Saw III is a 2006 American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. It is the third installment in the seven-part Saw franchise and stars Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfadyen, Bahar Soomekh, and Dina Meyer. Saw III marks the first appearances of Costas Mandylor and Betsy Russell, albeit minor roles; they would later become major characters in the series.

The story follows Jeff Denlon, a man who, after his son is killed in a hit-and-run, is put through a series of tests by Jigsaw in order to try to get him to let go of his vengeance for the man that killed his son. Meanwhile, a bed-ridden John Kramer has his apprentice Amanda Young kidnap Jeff's wife, Lynn, who is tasked with keeping him alive for one final test before he dies.

Development began right after the successful opening weekend of Saw II. Filming took place in Toronto from May to June 2006. Whannell aimed to make the story more emotional than previous installments, particularly with the Amanda and Jigsaw storyline. The film is dedicated to producer Gregg Hoffman who died on December 4, 2005.[4][5]

Saw III was released on October 27, 2006 and was a financial success, opening to $33.6 million and grossing $80.2 million in the United States and Canada. It is the highest-grossing film of the series in the international market with $84.6 million and the highest-grossing film in the series with $164.8 million worldwide. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Bell was nominated for "Best Villain" at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards and the film received nominations for a Saturn Award as "Best Horror Film" and Teen Choice Award. Saw III was released to DVD and Blu-ray Disc on January 23, 2007 and topped the charts selling 2.5 million units in its first week. It was followed by Saw IV, released in October 2007