He also expressed admiration for the manner in which Amanda began as a minor character in the original movie, only to have her character's prominence surely yet gradually increase in the sequels. He claimed that "You've gotta love the way her character has been expanded in the series from a victim in the first "Saw" movie, to a trojan horse in the second film, and to a major player in the third film."
Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith were nominated for the Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
Scream Award
Scream Awards
The Scream Awards is an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films. Originally only having Scream Queen and Heroic Performance awards for actors, the personnel awards have expanded to include actors and actresses of all three recognized genres. In addition,...
in the category of "Most Vile Villain" for their portrayals of Jigsaw and Amanda respectively in Saw III.
Impact
Following the release of Saw IIISaw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
, film critic David Medsker acknowledged the iconic status that the character had attained, by labeling her as the "poster child for Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm syndrome
In psychology, Stockholm Syndrome is an apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them...
". It has therefore been suggested that she has become a fictional icon of the condition.
In a list compiled by Scott Collura for IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
of the top fifty villainesses in modern popular culture, entitled 'Top 50 Chicks Behaving Badly', Amanda Young was ranked as number forty-two. Collura remarked that Amanda was so villainous that she made "a killer like Jigsaw look like the good guy..."
On Tom Cullen's list of the top five most noteworthy fictional female serial killers, as featured on Asylum, Amanda Young was ranked as number four. In a list that included Sharon Stone's
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
iconic Catherine Tramell
Catherine Tramell
Catherine Tramell is a fictional character, a psycho-killer, in the film Basic Instinct and its sequel, Basic Instinct 2 . She is played by Sharon Stone in both films...
, Cullen remarked that of all those featured on his list, Smith's Amanda would be the "most in need of psychiatric help".
Shawnee Smith has been acknowledged as a "scream queen"
Scream queen
A scream queen is an actress who has become associated with horror films, either through an appearance in a notable entry in the genre as a frequent victim or through constant appearances as the female protagonist...
due to the roles she has played in horror films, which includes her role as Amanda in the Saw films. This culminated in the selection of Smith as a judge and host for the reality series Scream Queens
Scream Queens (TV series)
Scream Queens is an American reality series on VH1 produced by Joke Productions and Lionsgate Television that premiered in October 2008. The show chronicles a group of unknown actresses competing for a role in the Saw franchise. Tanedra Howard won the first season and gained a role in Saw VI...
, in which contestants competed for a role in Saw VI.
Smith's depiction of Amanda in the Reverse Bear Trap was used in promotional posters for the first film. The same image also appears on the soundtrack for the first film. A depiction of Amanda in this device was released as a collectable statue by Hollywood Collectables, indicating the iconic status that the character has obtained.