Matt Chapman straps himself into Thorpe Park’s terrifying new ride…

There’s something inherently scary about riding a brand new rollercoaster that’s had a few teething troubles and this is one of those times we wished we’d never seen the opening to Final Destination 3. It also doesn’t help that it’s the first ride ever to be based on a horror franchise - in your face Freddy, Michael and Jason! So just how does the Saw experience at Thorpe Park match up to the legacy of the infamous serial killer’s mission?

Well, the whole concept of Saw fits a rollercoaster like a jigsaw-shaped piece of skin removed from a corpse. Your journey towards the ride itself is decorated with a number of mood-setting pieces from the film, including an original torture contraption from the movies on show and a static scene involving a corpse caught in barbed wire.

Candy Holland, the creative director at Merlin Entertainments' collection of theme parks and the creator of the Saw ride, said she wanted to pack as much of the feel of the films in as possible. “I've spent a great deal of time studying the Saw films to create this new rollercoaster and they've become my favourite horror movies,” Holland says. “Underneath all the shock value of the torture there's a disturbingly fascinating layer of complex psychological values.”

Her homage continues as you board the ride and fittingly it’s left to Saw himself to set the scene as you finally get strapped into his latest test of torture. When the creepy dummy tells you that “You are locked into a mechanical device” it’s time to question your own thrillseeking nature.

What follows may not be the life-changing experience Saw’s test subjects usually face (although their lives are usually more likely to be ended than changed). Holland begins her live Saw experience in a familiar warehouse setting, giving the ride a haunted house feel. At this point we can’t help wondering if anything scares Holland. “I've never gotten used to the really rough turbulence you sometimes get on aeroplanes,” she admits. “I try and combat it by imagining that I'm on a rollercoaster, which should be fine as I design rides for a living. But even though I can tell myself that something is scary but not life-threatening, I can't help remembering that the aeroplane isn't attached to a track!”

Not that the way she weaves her track is any less frightening than dropping from the sky in a tin tube. Holland has worked in a combination of three, ahem, killer loops. However, it’s the 100ft climb to a 100-degree drop that really impresses. Thorpe Park claims it’s the steepest freefall rollercoaster drop in the world and we’re happy to agree. The fact that it literally puts you on your back as you ascend, twisting you over the top face down as you plummet towards a nasty-looking set of rotating metal blades is an added bonus. It’s all over too quickly, but you know Jigsaw, he doesn’t like to give you long to deal with his terrible contraptions.

So, does the experience live up to the expectations of Saw film fans? Happily, yes it does, delivering a guilty thrill thanks to that momentous drop. Even better, younger rollercoaster fans will revel in the fact that it doesn’t have an 18 certificate - merely a height restriction like most other death-defying rides.

Is it the future of rollercoasters? Not yet. But later this year when Thorpe Park fits the in-car video cameras that capture your reactions as you are tested by Jigsaw and lets you take the film home, it will be.