Rank The Saw Movies
 

Wonder if any Saw fans are here on Movie Forums. I know a lot of people don't care for them but the series is among my favorite Horror series and I love it as a whole. For the time it was something creative and fresh, and while one can argue the series wore out it's appeal over the course of so many sequels, it's impact on the genre is definitely there.

Any Saw fans here, how do you rank all seven movies of the set in your order of preference? For me they go:


Saw II
Saw
Saw VI
Saw V
Saw IV
Saw VII
Saw III

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Really only cared for the first one, but mine is pretty similar actually. Just switch I and II.

That's pretty neat, your list is almost the same as mine except 1 and 2 are switched around?

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Apparently I have missed some, I thought there were only 6 and I never watched the 6th one.

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Saw
Saw IV
Saw II
Saw III
Saw V
Saw: The Final Chapter
Saw VI


I think Saw, Saw II and Saw IV had the most interesting and better twists out of the whole series.

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Saw II
Saw III
Saw (best twist in the series, though)
Saw VI
Saw IV
Saw: The Final Chapter
Saw V

There's seven entries in all. In addition there's also two video games that are set in-between the events of the first and second films that fill in some gaps and explain more things.

On a related note, I think I'll post my favorite trap per movie.


1 - Jaw Splitter
2 - Needle Pit
3 - Rack
4 - Knife Chair
5 - Pendulum
6 - Steam Maze
7 - Garage/Car Trap


One of the things I love about the series are it's inventive and elaborate death traps.

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Hi Shadow, yeah I loved the Saw movies, they came out around my birthday and when the first one came out my friend treated me to a free ticket. We both came out of the cinema suitably chilled and I really felt like I'd never seen anything like it, since then I stuck with them right to the end (much to my friends dismay at the weakening of the series) but it will always have a place in my heart. Not sure I could rate them in order but the first was definitely a game changer, for better or worse.

The first Saw is the only one I didn't see in theaters. Must've been a great movie to see unspoiled for the first time. It's easy for people to look back on the series with dismay but when it first burst onto the scene there was nothing like it for sure.

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agreed Shadow, the first one blew my mind, can't say I was really into horror before I saw Saw.

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I've been a long-time Horror fan since I was small. I love the series and it was a lot of fun seeing the newest sequel every October since 2005 and speculating where the series could go next.

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I've only seen part of the first one and all of the second one. I didn't care for those movie. Not sure why they are so hyped.

You probably wouldn't like the rest of the series if you didn't care for the first two.

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Loved Saw I (and I normally hate horror movies) and really enjoyed Saw II, from then on, it has just been down hill.

Did you see any of the sequels past the second?

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The Saw movies were blood n gore without being mindless nonesence.
First one was my favourite.

How do you rank them in order of preference?

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I only watched the first four, and it would 1, 4, 2 and 3. The fourth one is probably my favourite, but the first one is the best of the series.

If you enjoyed the first four then the other three are definitely worth seeing. 4 ties heavily into the following two sequels as well.

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On a related note, has anyone ever had a marathon of the entire series in a row? I've done it a few times, it's fun provided you have a day set aside with no plans and the patience to sit through seven movies in a row.

I have all seven of them on DVD. They're all entertaining in their own way, but some are definitely better than others.
Saw
Saw 2
Saw 6
Saw 3
Saw 7
Saw 4
Saw 5
The first two movies are just about tied as my favorites of the series. They were both really intense with some genuinely interesting characters, and the twist ending to each one caught me completely off guard. The third one had some of the best traps, but after seeing how it ended I had a feeling it was just going to go downhill from there.
I thought the fifth was the weakest in that some of its traps were ones that you'd seen in other movies before, such as the swinging pendulum and the closing walls. And there was no twist at the end, just an ending.
The sixth, however, was the best one to come after the second. The story was more interesting than those of the three films that preceded it, and although the twist wasn't much it was still surprising.
Overall, Saw isn't my favorite franchise, but I'd say it's somewhere in my top ten. Also, I think that Tobin Bell should be in more movies because that guy is awesome.

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I'm glad to see others here like the series, it gets an undeserved bad rap for sure.

