Ranking All 7 Films in the 'Saw' Series

7. 'Saw II'

The development of Saw II is a clear example of Lionsgate having no idea the kind of magic that it had captured with Saw, immediately greenlighting this sequel after the opening weekend success of the first film.

While the original film focused on contained groups of people, Saw II took the "bigger is better" approach and immediately upped the stakes by forcing multiple people to work together in a house to find their freedom. In addition to Jigsaw, a.k.a. John Kramer (Tobin Bell), getting more screentime to explore his motivations, we also learned more about Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith), who managed to escape one of his traps and come to appreciate life like never before.

Thanks to the success of Saw, the filmmaker's behind the original, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, had moved on to other projects by the time the film was released, which made them unavailable to develop the sequel. The result was a film that felt rushed and merely repeated the original film's formula, but with more people, while failing to inject anything new into the saga.

6. 'Saw IV'

Compelling characters that the audience builds connections with has never been a strong suit of the Saw series, with Saw IV being yet another example of these shortcomings.

After the disappearance of his partner in Saw II, Rigg (Lyriq Bent) is consumed by his quest to find him. This quest to do good is what leads to his downfall, as he is given the clues to find his partner, but with each person stuck in a trap he comes across, he delays the discovery of his partner by helping them out of their trap. Rigg's law enforcement background and refusal to ignore those in need end up becoming the biggest obstacles he must overcome.

Given how much the first three films focused on victims sacrificing their own body in order to continue living, the fact that Saw IV decided to keep its main character safe throughout the process by making him sacrifice other people felt like a bizarre shift for the series. It resulted in a contradictory narrative, especially compared to every other installment in the series.

5. 'Saw III'

Much like Saw II had previously done, the filmmakers didn't quite know the potential they had on their hands and attempted to recreate the first two films in a paint-by-numbers format.

In hopes of lending a more emotional core to the story, this film focused on a man whose son was killed by a drunk driver embarking on a journey that forced him to confront people who led to the driver's freedom. His choice was either help the people he wanted revenge against or recognize their atonement to set them free. Another attempt at playing on the audience's emotions was featuring Kramer's terminal illness coming to fruition, using traps to coerce a doctor to extend his life to the best of their abilities.

After the first film, the concept of Jigsaw having an apprentice was introduced, but the explanation of this apprentice didn't entirely feel organic. With Saw III, we at least got a villain whose motivations seemed more clear and their character played an integral role in future installments.

4. 'Saw VI'

After years of formulaic narratives, the sixth film in the saga got slightly political, taking a stance on the health care system and insurance companies in America.

When an insurance executive wakes up in a warehouse, he learns that at the end of a series of mazes, he'll reunite with his captured family. Along the way, he'll be forced to choose between his employees, deeming who gets to live and who has to die. Ultimately, we learn that this executive denied coverage for John Kramer prior to his death, with Jigsaw's apprentice exacting their revenge for the seemingly arbitrary rules for insurance companies that allow its clients to die.

Throughout the previous five films, the closest an audience member got to sympathizing with anyone in the film was putting yourself in their situation in regards to a trap, but the incorporation of the insurance elements gave the film deeper emotional impact and shed light on insurance companies only viewing their clients as statistics.

While this might have been the only attempt to introduce social themes into a narrative, it marked a welcome change for the series, despite the film's characters and traps being unexceptional.

3. 'Saw V'

The early installments in the series often focused on one character in isolation, with no one to help, having to decide their own fate. With Saw V, however, the series utilized themes of cooperation and selfishness in hopes of adding complexity.

Five people wake up in a room together and are instructed to "ignore their instincts" in hopes of finding salvation, only for one of these five to die. In the next room, Another sacrifice has to be made, with the implication that each subsequent room will result in one person drawing the short straw. By the time the remaining survivors reach the final room, they finally understand what their instructions about ignoring their instincts meant, causing them to regret all of their decisions along the way.

In a series full of twists and turns regarding a killer and the police's attempts to identify them, this chapter in the saga provided audiences with a conceptual twist as opposed to a narrative one, reminding us of the core message behind Jigsaw's motives, which are about sacrifice merely for the sake of appreciating life.

2. 'Saw 3D'

Billed as the "Final Chapter" in the saga, the horror film cashed in on the trend of 3D effects to provide audiences with a new experience, a goal it somewhat accomplished.

Among many of the film's victims, Bobby (Sean Patrick Flanery) is targeted because he claims to have been a previous victim of Jigsaw who escaped and wrote a self-help book. As the still-living Jigsaw killer knew Bobby was a fraud, they forced him to embrace the lessons he claimed to have learned in the stories that earned him a personal profit. Bobby is forced to figuratively put his money where his mouth is to see if he truly deserves to survive, while vigilantes who disagree with the current Jigsaw's motives spring into action in hopes of honoring John Kramer's true legacy.

Whether you watch this film in 3D or in a standard format, all of the traps were designed to create explosive mayhem and carnage. The series has never shied away from violence, but seemingly refused to admit that the most compelling component of each film was the gore, which this installment fully embraced for the 3D format. Not only are the special effects of the traps some of the best in the whole franchise, the element of the vigilantes pays its respects to the original film and what made it unique, as the vigilantes themselves seemingly represented fans of the first installment.

Additionally, this film featured the return of Cary Elwes, who had been missing since Saw, lending a nice bookend to the supposed final installment.

1. 'Saw'

Unsurprisingly, the original film still reigns supreme as the most interesting chapter in the series, as it marked a shift in the genre world and led to the coining of the phrase "torture porn."

Two men wake up in a decrepit bathroom with their legs chained to immovable objects. They both have handsaws within reach, but the blades aren't strong enough to cut through their restraints. A cassette tape alerts them to the decision they must make: live or die.

The late '90s was full of the genre's return to teenage slashers like Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and a variety of imitators. The release of Saw both harkened back to the gross and gory films of the '80s while also incorporating the latest special effects to disgust audiences like never before. The Saw series, in conjunction with films like the Hostel series and the Human Centipede series, demonstrated that, first and foremost, the violence its main characters were subjected to were the most important element of each film, as opposed to creating compelling characters or a terrifying narrative.

Since its creation, the phrase "torture porn" has been thrown around often, mostly incorrectly, but the subtleties of the original Saw and shocking twists made for a compelling horror film that breathed life into a genre that had become saturated with teen screams.