Adam Stanheight, also known
as “Very F*cking Confused”... –[Adam] My name is Very F*cking
Confused, what’s your name? …was born sometime around 1977. We don’t
see his birth certificate or anything, that’s just based on his approximate age
in the movies. When he was five years old, Adam met and became best friends with
a young alt-rocker named Scott Tibbs. On Adam’s sixth birthday, Scott stabbed him
with a rusty nail. Scott claimed that he was just trying to toughen Adam up, but Scott and
Adam were no longer best friends after this. But I guess they did stay in contact.
Or at least reconnected at some point. Not much is known about his teenage years or
young adulthood, but in his late 20s he’s a photographer, taking money from private
detectives and paranoid spouses to snap pictures of subjects in secret with a telephoto
lens. It does sound like kind of a fun job, but it doesn’t look to pay much if his
deteriorating apartment is any indication. In 2004, he’s single, and his
last
girlfriend was a feminist vegan punk who broke up with *him* because
she thought *he* was too angry. While we don't really know everything about
the guy, the details we do know about him point to him being very rebellious:
he seems to be into industrial metal, supports the Black Panther social movement, and
even has a Cuban flag in his room, a country known for a successful revolution to overthrow
the government. And he doesn’t do the dishes. He’s also a smoker, maybe less a sign of r
ebelliousness and more a
sign of poor impulse control. –[Adam] Yes! I’m willing to risk it. Give me that sweet cancer. To learn how Adam’s chances of survival
were sabotaged behind the scenes, stick around to the end of this video. This video is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click the link in the description to start living a healthier, happier life. ♪ Metal Music ♪ It’s been a while since I initially did
all my Saw Horror Histories. Adam was a heavily requested one that I never
did… but do you g
uys still want it? –[Adam] Uhm… yeah. Good, welcome to Horror History. Adam is
played by Saw’s original screenwriter, Leigh Whannel, who first appeared in
the original Saw. No, not the 2004 movie you’re probably familiar with… the ORIGINAL
short film, Saw 0.5. Saw 0.5 is not canon, it was just a short proof of concept used to help
pitch the full-length version to studios. And it establishes a few details about Adam’s character
that would be kept in the feature film product, like his tobacco
habit and his penchant for
rocking the walkman on the way home from work. The character in Saw 0.5 is named David, but
it’s actually Adam’s last name that happens to be a bit of a point of contention among fans.
The original script introduces the character as 25 year old Adam Radford, but as we know, scripts
are usually not canon either. The character became known as Adam Faulkner, which is rumored to be
a name used by producers, and allegedly appeared on a driver's license on the old Saw
website. I
wasn’t able to find this license in any of the archives of the website, which were surprisingly
functional, but not completely functional. Websites *can* oftentimes be canon. Especially
in the 2000s when there was actual effort put into them. But this one most likely is not. For
one, Adam has a California driver’s license even though he lives in New Jersey, something there is
evidence of throughout the Saw series. For two, the date of birth on the driver’s license
is 1968, which
would make Adam 36 years old in Saw 1. Leigh Whannel was only 26
years old when the movie was filmed. Some would argue that Faulkner
still is the real name though, thanks to this In Memoriam video posted
on the official Saw Instagram page in September 2023 where he’s listed as
Adam Faulkner. They immediately took this down 14 minutes after posting though,
leading me to believe that it was a mistake. Adam’s canonical name, Stanheight, can be found
on his file in the FBI headquarters in Saw
5. Whannel is actually not the only person
who has portrayed Adam. In Saw X, Adam’s corpse makes a background
appearance, and they used an actor named Tomy Crowder. I can’t show it,
but the difference is not noticeable. But to understand Adam, we’ve got to take it
back to when he was hired for his final job. (IMPACT) ♪ Suspenseful Music ♪ It was late October 2004 when Adam was approached
by a man named “Bob” to take some photos of a doctor named Lawrence Gordon. For this he was
paid $200
a night, which is actually pretty good for 2004. He had previously been hired by his
ex-best friend, Scott Tibbs, to do an album cover photoshoot, but he would not survive to make that
engagement, so spying on Gordon was his last gig. –[Scott] He didn’t show up for the photoshoot for my
new album cover, and I’m pretty f*cking pissed. So Adam tailed Dr. Gordon in secret
as he went about his business for a few days. On the night before the Bathroom
Game, Adam watched Gordon leave his house, a
nd followed him to the Hotel Barfly, but Lawrence
doesn’t stay there for long. Later that night, Adam falls asleep in his dark room, and when
he wakes up, realizes the power has been cut. He uses his camera flash
to try to spot an intruder, discovering this cackling Billy the Puppet
the doll, which he destroys with a baseball bat. I think he’s the only one to actually try
taking his anger out on Billy. It seems that Adam doesn’t have a problem with anyone’s
privacy being invaded until it i
s his own. After hearing a noise coming from
inside his closet, his method of using a flashbulb for illumination
doesn’t really do him any favors. (Amanda jumps him) Next thing he knows, he’s waking up in a bathtub, finding himself chained to a pipe in a disgusting lavatory that he’s never seen before. He doesn’t realize
the key going down the drain when he comes to. I have a theory about this. I think
when Jigsaw’s disciple, Amanda Young, helped set up the trap, she left out some
kind of k
eychain or something that would have prevented the key to Adam’s ankle chain
from going all the way down the drain. We see her take it out of her bra and drop it onto
Adam’s chest shortly before the game begins, almost like she’s trying to hide it from Jigsaw.