Seeing as there's some Saw fans here, I thought I'd share this, a rare animated version of the Rebirth prequel comic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCe03k0HeG0

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On a related note, I wonder if next year for the 10th anniversary if we might get a new sequel or a re-release of the original? I can't imagine nothing not being done for the occasion.

How can you say that? I agree it wasn't a total surprise as in some new factor was revealed that wasn't apparent the whole time, but I still think the ending was good, AND it showed Jigsaw in a different light. I like Saw 5 because, well, I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but the traps are different and I like the overall concept. You probably know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, I have I-V on DVD, I've seen VI, and I haven't seen Final Chapter or(and?) 3D. But this is how I rank 1-6. And I also want to say I rank them on the enjoyability after seeing them multiple times and knowing the endings.

II
I
V
IV
VI
III

1 only out beats 5 because its cooler every time I see it to see little things which are brought back in later movies. Also, 6 might beat 4, I get them mixed up and I haven't seen 4 in a while, 6 even longer of a while.

7 is worth a watch just to complete the series.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the fact that they explored Jigsaw's past a little more. I will admit I like that aspect of the film.

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Jigsaw's backstory was one of my favorite parts of the fourth one.

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Saw II
Saw
Saw III
Saw VI
Saw V
Saw IV
Saw VII

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I forgot to ask, but has anyone played the two Saw video games? I only played the first one and it was pretty good, it ties into the films very interestingly and filled in some of the gaps.

For anyone who's a fan, here's a neat little bonus, the Full Disclosure Report fake documentary from the first movie's Special Editon:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3xNwrMj-Vk

Relating to the topic at hand, did anyone go to the Halloween Horror Nights Saw attraction? It looks pretty fun from this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXuxLKsNlqs

I liked the first few, but got a bit tired of them after awhile. :/

The series did go on for quite long, but I do think it's pretty remarkable how for six straight years we got a new installment on a yearly basis.

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Speaking of Saw attractions, has anyone here been to the Thorpe Park roller coaster in the U.K.? It looks pretty fun.

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Saw

The rest.

Honestly, the original is where it's at. The rest followed a tired formula every year and all blend together. With the exception of the sequel and maybe 3, the rest (4, 5, 6, 7) all blend together for me.

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Weird thing is, Saw II was on last night and I actually tuned in to see which one it was because I couldn't remember/decipher which one was which... when I realised which one, I turned off straight away :D

Basically I tuned in just to remember which one II was.

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How do you think you'd rank them all, Rodent?

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Saw

Saw II onward

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Heh, I can tell you're not exactly a fan :D

For any fans of the series, here's a neat series of videos that attempts to piece the timeline together. The other parts of it can be found in the related videos section and on the uploader's channel.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDG31IBuDkc

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

I had some nostalgia hitting me lately because I remember since 2005 it was usually during every August up to 2010 that the trailer for the newest Saw sequel would be released. Definitely a fond memory I have of the series.

Pointless, I know. Just felt like sharing :D

With it nearing October, is anyone else planning a Saw marathon? I always do it every October as part of my Halloween viewing.

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A little late to say this I suppose but recently an eighth installment was announced as being in development, not a total shock. I'd welcome an eighth chapter if it was done right.

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I just realized this October marks the 10th anniversary of the original Saw, hard to believe it's been that long already.

My favs are definitely Saw I & II, III & VI are good too, the other meh.

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Saw
Saw 2,3,4,5,6

6 was a surprising comeback for the series. By that time though a lot of people gave up on the series and didn't bother looking back.

is that for the entire series?

Sure is. I added the half box, because I liked the set-up of the first film, and the apartment scene with the camera flash was tense and well-done (I would actually give Saw btw). That's what irks me so much about Saw; It could have been a lot better than it was. Let's compare some scenes in the film that were similar in set-up to Fincher's far superior Se7en, and dissect what went wrong with Saw.

