Billy (Saw)

Saw prop
Billy
Gender:	Male design
Relationships:	John Kramer (creator and voice actor)
Purpose:	To deliver messages to subjects of Jigsaw
Status:	Inanimate
First Appearance:	Saw

Billy is a puppet that has appeared in the Saw films. He was used by the series' primary antagonist John Kramer, the Jigsaw Killer, to communicate with his victims. Although he has never been identified in the actual films themselves, "Billy" is the name by which he is referred to by writers, directors and members of the cast and crew on documentaries and interviews. The name was given to him by his real life creator James Wan who is the director and co-writer of Saw. There is disagreement that the name is spelled "Billie," although Wan himself spells it "Billy."^[1] The main purpose of Billy is to deliver recorded messages to victims of Jigsaw's, often appearing on a television screen to distribute the details of the sadistic traps and the means of which the victims can survive.

Characteristics

Billy appears to be a ventriloquist's dummy, as his jaw is movable in order to give the suggestion that he’s talking, though he is not used in the same manner, instead being seen moving “on his own”. His face is white, and he has a protruding brow and cheeks that have red spirals painted on them. His red lips form a grin. His eyes are black, with red irises, and his head is topped with black, messy hair. Billy is always depicted as wearing a black tuxedo, with a white undershirt and gloves, red bow tie, and red handkerchief in the breast pocket. He also has red Mary-Janes for shoes. In the short film, he is seen wearing a green bowler hat. He is often seen riding an old-fashioned, red tricycle. The only sound delivered "directly" by him is a generic electronic cackle much like one would find in a Halloween-type toy. It was revealed in Saw IV that Billy's design was taken from a smaller, slightly different, version that John had shown Jill.

Construction

Original concept art for Billy.

According to Wan, the construction of the original puppet's face for Saw involved clay, papier-maché, and black ping-pong balls with the irises painted in for the eyes. He's also said to have paper-towel rolls somewhere part of him. To make him move, the puppeteers pulled him along on a fishing line. For Saw II, Billy was redesigned with mechanical features that could be controlled by a remote control, including his unhinged jaw and his eyes. For Saw III, the prop crew was given the original puppet, but found it unfit to work, as time had damaged it. Instead, they recreated Billy, using water jet-cut foam for his body instead of fiberglass, equipped with plates to hold the puppet together and magnets to attach him to his tricycle. The back of his head was removable, as to make it easier to slide the animatronic pieces in. For Saw IV, the prop crew again made the body of water jet-cut foam, held together by metal rods. They used strong magnets to make a flat rear for the puppet, so that it could be easily positioned on any metal surface. The resin-filled ping-pong ball eyes were controlled with a remote control, as was the mouth.^[2]

Appearances

In the Saw films

Billy congratulates Amanda for surviving her test.

In the first Saw movie, Billy is seen on a television set by Amanda, telling her about the contraption wired into her jaws. Once Jigsaw explains where she must find the key to unlock the trap, Billy is seen again, congratulating Amanda on her success, wheeling into the room on his tricycle to deliver the message of her freedom. Later, Adam remembers seeing the puppet in his apartment when the lights went out. While searching through the dark rooms using his camera flash, the puppet's eerie laugh rings through the apartment, and Adam hits it with his bat until it stops. When Detectives Tapp and Sing uncover Jigsaw's latest hideout, they snoop around his desk, pulling off many blankets to reveal the different contraptions of the sick mastermind. The two detectives are shocked when they find the Billy puppet staring back at them under one of the blankets. In the second Saw movie, Billy is seen on the screen at the beginning of the film, giving Michael hints about the death mask he's wearing. Later, when the detectives discover Jigsaw's new hideout, several officers rush up a caged staircase, and are greeted by Billy, who wheels into sight at the top of the stairs on his tricycle, where he lets off his laugh. The fence around the stairs then becomes electrified after one of the rigged steps sets off the trap.

Jigsaw constructing Billy.

In the third movie, Jigsaw can be seen constructing Billy in a flashback, painting the puppet's face. Later, Billy is used to inform both Troy and Kerry of their respective traps. The puppet is also seen in the background of a flashback that features Jigsaw and Amanda discussing her loyalty. He is also used to remind Jeff Reinhart of his dead son, at one point, by being laid down next to his bike (in the same position as Jeff's son when he was killed). He then lets off a mocking laugh. Before Saw III's release, Billy was used in videos to promote the film on such sites as YouTube and MySpace.

Billy's face is blown apart as part of a trap.

Billy is first seen when Rigg awakes after being attacked in his apartment and rendered unconscious. Rigg opens his bathroom door, pulling a trigger-wire from a TV set. Billy appears on the screen to explain Rigg's game. Upon leaving the room, Rigg is greeted by another messaging concerning his first test, referring to a woman Jigsaw deemed to be a criminal that was stuck in a machine that would scalp her. Agents Strahm and Perez later find Billy in a room in a school, sitting on a chair surrounded by candles. Billy then tells Agent Perez that her partner would end up killing an innocent man (who would later be found out to be Jeff) and also that her next move is critical. Billy's eyes begin turning, and Perez leans in to examine them, at which point the face of the puppet explodes, blowing shrapnel into her face and neck. She is brought to the hospital in critical condition. There is also a flashback of Jigsaw giving an early version of Billy to Jill as a gift, looking less sinister than the most recent version. An interview with Tobin Bell has revealed that this was the beginning of a storyline concerning the origins of Billy, as well as his tricycle, to be explored in future Saw films.^[3] Before Saw IV's release, Billy was used in videos to promote the film on such sites as YouTube and MySpace.

In other films by Wan and Whannel

Leigh Whannell stated at the world premiere of Dead Silence that he was going to put Billy in every movie he made from now on, but its presence might not be obvious.

Dead Silence

Billy on bottom of the screen.

In the 2007 film Dead Silence (which is made by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the creators of the Saw films), one of the puppets, who appears on the film's poster and wears the same outfit as Jigsaw's puppet, is named Billy. The Saw puppet is also seen in the movie for a brief second, in a shot that reveals all of Mary Shaw's puppets in the attic above the theater.

Death Sentence

In Death Sentence (which was directed by James Wan), Billy's face can be seen spray painted on a wall in the background in one of the scenes.

References