| “ | You've got to give before you can receive in this house, Jill. | ” |
| --- Gibson negotiates with Jill |
Officer Matt Gibson is a fictional character from the Saw franchise as well as one of the main protagonists of Saw 3D. He was portrayed by Chad Donella, who previously on the Kill Count as Tod Waggner in Final Destination (2000).
Biography[]
Early Career[]
Matt Gibson was a young officer working for the Metropolitan Police Department. Early on in his career, when he was still a patrol cop, he was called to the abandoned Crossroads Manufactory, which was a known shelter for addicts and homeless people. While Gibson entered the run-down building with his gun at the ready, he was suddenly attacked and knocked down with a bottle from behind by a man. Gibson tried to fight the man off but had to surrender when the man grabbed his weapon and held him at gun point. However, before the man could shoot him, Detective Mark Hoffman suddenly appeared behind him and told him to drop the weapon. Even though the unknown attacker obeyed immediately, Hoffman shot him in the back three times, killing him in the process. After that, he gave Gibson, who was shocked by the events, a leg-up and advised him that next time, he should shoot first. He then told Gibson that he owed him, before he went off.
Despite the fact that Hoffman had saved his life, Gibson reported Hoffman to the Internal Affairs Division. However, instead of being punished for the murder, Hoffman was promoted while Gibson was sidelined. Some time later, he joined the IA Department himself and managed to convict three of Hoffman's friends. Angered by this, Hoffman swore revenge on him. (Saw 3D)
The Deal[]
Years later, Gibson got involved in the case of serial killer John Kramer, better known as the Jigsaw Killer, when he was already dead. Shortly after the victims of a new deadly game, set up by Jigsaw's successor, had been found at the abandoned Rowan Zoological Institute, Jigsaw's ex-wife, Jill Tuck, went to the police station to talk to Gibson as she knew about his past with Hoffman. His partner, Officer Rogers, informed him that she didn't trust the FBI nor the homicide unit and therefore only wanted to talk to him. When Gibson eventually entered the interrogation room he introduced himself and sat down at the table in front of Jill. Jill told him that she had information about the successor of John and demanded protection and complete immunity in exchange for the information. Gibson however refused to accept the deal without more details. Therefore, Jill told him that John's successor had assisted him in most of his killings and would go on killing if he wasn't apprehended. She also said, that he knew Gibson and vice versa, before she finally revealed that the successor was actually Detective Mark Hoffman. Both, surprised and shocked by these information, Gibson accepted the deal, seeing a chance to close the Jigsaw Case once and for all. (Saw 3D)
Evan's Test[]
A few weeks later, Gibson talked to Dr. Adam Heffner, one of the department's pathologists, about a humiliated corpse at the morgue. When Gibson asked him for the reason of death, Heffner sarcastically stated that the man had died while smoking at a gas station and handed Gibson the autopsy report. Moments later, Gibson was called by Rogers, who had found the crime scene of another game at Pete's Auto Body, a junkyard at 58th Street. Therefore, Gibson ordered him not to let anyone to the crime scene, including the homicide division. When he arrived at the scene, he immediately listened to an audio tape, which had contained the instructions for Evan, one of the dead victim's. The tape however was severely damaged. Therefore, Gibson gave it to one of the forensics for further examination. After that, he discussed the new situation with Rogers as it was suspicious that the new game had been played in such a rather public place. While Rogers assumed that Hoffman just wanted to put on a show, Gibson was convinced that there was more behind it. Afterwards, he took a look at the severely humiliated corpses of the other three victims, Kara, Dan and Jake, and ordered a coroner to send them to the morgue as they had to be obducted immediately. Suddenly, he was called to an adjacent toilet room by Rogers. Upon entering, he saw the words "Gibson, See For Yourself" written on a mirror in red letters. Furthermore, he found a blood-smeared metallic trap device left there by Hoffman and ordered Rogers to send it to the lab, hoping that fingerprints might be found on it. (Saw 3D)
Cat-And-Mouse Game[]
Shortly afterwards, the lab actually found fingerprints on the trap and identified them as those of Jill Tuck. Due to the latest events, he decided to take Jill into protective custody and brought her to a safe house for key witnesses. However, he was angry at her as she hadn't told him that Hoffman was chasing her because she tried to kill him earlier. Nonetheless, he was willing to keep his promise to protect her and promised her that she was save at this location. However, only moments later, Officer Palmer informed him about a disc sent to them, which was personally addressed to Jill. He then received a call from Rogers, who informed him about an explosion at the junkyard. Seconds later, Gibson heard another detonation in the background. Therefore, he told him to let the bomb squad search the junkyard before they went on with their investigation. Afterwards, he ordered Palmer to play the disc. The disc contained a video message recorded by Hoffman. In this message, he told Gibson to give Jill to him. In return, he promised to end the next game. If Gibson refused to take the offer, Hoffman threatened him that everyone would die. As Hoffman knew Jill's location, Gibson ordered Palmer to take Jill to one of the detention cells on the basement of the police station.