Amanda is known for rigging her traps against the participants, and she does have an irrational
hatred towards Adam, so her motivation tracks. My thought is that Adam was supposed to have the
ability to find the key and roam around fr
eely during the Bathroom Game, with the sliding door
still locked so he couldn’t escape. If you think about it, it doesn’t really change most of what
we see of the Bathroom Game until the end, where there is even more potential evidence of this
theory. But we’ll get there when we get there. Adam finds himself locked across the room
from the man he’s been tailing for a few days, so his first reaction is probably that Dr. Gordon
found out about him and captured him. That is, until he realizes
that they are
not the only ones in the room. (IMPACT) This video is sponsored by BetterHelp. In Saw 7, we were introduced to the concept of the Jigsaw Survivors Support group, something that Adam’s co-contestant Lawrence Gordon was a part of. That may have been a good option to help him cope with his trauma in 2007, but today there are *better* options to get *help*. I’m talking about BetterHelp. BetterHelp is the online therapy matchmaker that gives you easy access to your therapist via phone
call, video chat, messaging, really whatever’s most comfortable for you. With my link, betterhelp.com/czsworld you’ll get 10% off your first month. And it’s not just for survivors of serious stuff. It can also help you achieve smart goals like being more optimistic, or just dealing with anger in a healthier way. Actually, it sounds perfect for Adam. –[Adam] Make sure you’re getting everything! BetterHelp will match you to one of their 30,000 in-network therapists, based on your personal needs
and preferences. Just fill out a questionnaire, and you’ll be matched to a therapist within 48 hours in most cases. From there you can schedule therapy sessions for whenever is most convenient for you. And you never have to worry about anyone trying to make you a part of their survivor’s book tour. –[Dr. Gordon] I’m sure I speak for everyone here when I say, how grateful we are to be part of your… promotional DVD! Of course, if you feel like your therapist isn’t a great fit, you can switch at th
e click of a button with no additional cost. It’s basically the opposite of a Saw trap. People love this feature, because it avoids the stress of breaking up with your therapist and finding a new one. Join over 4 million people who’ve used BetterHelp to start living a healthier, happier life. Click the link in the description or visit Betterhelp.com/czsworld. And not only will you be helping support the channel, but you’ll be helping yourself and your wallet, because you’re gonna be getting 10%
off your first month. That’s Betterhelp.com/czsworld -- fix your life today. ♪ Intense Music ♪ Adam first notices the man lying face down in a pool of blood with a gun
and tape recorder in hand. –[Adam] First dead body I’ve ever seen. They’re
different in real life. They don’t move. Ironically, Adam’s body would do quite a lot of
moving from film to film due to continuity errors. Still, Adam plays it smart and doesn’t give
any indication about knowing who Dr. Gordon is -- even feigning conce
rn about someone
having kidnapped them to steal their kidneys, and ignorance about Gordon being a doctor. He discovers an envelope in his pocket containing
a tape, and uses his shirt and the bath drain to reel in the tape recorder from the old
guy’s hand. It’s hard to say for sure, but reeling in the tape recorder with his
shirt may have been an unintended solution if in fact, Adam was supposed to have free roam
privileges throughout the bathroom. However, Jigsaw does claim to be an expert
at anticipating the human mind, so maybe this is more like a Breath of the Wild
shrine. There are multiple possible solutions. Jigsaw’s voice explains what he has to do to survive. –[Jigsaw] Up until now, you’ve simply sat in the shadows, watching others live out their lives. But what
do voyeurs see when they look into the mirror? He challenges Adam to either watch himself die, or do something about it. Perhaps even
more concerning, Lawrence’s challenge is more direct -- Jigsaw wants him to
kill Adam
before 6 o’clock to save his family and himself. Gordon’s tape has a clue: “follow your heart”, so
Adam is stuck reaching to the toilet with a heart on it, where he’s able to showcase his sense
of humor, despite being totally grossed out. –[Dr. Gordon] Anything? –[Adam] No solids. Turns out he was supposed to look in the tank,
where he finds a plastic bag containing two-- [TITLE SCREEN: Saw] However, despite not being the
best actor, as we would see later… (Adam pretending to die)
He does a pretty good job of hiding the fact
that there’s also something else in the bag. I like his quick thinking here too. When he throws
Dr. Gordon the second hacksaw, he intentionally overshoots it, giving him the opportunity
to hide the photographs inside the bathtub. It’s interesting how his behavior here in the
