8 Movies We Didn’t Know Were Origin Stories Going In

2. Saw II

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Sure, we'd seen elements of Amanda Young's story in the first Saw movie, but 2005's Saw II gave the origin story of Amanda the Villain.

Having been the only survivor of that fist picture, Saw II found Shawnee Smith's Amanda once again forced to play the twisted games of Jigsaw. With her past drug addiction issues believed to have resurfaced, the character finds herself amongst another group of purported life-wasters tasked with fighting for their survival.

Of course, the big kicker here is, in one of the nine-film franchise's greatest swerves to date, the final moments of Saw II reveal how Amanda is actually working alongside Jigsaw. Having sought John Kramer out to be a mentor figure after the events of Saw, Smith's character became a disciple of this rogue's, with the intention of continuing on with Jigaw's work after Kramer has died.

Brilliantly showcased by a flashback sequence that pieces all of the relevant details together, Saw II ends by showing how Amanda and Jigsaw came together, and how she has been the pivotal cog in the carnage and chaos of this sequel - particularly when it comes to tormenting Donnie Wahlberg's Detective Matthews.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.