Saw Franchise Ranked

Ugh, I don’t know why I bothered to re-watch these films. Maybe I’m a masochist at heart? They lack the fun factor and suffer from being overly mean spirited and grim. The first two aren’t bad I’ll admit, but it’s all downhill from there as the series essentially becomes a joke. A prime example of how quantity doesn’t equal quality. There’s not a whole lot I really have to say about them, but here are my thoughts, regardless:

Saw II (2005)

Not great, but it’s my favorite Saw film. The story actually isn’t too bad and expands upon the story of Jigsaw without being convoluted and ridiculous (unlike the sequels). Also, there’s a genuine sense of tension throughout and the end twist is clever enough even if it’s not the most plausible.

Saw (2004)

It’s no masterpiece, but it’s a solid horror film in spite of its flaws, primarily the acting, which is laughable at times. It’s engaging and tense throughout, leading to a shocking twist ending. It would’ve been awesome had they not done any sequels and just had this one standalone horror film with a downbeat ending.

Saw III (2006)

This is when the franchise starts to suck IMO. While the kills are creative, it starts to feel too formulaic and mean spirited. The Jigsaw killer himself (real name John Kramer, if that matters) proves he’s just an asshole. What makes him the arbiter of morality and who should live or die?

Saw IV (2007)

This one basically punishes the protagonist who actually hasn’t really done anything bad. His only major flaw is that he thinks he can save everyone, and apparently he was deemed suitable for Jigsaw’s game? Smh, and talk about an unbelievable twist at the end.

Saw V (2008)

Jigsaw has an apprentice, an asshole detective who somehow manages to outsmart everyone and set up every single trap himself. More people are tortured and killed too…lame!

Saw VI (2009)

More of the same, people get tortured and killed, nonsensical and contrived backstory, the asshole detective outsmarts everyone again. They’re just copying and pasting the same script template, aren’t they?

Saw 3D (2010)

So it doesn’t bring back one of the main characters from the first in the most plausible fashion, but at least that asshole detective gets his comeuppance in the end.

I’d also like to add that there’ve been rumors of an eighth film on the horizon. Just when you thought it was “game over” for the series.