The Saw Legacy

Last Updated on July 26, 2021

Unless you’ve been living on another planet – or simply don’t watch t.v. or read our site – you know that on October 23rd comes the sixth chapter in the SAW franchise. From director Kevin Greutert and writers Marcus Dunston and Patrick Melton, SAW VI brings us the latest exploits of Hoffman, the morbid killer who took the reins from the deceased (?) John Kramer, a.k.a. Jigsaw. If you know the series of films, you know that one can’t exactly just walk into this movie unprepared. So, in conjunction with our pals over at Lionsgate, we thought we’d prepare a little game of catch-up for y’all.

SAW

In 2004, we were introduced to Jigsaw a deranged, sadistic serial killer who took pleasure in abducting morally wayward people and forcing them to play horrific games for their own survival. Having kidnapped a doctor (Cary Elwes) and a photographer (Leigh Wannell), Jigsaw made the two strangers confront their deceitful lives – and each other – all the while stringing along a third party (Michael Emerson) who holds the doctor’s family hostage… Only Jigsaw emerges – quite literally – from the situation victorious.

BEST TRAP: Obviously, the one that started it all: The helpless prisoners of Jigsaw are forced to saw off their legs to free themselves from their shackles.

DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: $55.1 million.

SAW II

In the far more complicated sequel, Jigsaw reveals just how complex a fellow he can be. While dishing out life lessons to a handful of druggies, misfits, and criminals – including “Amanda”, a character who had previously survived one of the villain’s nasty traps – Jigsaw takes center stage and squares off with a morally suspect cop (Donnie Wahlberg), whose son just happens to be one of the newest victims.

The best of the SAW films, SAW II set the standard for the franchise’s now well-known penchant for playing around with time (while it seems like the two storylines are taking place simultaneously, that is not the case), as well as expectations of its characters (Amanda is revealed to be in on the whole game). After it opens to $31 million, it’s obvious that a new horror phenomena (and icon) has been born.

BEST TRAP: Even though she doesn’t die, there’s something particularly grotesque about Amanda’s plight in the pit of needles (pic above).

DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: $87 million.

SAW III

Perhaps the most disturbing of the series, SAW III introduced us to Jeff (Angus MacFadyen), a man grieving the loss of his son, who is put through a seriously grueling test of his will to forgive all those who aided – in one way or another – in his current misery. Meanwhile, his surgeon wife is being held captive by Amanda and forced to aid the ailing Jigsaw. The film’s intense subject matter, and very strong performances, make for an unusually gripping – though ugly – horror sequel.

The film infamously ends with the death of both Amanda and Jigsaw, seemingly wrapping a fairly tidy bow on a trio of serviceable horror films. After it opens to $33 million (against a budget of $10 million), it is immediately announced that – logic be damned – Jigsaw would return for a fourth SAW film… With some new help…

BEST TRAP: A man getting his limbs twisted to the breaking point is one of the most brutal scenarios SAW has ever subjected us to.

DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: $80 million.

SAW IV

If it wasn’t perfectly clear at the end of SAW III – where his throat was viciously slit by an enraged Jeff – it’s confirmed at the beginning of SAW IV that Jigsaw is indeed quite dead. So where to go from here? SAW IV throws in the kitchen sink as it introduces us to a plethora of new victims, old faces, traps, and red herrings – culminating in the revelation that forensic detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) – who had been on the outskirts of the last film – is yet another Jigsaw disciple. Certainly showing its wear at this point, SAW IV still wasn’t about to halt the series’ win streak, grossing $31 million in its opening weekend and opening the door for yet another sequel – this time with Hoffman as the clear successor to the villainous throne.

BEST TRAP: A bloated pervert gets ripped to shreds in one of the rare times when we actually don’t feel a tinge of sympathy for a victim of Jigsaw’s.

DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: $63 million.

SAW V

Launching off from the somewhat inexplicable finale of SAW IV, SAW V dove forward with its least interesting duel-storyline to date: the punishment of a group of people responsible for a real-estate scam gone wrong, and the backstory of Hoffman, who apparently was instrumental in almost all of the previous films’ traps up to this point (really just an excuse to shoehorn Jigsaw into a few scenes and keep this exhausted franchise alive). Throw in a completely stiff Scott Patterson as an obsessed agent on Hoffman’s trail, and you’ve got a SAW movie that is the very definition of going through the motions…

Yet, despite the fact that it now has a much less charismatic villain at its center, SAW V saw (heehee) an opening of $30 million, making clear the fact that the audience’s appetite for this torturous brand-name was not yet sated.

BEST TRAP: The flick’s opening is easily its high point. A guy has to crush his own hands to stop a looming pendulum from cutting him in half. It’s all downhill from there.

DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: $56.7 million.

As you can tell, the first film aside, there has been diminishing returns for SAW at the box office. Of course, the sequels have all opened above $30 million, and they’re all relatively cheap to make, but they their legs ain’t what they used to be. (Maybe they got chopped off…) So as we approach October 23rd, the horror community waits to see what SAW VI’s fate will be. Are we still interested in Jigsaw and Hoffman’s games, or are we done with the sanctimonious judging and pitiless slaughter? Will the shocking box office performance of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY overshadow another potential SAW victory?

Finally, will YOU see SAW VI? Make your choice…