Saw 3D, also known as Saw: The Final Chapter, features blood effects that often look pink instead of red, which opened it up to harsh criticism, but why did this happen? The movie, which was released in 2010, was directed by Kevin Greutert and written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. Overall, it's the seventh installment in the Saw franchise, which kicked off with the original movie in 2003, which was created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell.
In a nutshell, the plot of Saw 3D centers on Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery), a man who falsely claims to be a survivor of one of the Jigsaw Killer's games in order to garner some local fame. He ends up finding himself in a real game, though, and must work to save his wife. At the same time this is happening, Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) - who escaped a trap in the third Saw movie - tries to track down Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), Jigsaw's ex-wife, who is attempting to incriminate him.
As its title suggests, Saw 3D was shot entirely in RealD 3D technology. The filmmakers used the SI-3D digital camera system rather than filming on set normally and later transferred the footage to 3D, which is what's usually done. All of the sets and traps in the movie were specifically designed to take advantage of the 3D technology. Notably, this movie was Greutert's first stab at a 3D movie; it ended up being the most expensive film in the franchise with a budget of $17 million. Of course, there were some problems with aspects of filming in 3D — like how all the blood looks pink instead of red, which was a direct result of the filming process and worsened later in editing.
Indeed, the combination of different 3D effects used in the 2010 horror film led to changes in colors. In several cuts, the blood shown on screen looks pink instead of red. This is because the fake blood used in the film was pink-colored. It was supposed to appear red in 3D viewings, since 3D glasses darken the footage for the viewers. But, the film's editors decided not to change the pink color to red for the home-release version of Saw 3D; they never corrected it for natural 2D viewings.
The pink blood element of the film is certainly noticeable and distracting. Because the movie was filmed for 3D, viewers often see the blood spurting directly at the lens. A huge amount of fake blood was used throughout filming — reportedly, over 25 gallons worth. The filmmakers' decision to forgo the color editing of this blood was a bad one, especially given the nature of the franchise and what audiences expect from a Saw movie.
For many viewers, this aspect completely ruined the movie. This is especially because the Saw movies rely heavily on gore and gritty realism — those elements are the backbone of the franchise. But Saw 3D, despite its high-end technology, ended up looking phony and unrealistic when watched on a regular TV for at home viewings. The weakened gore factor in this movie was certainly a disappointment for many horror fans.