Hardcore, Gruesome Photo of SPIRAL Scene Cut From the Film by the MPAA
Saw franchise director Darren Lynn Bousman has released a photo from a deleted scene from his horror film Spiral: From the Book of Saw. There was one torture sequence that that just way too gruesome and the MPAA made him cut it out of the film
While a guest on Bloody Disgusting’s Boo Crew Podcast, Bousman talked about the scene saying:
“We cut an entire scene out, an entire trap scene. Which was a huge kind of bummer for me. We were having huge problems with the MPA this time. And I’m not even sure why, because I don’t think in any respect this is the most violent Saw film. But I think it may be the most widely accessible Saw film in the way you have two huge superstars [Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson] plus Max Minghella bringing a whole different side of audiences. I think the MPA was really on the offensive when they heard we were coming in.
“There was a scene that took place in the third act, I won’t say who it was but another character dies. And it was by far the most gruesome, 100%. It was also the most mean-spirited. We’re like, ‘The movie can completely exist without this scene.’ And we ended up losing it, in the very end, I would say the last week before we locked the edit. I’m happy for that actor because he now survived. Now he can come back if there’s another one.
Bousman went on to explain that the scene involved peeling a guy’s face off:
“There were a lot of traps that didn’t make the cut, that we had ideas on, but there was only one trap that was shot that ended up getting cut. A guy’s face is completely… his entire face has come off. There was definitely some gore that was cut out.”
The photo he shared on social media goes into a bit more detail about the scene, and it was just the face of a character, the skin on his whole body would have been peeled off:
“SPIRAL. I’ve always had issues with the MPAA. None more so then my fourth Saw film. So,so much had to go in order to get this thing in theaters… I’ve worked with master effects artist @mindwarpfx for a decade plus now… it pains me that many will never see some of the insane work he did on this film. There was an entire sequence shot where the killer took a knife in peeled all of the skin off of a body. It was so goddamn intense. Cutting through the skin and muscles and fat to expose the skeleton. It was a thing of art. In the end only, a few seconds remained in the final cut. Thankfully, no one was more vocal than producer @orenkoules with the MPAA and fought tooth and nail to preserve every frame we could. Maybe at some point they will allow me to release the ultra hard-core cut… One can dream!”
There are plenty of films out there that feature dead people who have been skinned. But, I can go without seeing the actual act of peeling a person’s skin with a knife. That must’ve been an insanely intense and crazy scene! Just look at that photo!