Saw II

Saw II is a 2005 American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman in his feature directorial debut, and written by Leigh Whannell and Bousman. It is the sequel to Saw (2004) and the second installment in the Saw film series. The film stars Donnie Wahlberg, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Beverley Mitchell, Dina Meyer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Erik Knudsen, Shawnee Smith, and Tobin Bell. In the film, a group of ex-convicts are trapped by the Jigsaw Killer (Bell) inside a house and must pass a series of deadly tests to retrieve the antidote for a nerve agent that will kill them in two hours. Following the successful opening weekend of Saw, a sequel was quickly green-lit. Bousman was hired after previously having written a script that had a similar premise. Producer Gregg Hoffman received the script and shared it with his partners Mark Burg and Oren Koules, who determined that, with revisions, it could be the basis for Saw II. Whannell later provided rewrites for the script. The film received a larger production budget and was filmed in Toronto from May to June 2005. Saw II was released in the United States by Lionsgate Films on October 28, 2005. It opened with $31.9 million and grossed $88 million in the United States and Canada. It has remained the highest grossing Saw film in those countries. Saw II was released to home media on February 14, 2006, and topped charts its first week. Bell was nominated for Best Villain at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards for his role. Saw II was followed by a sequel, Saw III, in 2006, and a prequel, Saw X, in 2023.