I just watched Saw III and couldn't help but wonder about the shotgun shell based death device that was central to the film.
Here's a photo for those of you who haven't seen the film:
http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0489270/Ss/0489270/9_300dpi.jpg.html?path=gallery&path_key=0489270
Basically it's a bunch of shotgun shells mounted onto some sort of intentionally rusty/gory looking neck-collar thing-a-majig with a bunch of hammers behind them to set them off simultaneously.
While I don't typically give much thought to these kinds of things, I couldn't help but ask myself if something like that would even work. Shotgun shells are either plastic or in some cases cardboard-tube with the only metal surrounding the primer and base. Without some type of pressure containment system like a barrel would provide, I'd imagine if set off, the pressure from the powder discharge would simply blow apart the shell hull and vent all pressure to the sides through whatever breach develops. The energy is going to use the easiest exit channel, and through the front, shooting the lead shot doesn't seem that would be it. The device in the movie has a small metal tube surrounding maybe half of the shell, and certainly nothing to hold the shell in place, so my guess is that either the shell would blow apart, or blow backwards, before it would actually discharge to the front.
Anyways, I know I'm caring way too much about a detail of a horror film, and perhaps this is why I rarely bother watching them (because I find most to be mildy silly and bordering on completely stupid) - but this just got me thinking.
Did anyone else think the same thing when they saw this flick?
Here's a photo for those of you who haven't seen the film:
http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0489270/Ss/0489270/9_300dpi.jpg.html?path=gallery&path_key=0489270
Basically it's a bunch of shotgun shells mounted onto some sort of intentionally rusty/gory looking neck-collar thing-a-majig with a bunch of hammers behind them to set them off simultaneously.
While I don't typically give much thought to these kinds of things, I couldn't help but ask myself if something like that would even work. Shotgun shells are either plastic or in some cases cardboard-tube with the only metal surrounding the primer and base. Without some type of pressure containment system like a barrel would provide, I'd imagine if set off, the pressure from the powder discharge would simply blow apart the shell hull and vent all pressure to the sides through whatever breach develops. The energy is going to use the easiest exit channel, and through the front, shooting the lead shot doesn't seem that would be it. The device in the movie has a small metal tube surrounding maybe half of the shell, and certainly nothing to hold the shell in place, so my guess is that either the shell would blow apart, or blow backwards, before it would actually discharge to the front.
Anyways, I know I'm caring way too much about a detail of a horror film, and perhaps this is why I rarely bother watching them (because I find most to be mildy silly and bordering on completely stupid) - but this just got me thinking.
Did anyone else think the same thing when they saw this flick?