bathroom game is the exact behavior that Jigsaw was trying to change. Adam was punished by
spying on others while not really living his own life. I don’t think Jigsaw has a
problem
with him being a photographer, so it must be the fact that Adam’s work is all done in secret
for people using fake names. As he puts it: “sitting in the shadows watching others live their
lives.” Nothing about his covert photography job is advancing Adam’s career or adding value to
his life. He’s just doing shady stuff for money. Now, he has an opportunity to come clean…
well I guess nothing in this room is “clean”, Well I guess nothing in this room is "clean"... but you know what I
mean… by working
together with Dr. Gordon to escape, but again, he’s hiding his photographs,
and in effect, hiding the true reason why Jigsaw has chosen him. He’s keeping
information in the dark from his partner. I have to say, it’s very hypocritical on
Jigsaw’s part considering that Jigsaw is quite the reconnaissance photographer himself.
But that’s kind of the point of the Saw saga, or as you guys like to call it: the
Saw-ga. Jigsaw has a God complex and thinks he’s helping people, but
he’s
really a self-righteous vigilante, unable to escape his own human biases.
I talk more about that in my Jigsaw episode. Anyway, the hacksaws are
useless against the chains, and Gordon realizes that the infamous
Jigsaw must be their captor and fills Adam in on his experience with the
Jigsaw investigation five months prior. (IMPACT) ♪ Suspenseful Music ♪ Adam continues to play dumb
and metaphorically operate from the shadows as he accuses Gordon of
possibly being the one who put him her
e. –[Dr. Gordon] I’m in exactly the same situation you are in. –[Adam] Wrong. Wrong! You’ve got one thing I don’t, information. But remember, he’s the only one actually hiding
information here. As he continues to overreact, he realizes the mirror he had broken earlier
is transparent on one side but reflective on the other. The reason I described it like that
is because this is one of the most poorly titled objects in the entire English language. Many
people call this a two way mirror, even t
hough the mirror only goes one way in terms of line of
sight. It’s so stupid that the Wikipedia article opens by saying “A One-way mirror, also called
Two-way mirror”. As if one is equal to two. Anyway, Adam calls it a two-way mirror and
throws some loose objects at it to reveal a camera recording them, which again,
fits into the whole voyeurism theme. He seems to be more offended than Dr. Gordon,
ironic, because surveillance is his main gig. –[Adam] I’m having a blast. This is the
most fu
n I’ve had without lubricant! It’s evidence of Adam’s immaturity, he doesn’t
have a grip on his emotions like Dr. Gordon does. We can kind of see why he got dumped for
being angry. He even provokes him by asking how he can be so calm when his wife and daughter
may be kidnapped as well. Dr. Gordon tosses his wallet to Adam to look at his family around
1:07. Not something that I would let him touch, considering that Adam’s hand was
in the toilet about 2 ½ hours ago, but Gordon probably figure
d that bacteria
was the least of his worries right now. And that’s quickly proven to be true,
when Adam discovers a photo planted by the kidnapper planted in Gordon’s wallet. Again
we see Adam demonstrate secretive behavior, hiding the planted photograph from Gordon
and keeping the clue to himself. It’s clear that Adam has a different outlook on this game
than Dr. Gordon. He sees it as a competition between the two, whereas Gordon sees it as
a collaborative effort to escape. Which is inter
esting considering that Gordon is the only
one who has been asked to kill his opponent. I think it says something about Adam’s inherent
lack of trust. Which does kinda track. I mean, this is the same guy who got stabbed by his best
friend on his birthday a couple decades ago. Gordon’s complaints about Adam keeping him in the dark give him the idea to turn
off the lights and find the X, which marks the spot of a box containing a
cell phone, a lighter, and some cigarettes. Someone in my Saw t
imeline video brought this up
to try to challenge my timeline placement because the date here says September 10, 2001. However,
I would argue that this must be a default date and time that this phone displays when it
isn’t connected to a network. You’ll notice the time says 12:00PM, but we know that’s
incorrect, it’s actually some time after 1. So next time instead of challenging me, maybe
to learn to read an analogue clock. I’m kidding, I actually like when you guys propose
your own theor
ies. In the name of science, because horror movie timelines are very important and serious business. This is not
something you want to mess up. He realizes the phone is only able to receive
calls. Both subjects start to get testy, and Gordon’s insistence on knowing where Adam got
the idea to kill the lights pushes him to reveal the photo of the doctor’s kidnapped family
members. Adam claims that he hid it to spare Lawrence the agony, but I don’t really believe
