10. “Saw 3D” (“Saw 3D”), 2010, dir. Kevin Grotert
The seventh film in the series was positioned as the last film – and that was the case for the next seven years (until the release of the reboot in 2017). The tradition of watching fresh fountains of blood and courage was interrupted in a less than happy way. By then even loyal fans seem to have grown tired of this cycle, so the box office plummeted, so it was decided to incorporate the developments from the two parts simultaneously into a single film. It didn’t help: okay fans, but by the seventh “Saw” the “Saw” itself was tired of the “Saw”. The series ran out of strength and gave up, drifting into absurd garbage and torture for the sake of torture: it became fundamentally impossible to beat in the designer’s “games” (detective Mark Hoffman, by that time one of the students of Tobin Bell’s hero, had been operating under this pseudonym for a long time, and someone testing the “will to live” was not his main task). This means that it becomes completely irrelevant to monitor what is happening. Still, “Saw 3D” managed to deliver a spectacular (silly but effective) finale, with the same Dr. It brought Lawrence Gordon back to the big screen.
9. “Saw: Spiral” (“Spiral: From the Saw Book”), 2020, dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
A Saw spin-off seemed like a good idea on paper: The film was clearly trying to return to the roots of the series, once inspired by David Fincher’s cult thriller Seven, and emphasize the detective element. Here Darren Lynn Bousman is back at the helm, holding the director’s chair from episode two through episode four (that’s two out of three in terms of success), but if “Spiral” has any chance, it’s buried safely by comedian Chris. Rock is the one who started this whole project. His anticharism evokes painful memories of Tommy Wiseau’s song “Room,” and the horribly inappropriate rapping on the soundtrack makes you want to quickly join the losers in the local maniac’s “games.” The only bright spot in this whole misunderstanding is Samuel L. Jackson, who plays the hero’s father, but of course his efforts alone are not enough to save the situation.
8. “Saw 4” (“Saw IV”), 2007, dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
The fourth episode was the first clear signal that all was not well for “Saw,” thankfully. This is where the soul began to disappear from the series, as it were: starting from the fourth episode, inventor John Kramer officially died, after which his heirs moved on (except for Amanda, who also died), and “Saw” creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell are not involved in the writing of the script. Pesky holes and inconsistencies began to appear in the plot, which everyone kept twisting and twisting, as if it were one of the Builder’s deadly devices. However, since the developments here do not yet fall into the category of nonsense, the film manages to offer many pleasant surprises.
7. “Saw 5” (“Saw V”), 2008, dir. David Hackl
The next episode took over everything from the fourth “Saw” except the director: Bousman’s position went to David Hackl, who worked as production designer and second director in the previous episodes, and after this episode he left the series altogether. It becomes increasingly difficult to follow the non-linear narrative here (you have to keep a lot of things in your head). What sets The Fifth Saw apart from its predecessor is its likable hero (agent Peter Strahm also had one of the most memorable deaths) and slightly more entertaining trappings.
6. “Saw 8” (“Puzzle”), 2017, dir. Peter and Michael Spirigi
The Saw reboot made for a downright ridiculous movie, but it’s ridiculous enough to be funny enough to come across as a breath of fresh air. In a way, it was a breath of fresh air: for the sake of diversity, the picture here was brought into line with certain cinematic standards and did not resemble an average television production, and the flashbacks familiar to the series managed to make a good joke. in the audience.
5. “Saw 6” (“Saw VI”), 2009, dir. Kevin Grotert
Although in the second half of the distance “Saw” clearly regretted his involvement in this race, sometimes a second wind still blew in the series. This look was the sixth episode – the first of the films that Kevin Grotert, the editor of all previous films, made as a director (as we remember, he is also responsible for the subsequent seventh episode, which opened this list). Here the franchise suddenly tries to squeeze something meaningful (we will not take into account John Kramer’s pseudo-philosophical reasoning in this vein) and decides to talk about capitalism – that is, he writes with a uniform meat grinder not only the next ” Designer’s game”, but also The so-called American healthcare system is also in. As a nice addition, the level of cinematography has increased a bit here (it’s still a TV production, but it’s no longer mediocre).
4. “Saw 2” (“Saw II”), 2005, dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
Greenlit after its initial opening weekend, the second Saw was the follow-up to Die Hard for the series. Video director Darren Lynn Bousman’s script, which originally had nothing to do with “Saw,” was reworked and added to the series so you wouldn’t suspect a problem. From this came as worthy a sequel as possible to the hit by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, which finally gave viewers the opportunity to get to know Tobin Bell’s character better (he was stretched to the end in the previous episode), and also Amanda interestingly returned to the screen from the last film – He was the first of Kramer’s followers to be presented. And right there in the second “Saw” there’s a scene with a pool of syringes puncturing the brain indefinitely.
Honorary Award. “Saw 0.5” (“Saw”), 2003, dir. James Wan
Before we move on to the final three, it’s important to mention the short film that started it all. The film was shot as a proof of concept and it coped with the task perfectly. It generally has everything you need (i.e. an inverted trap that rips your face off), except for the legendary “Hello Zepp” track that former Nine Inch Nails member Charlie Clouser wrote for its first episode. franchise and became its central theme. The tape can be watched for free on YouTube.
3. “Saw 3” (“Saw III”), 2006, dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
The second Saw had a more memorable ensemble and trappings, but it was the third part that made a significant contribution to the development of the heroes of Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith: the film tried to get the most out of the on-screen duo. It became one of the series’ best finds, and it succeeded (not that you’d be more worried about their relationships than your own, but the field is related). This series also benefits from its harmonious composition and clever plotting.
2. “Saw 10” (“Saw X”), 2023, dir. Kevin Grotert
It seems like no one really expected anything from “Saw” in 2023, which they’ve tried to return to the screens twice before with little success. But the new installment came out of nowhere and received the highest praise in the entire history of the film franchise. It cannot be said that the generation of critics who grew up in the 2000s and loved “Saw” as an integral part of their childhood finally got their hands on the printed work. Only in the tenth movie, the series suddenly became generous with full-fledged films – that is, not only those with high-quality pictures (they are great here), but also written drama and even meaningful dialogues. This is a performance that truly pays dividends for Bell, confirming that the artist still has a lot to say and show in the framework of the main role in his career (here his hero is truly in the spotlight for the first time). Smith, returning to the role of Amanda, is not far behind. If the third “Saw” tried to squeeze everything out of this acting duo, then the tenth launched it into the stratosphere. Let’s just say that even the series’ biggest failures were worth enduring.
1. “Saw: The Survival Game” (“Saw”), 2004, dir. James Wan
Yes, this list does not have such a ridiculous ending as the seventh film: all the surprises ended at the second point. Let’s explain anyway. The logic is this: the tenth “Saw” is great, but it would not have appeared if it were not for the impudent Hollywood debut of director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell (the latter also played one of the main roles in the film – photographer Adam, Dr). Gordon’s “cellmate”). Knee-jerk horror spawned one of the main franchises in the entire genre (Wan and Whannell would later repeat the trick in Insidious, and Wan would repeat it separately in The Conjuring) and launched its own “torture porn” subgenre (see – on a different note, but success cannot be denied). “Saw” is clear proof that even though it’s a movie about two people in a single location, with enough fire in your eyes you can put together a movie you’ll never be able to look away from.