The Jigsaw franchise (AKA Saw, Saw Franchise, those really disgusting movies that got popular for some reason) is one of my favorite horror movie series. It's ridiculous and the plot makes very little sense, but that's what makes them so good. The first film was capitivating and seeing how John Kramer's genius unfolds throughout the following films is incredibly entertaining.
My thoughts
Saw (2004)- Masterpiece. Beautiful. Incredible.
Saw 2 (2005)- I wish Amanda had more movies.
Saw 3 (2006)- I think the twists are always pretty intense, but this one was wild. I had no idea how every event was connected, and I feel like this was the end of the "best" Saw movies.
Saw 4 (2007)- Even though this one takes place at the same time as Saw 3, it was less enjoyable to me. Amanda's traps are unwinnable and go completely against the previous motives set up by John. This was great character building though, if she didn't DIE. Hoffman being the one to carry on Jigsaw's work felt like a horrible decision to me. He had no real connection or personal motivations in the way that Amanda and John did.
Saw 5 (2008)- I liked this one, but, again, I'm not the biggest fan of Hoffman or his involvement in the games. He made the case way too personal. I do not like the ongoing theme of "all the victims are related to the police force." However, once again the twist was enough to make this an awesome movie.
Saw 6 (2009)- This movie was incredible. We get back to the motivations of John Kramer himself as Hoffman and Jill work to fulfill his requests. The traps in this one were really inventive and I liked the moral questions they posed as far as the American Healthcare System goes.
Saw: The Final Chapter (2010)- Also known as Saw 3D or Saw 7, this movie was bad. The choice to make a Jigsaw movie 3D was cool and a novelty at the time, but it just did not hit the same way the previous movies did. I didn't watch this movie in it's original theater form (I was 8 when it came out), but this has made it all the more obvious how bad the movie is. I liked the return of Dr. Lawrence (wish it was Adam tbh), but the overall vibe of the movie is completely off from Saw 2004.
Jigsaw (2017)- This one I did see in theaters with my friends, and I loved it. The traps were pretty basic compared to the previous movie, but it was more in tune with the original vibe. However, the ending is confusing. It comes out of nowhere and seems to introduce a completely new accomplice just out of thin air. Now the coroner is involved?? That's just part of the charm.
Saw X (2023)- I didn’t think they could top Saw 1, but this is truly the best one in my opinion. I wish more of them had this level of depth to them. The traps were HORRIFIC. I loved them bringing back Amanda and that we got to see more of her side of the traps. This was an interesting side to Kramer, the traps were seemingly impossible; each person had just barely not enough time, with the exception of Gabriella. They would have had to start immediately, with no time to process the rules or their inevitable demise. I was glad to see more of Amanda’s compassion, which I realize is a silly thing to say about the Saw movies but still. This movie humanized John in a really interesting way, I was glad to see his “moral code” explored in more depth. This movie made me feel things I never expected from a Saw movie. As always THE TWIST !!!!!!!! Oh my god. Not only that, the END CREDIT SCENE “I call that ‘epic bad luck.’" oh please. That was such a funny little thing to throw in there but I loved it.
Amanda Young
Pig Face