that was his true motive, as I
mentioned earlier. As time continues to tick, Lawrence proposes that
the two secretly set up a scenario where they’re going to stage Adam’s death by poisonous
cigarette. However that doesn’t work, because Adam’s fatality is tested by
electrocuting him to prove he’s still alive. The time is now 5:37, only 23 minutes
to go, and Gordon gets a call from his kidnapped daughter and wife, who
tells him not to believe Adam’s lies. –[Alison] He knows you. He knew
all about you before today. I love
how bad of a liar he is. –[Dr. Gordon] Who are you?
–[Adam] You know who I am. It’s just the no-eye contact and Build-a-Bear voice that gets me every time. –[Adam] You know who I am. But as he’s accused of being a liar, we see
his emotions get the better of him, causing him to retaliate and call Dr. Gordon out on his
own lie about his whereabouts the night before. This is another example of Adam’s lack of control
over his emotions being a weakness. He had shown a lot of restraint to keep his
connection to Dr.
Gordon a secret, but it seems like he just can’t help himself here -- he gives his anonymity away
in order to show up the guy that’s accusing him. This leads to a role reversal,
where Gordon becomes the angry one, and Adam delivers this masterpiece of a line. –[Dr. Gordon] I DID NOT CHEAT ON HER! –[Adam] What do you care what I think anyway? I don’t give a crap if you covered yourself in
peanut butter and had a fifteen hooker gangbang. That quote is a fan favorite,
and yo
u can always count on Leigh Whannel’s own character in a movie he’s
written to provide some comic relief. –[Tucker] This custom made camera of mine
is outfitted with a small lens. –[Specs] Basically a hidden camera.
–[Tucker] It’s not basic, and it’s not hidden. Things get kicked up a notch when time
expires, and Dr. Gordon goes crazy after hearing gunshots on the phone and getting
electrocuted like Adam had been shortly before. You can barely hear it over
Gordon’s barbaric screaming, but A
dam tries to reason
with him to calm him down. (Screaming) –[Adam] Lawrence! I have a family too. I don’t see them,
that’s my mistake. It’s a mistake I’d like to fix. If you couldn’t hear him, he says: “I
have a family too. I don’t see them, that’s my mistake. It's a
mistake I’d like to fix.” It’s possible that this is the reason Adam’s
clandestine photography is so offensive to Jigsaw. It’s not just that he’s spying
on people, but it’s also the fact that he’s busy getting up in other peop
le’s business
when he doesn’t spend time with his own family. Jigsaw’s motto is “Cherish Your Life” and
Adam cannot cherish his because all his time is spent on someone else’s. Again,
very hypocritical because Jigsaw neglects his wife and friends to build a series of death
traps to be used on other people at one point. It wouldn’t be long after this, when Adam’s
life was truly threatened for the first time, when Dr. Gordon would chop off his own
foot and come after Adam with a gun. (IMPACT
) ♪ Mysterious Music ♪ Adam gets pretty freaked out when he sees that
Gordon is going to attempt to cut off his foot, maybe a sign that he doesn’t see him as a bad
guy despite his earlier hostility. Or maybe he’s just worried about what the doc might do to
him if he escapes. I have talked before about my theory about how Lawrence and Adam orchestrated a
second staged death. The first one just involved them whispering to each other, which probably
didn’t work because Jigsaw was the man lying
on the ground between them, and unbeknownst to
them, he was still alive and could hear them. This time, Lawrence crawls over towards Adam
and points the gun at him, telling him he has to die. My guess is that he gives him a wink
right here while we’re looking at the back of his head. It’s also a lot easier for Adam to
give a convincing performance, since being shot to death is much simpler to fake than death by
poison. Dr. Gordon gives a great performance. The gap in acting skills between
Dr. Gordon and Adam is probably comparable to the gap in acting skills
between Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannel. Gordon fires a non-fatal shot to Adam’s
shoulder, and Adam impressively manages to play dead as Zep Hindle storms into the
bathroom and tells Gordon that he was too late, then springs to life just in time to knock
Zep’s feet out from under him and seize the gun, before going feral and bashing
his head in with the toilet lid. Throughout their time together in the
Bathroom Game, it h
ad been Adam’s lack of trust that prevented him from sharing
information, and truly working together with Gordon to escape. But now. But now,
the two have established a level of trust, defeated one of their captors and, Dr. Gordon
promises to get help and return for him. After his departure, Adam searches Zep’s body for
a key, but instead finds a tape recorder. And I think we all know what happens next, it’s one of
the most iconic scenes in horror movie history. –[Jigsaw] Hello Mr. Hindle.