Both films partially rely on the classic trope of a police procedural to enhance the viewers connection to the crimes and killings in the film. Both films are clearly hyper-real, and extremely stylized, but Se7en grounds the viewer by placing them in the role of sort of the third detective, unraveling clues along with the detectives, which in turn ensnares the viewer in the same web of mystery and violence in which the two leads become subsumed. Everything follows realistically, choices make sense, and the reveals, scares and twists put the viewer through the wringer multiple times. This is classic audience manipulation on a level with Hitchcock. The performances are all perfectly executed, and at no point is the view jarred out of the proceedings on either a narrative or editorial level.

Saw is the complete opposite of this. The view is simply being shown and told things - they rarely experience anything along with the characters - instead, we are told or shown what had happened to people with misguided flashback mechanics. The scene with the barbed wire at first seems very similar to a scene in Se7en, and not just because the production team ripped off the set design (which they did). There are the cops, there is the crime scene, but hmmm, something is different. We don't care about any of the people in the situation. Apparently, the victim is important, because we are told we are dealing with the same killer. In case we didn't get it, we are jacked into another disconnected flashback to see yet another Rube Goldberg device torture another stranger in some depraved way. Wait! Time for a scary doll. OK, back to the room...no wait...let's introduce two cardboard cutout detectives, with pretty much zero similarity to actual characters with depth and progression, just so we have some other people not trapped in the room to talk about crimes and clues while they completely miss the target and chase the wrong guy. The only point of these guys is another outlet for exposition.

"Show me, don't tell me." - Rush

All of the above served one purpose for me: It completely destroyed any real tension that was being built in the room situation. You know what - there is actually some good stuff to be found as far as tension and mystery, if we had only stayed in the room, finding more creative ways to reveal the puzzle pieces of the mystery without constantly deflating tension. Se7en didn't show us parts of a different movie that might have been made but wasn't to explain itself - Saw does this constantly. We don;t need to see random scenes that constantly yell "SEE - LOOK HOW SICK THIS GUY IS."

Can't we get that idea from the events that matter in this narrative? Yeah, two dudes have been chained/drowned, and tormented in the room, I think the guy doing it might be nuts. Don't you? Bah - they needed to film up a feature film, and they just didn't have the material. If the back story is so interesting and creative, then make that movie instead. Weak and lazy methodology, IMO.

With two different actors and a revamped screenplay, I think James Wan had/has the vision to do something pretty damn good (see: The Conjuring). Elwes is miscast here. I like the guy, but he just CANNOT handle the freak-outs he keeps going through. Sorry, but I can't help but laugh when he tries to act freaked out. The sequence with him on the cell phone talking to his wife when they are taken hostage has me in stitches when i try to watch it. It is HILARIOUS how bad he is. But wait, he is WAY better than...

dun dun dun...the WORST actor on the face of the planet, Leigh Whannel. I am not talking about this guy again; I am just not doing it. I have flayed this guy on this site multiple times - dig it up if you wish. Short version: this guy does NOT belong in front of a camera, ever.

Danny Glover: Pretty sure they drugged this guy to get him on set. Worst performance of his career, period.

The editing: What the **** is this? Definitely the worst part of the film, the editing is straight out of an energy drink commercial. Jump cuts, stutters, aggressive rack focusing back and forth, rotations, snap zooms...man, the list goes on. They slam you with harsh audio in time with the edits too - just abysmally bad.

Wan knows it, too. Just look at his style now: Long, quiet tracking shots that build tension all on their own, very few cheap shots in both footage and audio (but still there to some extent), and an overall much more elegant approach to editing in general. He shoots differently, directs differently, and has changed his editing paradigm completely. He knows exactly how bad Saw is, and it's his film.

Wan has exceptional vision, and I think some of that came through, even in Saw, but the end result is a big old mess. A perfect example of biting off more than you can chew.

I'm chattering again. That's enough for now!

I can't find it now, but there's a clip of him shrieking on the phone where he busts out some incredibly high pitched voice. It's hysterical. He's a great actor, and I don't think it's much of a mark against a great actor to say that they can't scream and shriek and flip out, but he can't.

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

All of them are the best, I enjoyed watching every of them

Saw 1. Thats it. Saw 1.

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I didn't think Elwes was bad at all in the first one, I think he reacted like anyone else would in his situation. But to each their own.

