“Saw” caused a furor when it premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, gaining acclaim for its shocking narrative detours and a macabre filmmaking style reminiscent of “Se7en.” After grossing over $103 million at the box office (2013 Budget $1.2 million), sequels inevitably followed, and “Saw” quickly became a Halloween tradition for the next six years. Each sequel adds to the scale and spectacle, and watching them in their original release order allows you to see this clever (and crazy) narrative construction. Here’s the entire Saw series in release order:
- “Saw” (2004)
- “Saw II” (2005)
- “Saw III” (2006)
- “Saw IV” (2007)
- “Saw V” (2008)
- “Saw VI” (2009)
- “Saw 3D” (also known as “Saw: The Final Chapter”) (2010)
- “The Puzzle” (2017)
- “Spiral: From the Book of Saw” (2021)
- “Saw X” (2023)
Touted as “The Final Chapter,” the seventh installment of the “Saw” franchise seemed to be the end of the series, especially as it provides answers to some long-awaited questions. Nearly a decade later, the franchise made a less-than-triumphant return with “Jigsaw.” The film has elegant visuals but a lackluster story, and yet it marks a new phase in the storytelling of “Saw” that goes beyond the main character Jigsaw and explores his lasting legacy. “Saw X” was its most successful, earning critical acclaim for maintaining its roots in the porn cake while giving the narrative an emotional gravitas that revealed the humanistic side of Tobin Bell’s character, John Kramer.
While all of these films jump between timelines like “Saw .
