The Ultimate Guide to the 'Saw' Universe
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How do you delve into downright filthy franchise that is the Saw? Headfirst, of course, no chains or metal clamps necessary. But you can't just wander into these films without a guide. According to the evil mastermind John Kramer, it’s important to have a plan (or two or seven) before getting your hands dirty. Because, after a staggering nine movies—which span over almost two decades—Saw lore is starting to reach Game of Thrones levels of complexity. In 2004, when James Wan and Leigh Whannell conceived of the twisted little story on a limited budget, the Saw movies have taken on a life of their own. Saw not only ushered in the dawn of "torture porn" films, but it also started the careers of Wan and Whannell, who have since brought us more enduring horror franchises, such as The Conjuring and Insidious.
So when I decided to watch all nine Saw movies and plot them out chronologically before Friday's premiere of Saw X, I was met with concerned reactions from my family and friends. I ignored their pleas, because one simply does not become the horror queen of Esquire without watching innumerable hours of blood and carnage. And the only way to enjoy these movies is in a truly unhinged fashion. It's the way Jigsaw would have wanted it. So, after a thorough rewatch of every single sequel and spinoff, I’ve meticulously crafted this Saw viewing guide to maximize your sick enjoyment of all the torture and mind games. Trust me, you won't miss any details by watching these films out of order, since there are copious flashback scenes in every sequel. So my dear reader, the choice is yours...
Saw II (2005)
You might think the obvious answer is to start with the first Saw film. Well, I kindly ask that you reconsider, because the events of the first movie aren't the true chronological beginning of the series. Horror’s most devious serial killer, Jigsaw, otherwise known as John Kramer (played by the Shakespearean Tobin Bell) taught diabolical life lessons way before that. In Saw II, we see him at full force, speaking in ominous riddles and confusing the hell out of some cops. Saw II a good place to start, since it features plenty of memorable traps (the needle pit!). Plus, Donnie Wahlberg makes his first appearance in the series as Detective Eric Matthews. In order to locate his son, he's forced to have a sit-down with Jigsaw, who was kidnapped and trapped him in a house filled with deadly nerve gas... alongside a bunch of people he wrongfully convicted. Saw doesn't know the meaning of dialing it down.
Saw (2004)
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Now, it's time to visit the start of all the madness. Saw is a breath of relief before you embark on a truly harrowing marathon through the franchise's varied and numerous torture scenes. We meet Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and Adam (series co-creator Leigh Whannell). The men wake up inside a disgusting bathroom (which should get its own billing in the credits, since it’s as much a character as the humans who end up inside of it), and are forced to work together to figure out who put them there. We get a sense of Jigsaw’s philosophy here. He’s a real “live, laugh, love” guy—except in his world, it’s live in agony, or die in even more agony. We also briefly meet Amanda, Jigsaw's future protege.
You might be asking: how did Dr. Gordon’s pen end up in a Saw trap? Don’t you worry, because there is no such thing as a loose thread in the Saw-verse—everything is explained via some insane retcon in a later sequel.
Saw III (2006)
Saw's third installment focuses on the relationship between John Kramer and his potential successor, Amanda Young. As it turns out, Amanda’s been breaking the rules by setting up Saw traps that are impossible to escape. Though any sane person may argue that even an “escapable” Saw trap is still a death sentence, Jigsaw always gives his victims a chance to survive. “I despise murderers,” he says. Cue the incredulous laughter.
Amanda has been tasked with kidnapping an emergency room surgeon, Dr. Lynn Denlon, hooking her up with a shotgun collar (don't ask!) and forcing her to perform brain surgery on an ailing Jigsaw. A long, graphic brain surgery scene ensues—and if you thought Saw traps where ribs are ripped out of torsos were bad, it turns out that brain surgery is just as horrifying. Take care of those noggins, kids! Unfortunately, things don’t end well for our weird mentor-mentee duo, because Amanda defies Jigsaw and kills Dr. Denlon—just as her husband, Jeff (a miserly father who is the subject of this movie's traps), stumbles into the room. In a fit of rage, Jeff kills both of them. You’d think with the apprentice gone and Jigsaw dead, it would signal the end of the madness, right? Nope. As Jigsaw says, "the game has just begun."
Saw IV (2007)
The fourth installment opens with the autopsy of John Kramer. He's definitely left the realm of the living… or has he? Ideally, Saw III and Saw IV should be watched back to back. (Just tune in to the very end to see why.) In terms of Saw-verse flashbacks, this installment might take the cake. This time around, we follow Officer Rigg as he goes through his own Jigsaw test. Apparently, Jigsaw thinks Rigg needs to let people save themselves. While Rigg races through Jigsaw’s rigs, two FBI agents—Strahm and Perez—investigate the trail of traps. At Rigg's final test, Saw II's Detective Matthews and Detective Hoffman are held captive. But Rigg was puzzled by Jigsaw’s vague riddles, because he rushes the door—and ends up getting himself and everyone inside killed. That is... except for Hoffman, who reveals himself as Jigsaw's third apprentice. Also, Agent Strahm ends up at the warehouse where Jeff just killed Amanda and Jigsaw. Huh? Turns out, the entire movie was a flashback that takes place at the same time as the events in Saw III! Does that make sense? It doesn't! Nonetheless, we press on.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
For a little palate cleanser after the mindfuck of the last few movies, let’s press play on Spiral, a fun (and slightly less insane) Saw spinoff. Spiral stars Chris Rock as a married-to-the-job detective. It's a far cry from his usual roles, and it’s amusing to see him get twisted up in a copycat Jigsaw killer case. With a couple of nasty deaths—though none quite as memorable as the other Saw sequels—Spiral is funny, but still true to the franchise's gnarly formula. Plus you get to see Samuel L. Jackson in a Saw trap—and you know he has a lot to say about that!