The acting in the seventh installment though, yeah. Pretty atrocious for the most part :/

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I like Saw I and II. Stopped watching after III

I saw Saw and Saw is better than the rest of the Saw films. Saw, the other Saw's and the Saw that I saw are all Saw's.

I'd give the other films after 3 a chance, IMO they get better after that one, particularly 6.

I like all Saw movies except the last one. They forgot John Kramer's philosophy. The trap of Chester Bennington was terrible. And many more abysmal stuff...

Yes!

This is the exact scene and line I was thinking off when I mentioned it! He yells his wife's name into the phone, and the look on his face and the delivery had me cracking the frak up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqyk5l9F1j4

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I thought he did fine in that scene, he came off frightened and desperate. But to each their own.

It wasn't the best series finale for sure, felt so rushed and like they were more concerned about throwing copious amounts of gore at the screen.

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Can't believe in October in just four months from now the first Saw will be ten years old. Doesn't feel like it came out that long ago at all.

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

I go back and forth on the Saw movies. :D

Are you on a see-saw?

http://www.movieforums.com/community...1&d=1404328332

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

SAW II
SAW IV
SAW V
SAW
SAW III
SAW VI

And i also think i missed one, i just remember that they made one in 3d right?

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Yes, that's the one you left off, the seventh film.

I've only seen the first 3. I'd rank the 2nd one as my favorite. By the 3rd film I could already tell the series was going downhill so I haven't bothered to watch any of the others yet, and that seems to be what the critics are saying too (I really hated how nearly half of Saw III was just made up of flashback scenes from the previous 2 films).

The series gets better after 3, so I'd give them a chance. 6 in particular is good but you'll be lost if you don't see 3-5 before it since those three have important plot points that 6 builds upon.

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Saw III
Saw
Saw II
Saw VI
Saw V
Saw IV
Saw: The Final Chapter. (Liked the ending of it though)

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The ending to 7 was great, but the movie as a whole left so much to be desired. Six years of the series going strong and that was the best they could do for a series finale?

For any Saw fans, word on a possible eighth movie is that James Wan and Leigh Whannell (series creators) may not be involved with it. I'd rather have both back for the next movie if they can be involved.

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Heads up to Saw fans here that a Blu-ray collection of all seven movies is coming out this September 23rd. No word on special features other than it's got the unrated cuts of all seven.

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Heads up to Saw fans here that the original is getting re-released to theaters this October for the 10th anniversary. I never saw the original in theaters so I aim to remedy this for sure this October.

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

And you think you're the funniest person on mofo....for shame.

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They're all pretty awful except the first, which coincidentally had the only director with some talent.
So my list would be:
Saw

...Then the rest are tied for last.

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James Wan has certainly hit it big after Saw, with The Conjuring and the first two Insidious films, and he's got Fast & Furious 7 coming out next year.

Saw Re-Release Trailer

Can't wait to see it in theaters, only entry I didn't see in theaters during release.

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

To me, the SAW movies have always been fun and games (sorry for the pun), but most importantly the actual story of each movie and the main story throughout about Jigsaws past is what makes them work for me. It's not just mindless fun and yes it is indeed a gory series but fun Halloween horror movies that work as an interesting crime thriller as well.

Here is my ranking of the series...

1. Saw III - the epic finale of the first trilogy and the one in the series I once disliked but now really enjoy
2. Saw II - more traps and more gore, but the story is fun and twist is great though a little implausible
3. Saw VI - yes, this entry in the series is this high, mainly because it tackles a real problem with society and it was a fresh take on the long-running series
4. Saw - I'm sorry, but although a great little thriller the movie has lost its impact to me, and J. Wan is clearly finding his style here
5. Saw V - the main plot is silly but everything around it is quite interesting with Hoffman truly in the center of it all
6. Saw IV - once my favourite of the series but now with a rewatch I discovered how messy it really is, though with a decent twist

... And there is no such thing as a 7th film in the series

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_u_tVuM8j-0...s1600/saw5.jpg

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Indeed. The films actually do have a rather intriguing plot and everything comes together when you piece it all together and learn about Jigsaw's past and how everything came to fruition.