Shortly afterwards, he returned to the sation himself and showed the video to Rogers after he arrived there as well. Thereby, he noticed a statue of an angel behind Hoffman, which looked somehow familiar to him. However, before he could further think about it, Palmer informed him that someone had sent her a video from a security camera in the downtown area. The video showed the abduction of Bobby Dagen, a supposed Jigsaw survivor, by Hoffman, who had covered his face with a pig mask. Bobby's wife, Joyce Dagen, and his crew had been reported missing as well, leading the officers to the conclusion that they were the victims of the new game Hoffman had talked about. After receiving these news, Gibson showed a photo of Bobby to Jill and asked her if she knew about him, which she denied. She also couldn't tell him if John knew about him. Therefore, Gibson and Rogers returned to the office room, where Palmer had received an e-mail with another video from Hoffman. He told Gibson to "look beyond the crossroads to the clear dawn", thereby hinting at the incident at the abandoned Crossroad Manufactory years ago which was the reason why Gibson had reported him to the Internal Affairs Department. Understanding the true meaning of this clue, Gibson went to the manufactory, accompanied by Rogers, while Palmer tried to get a trace on the e-mail.
Minutes later, he and Rogers arrived at the manufactory and broke through the door to get inside. Initially, Rogers saw nothing of interest. Gibson however showed him an angel statue which closely resembled the one from Hoffman's video. When Rogers asked him why Hoffman wanted them to go to the manufactory, Gibson stated that he wanted to remind him of how he saved his life years ago. Thereby, Gibson told his partner about the incident where Hoffman shot the homeless man. Furthermore, he revealed to him that Hoffman had sworn revenge on him for convicting three of his friends during his career in the Internal Affairs Department. While telling Rogers about his past with Hoffman, he remembered that the homeless man had been released from the Clear Dawn Psychiatric Hospital, when it was shut down by the state. Therefore, he realized what Hoffman talked about when he told him to "look beyond the crossroads to the clear dawn" and concluded that the hospital, which had been abandoned for several years already, was the place where Bobby Dagen's game occured. With these information, he set out for the hospital and ordered Rogers to go back to Jill to watch over her. (Saw 3D)
Police Raid[]
Shortly thereafter, Gibson arrived at Clear Dawn and entered the building along with a SWAT team. When they broke through the front door and secured the big entrance hall, Gibson noticed a TV, which showed Joyce Dagen in a trap, as well as a timer, thereby realizing that the game was still going on. As Gibson and the SWAT went on through the hallways, they eventually entered a storeroom where they found the corpse of Nina, Bobby Dagen's publicist, after her throat had been pierced by four metal rods in another trap. Seconds later, he was called by Officer Palmer, who had been able to trace Hoffman's e-mail to the junkyard. When he saw that only 15 minutes were left on the timer, he ordered the SWAT leader to go on with his team while he went after Hoffman. Upon leaving the hospital, he called Rogers and informed him that he knew the location of Hoffman's hideout. (Saw 3D)
Death[]
Only minutes later, he arrived at the junkyard and immediately went to the toilet room where Hoffman had written the message for him on the mirror, accompanied by two officers armed with shotguns. After securing the room, he quickly realized that the wall with the mirror was actually a hidden door. Therefore, he took the shotgun from one of his colleagues and smashed the mirror. After that, he broke through the door and entered a hidden hallway along with the officers. Thereby, they finally reached a surveillance room where they saw a hooded figure sitting in front of the monitors. Thinking it was Hoffman, Gibson aimed his gun at him and ordered him to show his hands. The person however didn't react. While holding him at gunpoint, Gibson carefully approached and ultimately kicked him off the chair. Upon doing so, he realized that the figure wasn't Hoffman, but Dan, one of the four victims of the car trap. Initially confused, Gibson noticed the angel statue from Hoffman's video standing on a pedestal. He then took a look at the monitors, which showed the police station.
When he saw that Hoffman had hacked their camera security system, he realized that Hoffman had hidden himself in Dan's body bag in order to infiltrate the station through the morgue. Therefore, he called Palmer and ordered her to call all officers back to the station immediately. However, before he could tell her the reason for his panic, a sentry gun emerged behind him and started to fire before he could react, thereby killing Gibson and the other officers while Palmer listened to the shots on the phone. (Saw 3D)
Post-Mortem[]
The corpses of Gibson and the two officers, as well as the dead bodies of Jill Tuck and several police officers murdered by Hoffman, were found shortly afterwards. The events surrounding the massacre at the police station were reported to the public by the news channels the same night. Thereby, everyone with information about the whereabouts of Mark Hoffman was requested to go to the police immediately. (Saw 3D)
Personality[]
Despite his young age, Matt Gibson was a highly responsible police officer, eager to bring justice to criminals and unwilling to break the rules. Due to this, he was made for his job in the Internal Affairs Department of the police as he was able to keep a personal distance when he had to investigate his own colleagues. He also had a keen perception, as seen when he was able to deduce the meaning of Hoffman's clues in a very short amount of time.
Trivia[]
- Matt Gibson carried a Beretta 92FS as his sidearm.