Saw V (2008)
Deep breaths, people. We’re almost halfway through the Saw Cinematic Universe. Following the events of Saw III/IV, Hoffman is a hero in the public’s eyes. He “survived” the trap he put himself in—and thinks that no one is onto his shady after-work activities. But Agent Strahm, (or Luke from Gilmore Girls, as my friends call him) survived a water-filled box trap, and he's suddenly very suspicious of Hoffman. Strahm spends the rest of the film going over all the past Saw traps, finally coming to a revelation that Hoffman was in on it.
Meanwhile—in a dark, undisclosed location—five people wake up and find themselves tied to a cleaver, which has been conveniently placed at neck height. The victims eventually realize that they were all involved in an arson that led to the death of eight innocent people. (OK, Jigsaw, you’re a vigilante now?) Later on, Strahm finally comes face to face with Hoffman, confronting him about working as Jigsaw’s henchman. But their fight is cut short when steel walls close in on Strahm, and he's crushed into a fleshy pancake. With Strahm flattened, Hoff baby is home-free to be the psycho killer of his dreams. Congrats, Hoff! Now, can he save us from Jigsaw’s confusing plans and vague riddles?
Saw VI (2009)
Although this Saw sequel disappointed at the box office, the traps are creative and the storyline is disarmingly satisfying. Hoffman, now thinking that he’s free to continue his kidnap-murder spree, starts carrying out another Jigsaw mission. Wait, didn’t Jigsaw die three movies ago, you ask? Yes, but that doesn’t matter! Jigsaw’s reach extends so far beyond the grave, it’s almost like he’s still in the room with us. Thanks to flashback scenes, Tobin Bell will be employed as John Kramer for years to come. This time, the focus of Jigsaw’s philosophically convoluted tests of survival is William Easton, a corrupt insurance executive who finds loopholes to deny coverage to people desperate for healthcare. Yikes. In this economy, Easton? Unfortunately for him, he once denied coverage to John Kramer. Easton is forced through a series of tests... in an abandoned zoo.
In one horrific sequence, six of Easton's employees are strapped to a carousel with loaded shotguns aimed at their faces—and Easton has the ability to save two of them from being shot. Easton saves one pregnant woman, and another who is a mother of two. Easton’s life is ultimately in the hands of the surviving widow and son of a man he wronged earlier in the movie. The two show Easton just as much mercy as he’d shown them, and they let him die by a giant rack of needles filled with hydrofluoric acid. Take that, greedy health insurance execs!
As for the overarching Saw story: In yet another flashback, we learn that Cecil—a patient of Dr. Jill Tuck (who was John Kramer's wife) caused the miscarriage of Jigsaw's son. Plus, Amanda, who was also a patient at Dr. Jill’s clinic, was with Cecil the night they went to score a fix. Hoffman, who must be the most organized man on Earth, somehow found out that Amanda was partially to blame for the loss of Jigsaw's son—and he used that information to blackmail her into killing Dr. Denlon in Saw III. Is anybody else feeling lightheaded? Dr. Jill, acting out Jigsaw’s postmortem request, straps Hoffman into a chair and puts a reverse bear claw trap on his head. Ta-ta, Hoffman! Except, whoops, Dr. Jill: You made the horror-movie mistake of not making sure the bad guy dies before you leave the room!
Jigsaw (2017)
Finally, a reprieve from the slew of over-the-top plot twists: It’s time to watch Jigsaw, yet another standalone film from the Saw-verse. Chronologically (not that time holds any meaning in this franchise), the events of Jigsaw take place a decade after John Kramer’s death. All of a sudden, dead bodies in mangled ways that follow Jigsaw’s M.O. But how can that be, when the big man was sawed in Saw III? The cops even go as far as digging up Jigsaw's grave, but uh-oh—there’s a fresh corpse inside... and no Jigsaw to be found.
Of course, this isn't a Saw movie without game afoot at the same time as a police squad’s inept investigation. This time, it takes place in an abandoned barn with five newbies. Is Jigsaw really alive? That could only mean it’s time for a big ol' Saw twist. Turns out, Jigsaw is, in fact, still resting in peace. The dead bodies are courtesy of a brand-new Jigsaw successor, Logan, who was an intended victim of a Saw test ten years ago. He was spared by Jigsaw after a miscalculation caused him to gain consciousness too late to participate in the test. That’s right—Jigsaw decided to save Logan’s life rather than torture him. After receiving the gift of life, Logan became Jigsaw’s first apprentice, predating Amanda Young! Whether or not you buy that is up to you.
Saw 3D (2010)
Saw in 3D? You might think that means this is the grandest entry of the series, but you're wrong.. In fact, if anyone thinks that, they should be locked inside a brazen bull and cooked like a pizza. This movie is bad—and not in a oh no, people are chopping off their own arms with butcher knives kind of bad. It's bad in a in a why does this movie have so many unnecessary close up shots of cleavage? way. Plus, Saw 3D features the worst visual effects of the entire series. (Pink blood, yuck!) As Jigsaw might say, “I find it distasteful.” But that’s not to say there isn’t some fun to be had. We do see a fun reappearance of Jigsaw’s favorite bathroom— and even a slow-clapping Dr. Lawrence Gordon. We also get the fun reveal that Dr. Gordon has been an accomplice to Jigsaw this whole time. What can’t the Saw franchise retcon? We’ll tune into Saw X, which apparently takes place between Saw and Saw II, to find out.
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