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They're my favorite horror movies ! I saw the first, second and third movie in the same day for the first time. I'd never seen them before that day and I loved them since the beginning.

Saw I is definitely the best.

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Did you see the other four movies after 3 or you're still working your way through them?

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Anyone else going to marathon the series this month? I plan to go through them all in one day next weekend.

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In terms of most disturbing and disgusting, I'd say Saw 2. That needle pit scene makes my stomach churn.

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I think 3 is worse with the gore and disturbing content, especially The Rack trap and ordeal.

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This is still here all this time later. My rank of the films is still the same as before. I feel the series as a whole is solid and still gets too much disliking, but perhaps in due time it'll be looked back in a more favorable light.

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I haven't see any of these. They look too much like snuff films and I'm not into that in any way.

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I watched the first one and found it pretty mediocre, so I figured the sequels would only go downhill from there. Was I wrong?

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Aside from 3 and 7 they're not really snuff-like at all. More like psychological thrillers akin to The Silence Of The Lambs or Se7en, with a touch of the movie Cube.

If you disliked the first I'd still seek out some of the sequels as they're quite different. No two films in the series are alike.

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Saw III - the only one with decent acting, and even then a few drag it down
Saw II - Loved the whole premise of the film, but Amanda in III was too brilliant for this to make it to the top spot!
Saw VI - It was a lot of fun! The traps were quite creative on the whole
Saw - Not going to lie, it bored me a bit
Saw V - Fun traps, but a mess on the whole. Quite a lot of people couldn't act their way out of a paper bag
Saw IV - Mess






Saw 3D :D - Abysmally awful, proof enough they should have finished at the end of first trilogy.

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7 wasn't the best series finale for sure. Part of me wouldn't mind an eighth film for a better conclusion.

Yeah, as a guilty pleasure sort of thing, I really want an 8th film to be made :D and it wouldn't take too much effort to be better than 7 either :lol:

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Five years later there's no reason a better eighth film can't be made.

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I wonder if we ever get another installment if it'll be a sequel or reboot? I honestly wouldn't be opposed to a well-done reboot.

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A new fim was recently announced called Saw: Legacy. No word on the release. Could be interesting but the original storyline got stretched so thin I'm hard-pressed to see where else it can go.

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Saw II
Saw III
Saw
Saw VI
Saw IV
Saw V
Saw: The Final Chapter

Re: Rank The Saw Movies
 

Updating with the recent Jigsaw:


2
1
6
8
5
4
7
3


Jigsaw (AKA Saw VIII) was surprisingly quite good. Got me intrigued for the future of the series.

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Easily my guiltiest pleasure in film, I honesty don't think they're that bad and some of the twists and turns are really well executed. I must have watched each one at least 4 times. Everybody talks about it being a snuff film I don't think it is at all I think the common theme if anything is the almighty twist that has to be in each one, I love it.

SPOILERS

Saw I - The best acting and plot for me the last 5 mins still sends shivers up my spine.
Saw V - I actually really liked the plot with the group all trying to escape and the other plot running beside it, loved the end.
Saw IV - Get's a lot of hate but I loved the traps and thought the twist that III and IV were taking place side by side was great.
Saw VI - Just as people were losing faith with the franchise this came out and turned it round a bit another solid entry.
Saw II - I'm probably one of the few people that likes Donnie Wahlberg as an actor I thought he done well here but I just didn't like the plot and the twist just didn't hit me like a Saw twist should.
Saw III - I didn't like the main character I just didn't care for him at all, the Amanda Jigsaw relationship was becoming really boring too I'm so glad they got away from that.
Saw VII - Just horrible, terrible acting, terrible traps, the doctor coming back should have been massive but it was so horribly executed. I felt it was the right time to bring them to a hault, I hope with the latest entry they've reignited it again.

Jigsaw - I watched it but it wasn't a great copy I'll have to watch it again to put it in the list, it would probably go towards the bottom of my list in truth probably just above III.

All I want from my Saw movies is one massive head**** of a twist.

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I hate all of 'em.