Or as they
called you around the hospital: Zep. Adam is horrified to learn that the man
he just killed was not the mastermind, but rather a fellow victim, and he sees the
old man lying in the center of the room, who he previously believed to be dead,
rise from the ground and begin to stretch. But I don’t necessarily know that he was
leaving Adam for dead quite yet. I can’t really say with 100% certainty that Adam
was supposed have free roam privileges, but it may or may not be
the reason
Jigsaw says this: –[Jigsaw] Key to that chain is in the bathtub. You could interpret this as his way
of saying Adam is never getting out, or maybe Jigsaw still genuinely thinks that
the key is in there, and he’s giving Adam a clue. If I were trying to tell Adam that he’s
screwed, I feel like I might say “the key went down the drain”, but that’s not what he says,
he says it’s in the bathtub, present tense. Also, Jigsaw is not a good guy, but he
does have some sympathy for people who never ha
d a fair chance to win their games. The
previous year, during John Kramer’s Barn Game, Logan Nelson didn’t wake up in time for
the beginning of the first challenge, and John Kramer came out and saved
him. Adam’s situation is the same, his chance at getting out in one piece
was flushed away before he was really even awake. I mean, why even put the key
in there if Adam wasn’t meant to get it? But I think his sympathy ends when Adam tries to
reach for Zep’s gun and pop a cap in his captor, bu
t Jigsaw strikes first with the remote
that activates the electricity in his chain, making him drop the weapon. Jigsaw was still
going to give Adam a chance until he redirected his anger at him. Once again, Adam’s anger comes
to his detriment. He should have listened to his feminist vegan punk girlfriend. That’s
a sentence I never thought I would say. With that, Adam’s game comes to a close. –[Adam]AHHH!!!! –[Jigsaw] Game over. (Slam) So if the my theory about
Adam’s ankle key is correct, i
t was Amanda’s fault that he was killed.
Which is interesting, because her fatal flaw also seems to be her inability to control
her emotions. Jigsaw even says as much in 2006. –[Jigsaw] Her emotion is also her weakness. In the following days after the bathroom game, so most likely late October or early November
2004, Amanda feels guilty about what she did to Adam and sneaks back into the bathroom
to mercy kill him with a plastic bag. He seems to be asleep when she
comes in, and when he wake
s up, there isn’t much life left in him.
She claims she’s going to help him, before suffocating his face with the bag,
and he no longer has the energy to beat her. A year later, Adam would be mentioned in a
TV documentary called Full Disclosure Report: Piecing Together Jigsaw, where it’s confirmed
that he’s still considered a missing person. That same month, his ex-best friend Scott
Tibbs tries to make his own documentary, where he has different ideas about what happened to Adam. –[Scott] T
ried to toughen him up over the
years, but I guess it didn’t do a whole hell of a lot of good, because
now it looks like he’s probably dead. On March 12th, 2007, Dr. Gordon and Adam would
finally be reunited. Kind of. Dr. Gordon, who had become a disciple of Jigsaw, would
return to the bathroom to punish another Jigsaw disciple who had crossed
him, and the chain locked around Adam’s ankle would finally be removed and
repurposed to confine this new prisoner. If you want to learn about his
story, check out that Horror History episode on the left. And if
you’re looking for more Saw deep dives, remember to subscribe to CZsWorld for new
horrors every week. Ring the deathbell for all notifications and I will see you in
the next one. Assuming we both survive.
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