Eric Matthews

Lore & Background

Eric is one of the many people trying to solve the case of the Jigsaw Killer, and becomes directly involved when his son Daniel is among those forced to participate in one of Jigsaw's 'games'. Eric's patience is tested by Jigsaw, who forces him to wait until he reveals Daniel's whereabouts. Eric ultimately brutalizes Jigsaw, forcing him to take him to the location of the game, only to end up captured. After being held captive for six months, Eric breaks his own foot to slip out of his shackle during the events of Saw III. He later becomes part of a game designed for his colleague, Officer Daniel Rigg; Rigg fails his test, resulting in Eric being killed by one of Jigsaw's contraptions in Saw IV. His corpse then appears in Saw V, and he is also seen alive in flashbacks in that film.

Reader's Guide

Eric Matthews appears across four films and one mockumentary. His first appearance is in Full Disclosure Report: Piecing Together Jigsaw, featured on the uncut version of the original film. He is the protagonist of Saw II (2005), has a minor role in Saw III (2006), a major role in Saw IV (2007), and his final appearance is a photograph in Saw V (2008). Before the release of Saw III, it was stated that Wahlberg would not return as the character, but this turned out to be a hoax conceived by Lionsgate Entertainment to throw off fans of the series trying to dig up details on the film.

Eric had originally been written to be killed by Amanda in Saw III after she marched back towards him after his taunts. In the original script, Amanda stabbed and slashed Eric repeatedly in the neck, killing him. According to the Saw III DVD commentaries, this scene was filmed but removed against the director's will from the movie, so that Eric could be kept alive for Saw IV, since the other main characters of the franchise were killed off. During an interview, Donnie Wahlberg offered his opinion of Eric: 'I think he's a selfish person.

He's the type of person who's incapable of concerning himself with other people's feelings including his son's. In his mind, he probably has bigger issues. As we discover, he's not the most ethical person in the world. It all makes sense if you think about the first movie and what Jigsaw's mode is; what his MO is. This is a guy who doesn't really care anymore and he's kinda mailing it in.

It's no mistake that he's brought into this case. It's by design and I think Jigsaw probably knew that this guy wouldn't want to get involved in the case and that's why he singled him out. When his name is on the ceiling, he's basically saying, 'You are going to be my next subject.' If my character was a little less selfish and a little less self-absorbed wasn't in a world of self-loathing, he might have been smart enough to realize that.'