How to Watch the Saw Movies in Chronological Order

The Saw Movies successful (Present Time) Chronological Order

1. Saw (2004)

Saw, the archetypal introduction of this mega-horror franchise, is really dissimilar each the different Saw movies. It's mostly acceptable successful 1 country and acts similar a menacing, lethal flight country arsenic a dirtbag doc (Cary Elwes) and a sleazy lensman (writer Leigh Whannell) are forced to violently prevention their ain lives by playing a mysterious crippled acceptable successful spot by an unseen madman. Naturally, there's a slayer twist astatine the end, the archetypal of galore shocking reveals these movies would unleash.

Read our review of Saw.

2. Saw X (2023)

According to the Saw producers, Saw X takes spot takes spot conscionable weeks aft the archetypal movie and earlier the events of Saw II. The movie goes into the details of John Kramer attempting to cure his cancer. If you don't privation to beryllium spoiled astir the details you'll conscionable person to ticker it yourself. You tin commencement with the archetypal movie and determination consecutive to this 1 earlier finishing the remainder of the series.

Read our review of Saw X.

3. Saw II (2005)

Saw II greatly expanded the wicked satellite of Saw, giving trap-setter Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) a look and voice, on with motivations and convictions. Acting arsenic a cruel dungeon master, Jigsaw runs a "game" with aggregate participants, each helium wants to thatch a invaluable lesson, including the lad of an abusive homicide detective (Donnie Wahlberg). Once again the timepiece is ticking and SAW II, a worthy sequel, drops 2 antithetic large swerves astatine the extremity -- tricks that would go bid hallmarks.

Read our review of Saw II.

4. Saw III (2006)

Things get undeniably brutal successful Saw III arsenic "torture porn" starts to go a statement for this subgenre of horror. Jigsaw, astir to succumb to terminal cancer, runs (what seems like) 1 past game. But who is the trial really for? How is everything connected? A grieving begetter (Angus Macfadyen) is enactment done a unspeakable crucible portion a doc (Bahar Soomekh) is forced to support Jigsaw live agelong capable to implicit his masterpiece. Believe it oregon not, this is (sort of) the past movie wherever Jigsaw is live successful the present.

Read our review for Saw III.

5. Saw IV (2007)

Saw II showed america Jigsaw's disdain for atrocious cops. Saw IV -- which rather perchance marks the extremity for the series' champion "you'll ne'er spot this coming" twists -- besides showcased however helium had beef with cops...who cared excessively much? Anyhow, contempt Jigsaw virtually dying successful the erstwhile movie an overly determined bull (Lyriq Bent) follows a way of maniacal clues successful bid to prevention the day. Plus, Costas Mandylor's Detective Mark Hoffman is introduced. Yup, the Hoffman Era is officially underway.

Read our review for Saw IV.

6. Saw V (2008)

Saw V gives america a caller villain, a Jigsaw successor, and the "on the movie poster" committedness of an ending we wouldn't believe. Don't get america wrong, the decorativeness was ghoulish and gross but it was a acold outcry from the ambush endings we'd seen successful the erstwhile 4 movies. Saw V is 1 of the saga's debased points, arsenic a multi-roomed "game" is played by respective victims portion an FBI Agent (Scott Patterson) gets wrong a hair's breadth of cornering the city's caller bogeyman.

Read our review for Saw V.

7. Saw VI (2009)

Saw VI, contempt inactive landing smack dab successful the mediate of the Hoffmanaissance, is considered the precocious constituent of Saw's backmost half. This installment pits Detective Hoffman against Jigsaw's ex-wife, Jill (Betsy Russell), portion besides putting the screws to a repugnant wellness security enforcement (Peter Outerbridge) - and adjacent a mates of predatory lenders -- successful a "game" that wraps up with 1 of the nastiest kills of the series.

Read our review for Saw VI.

8. Saw 3D (2010)

Saving what could person been the champion twist for last, arsenic a reward for fans who'd watched and obsessed implicit each film, Saw 3D fell flat. Yes, including the large "gotcha" conclusion, which was conscionable a reworking of things we'd seen before, done better. Billed arsenic "The Final Chapter," this movie focused connected a phony "trap survivor" beingness manager (Sean Patrick Flanery) arsenic he's forced to bash the Jigsaw creation for real. Everything came afloat ellipse present but the extremity effect felt empty.

Read our review for Saw 3D.

9. Jigsaw (2017)

Seven years aft the "Final Chapter," someone's moving a crippled again, and taunting the constabulary with mutilated bodies connected apical of it. Is it a Jigsaw copycat? Or did the existent woody travel backmost from the large beyond somehow? The folks down Jigsaw thought that the agelong interruption mightiness marque aged twists consciousness caller again. They were mistaken, sadly. Going backmost to Jigsaw's aboriginal days, and revealing yet another apprentice we'd ne'er seen before, seemed to beryllium the lone mode to proceed a franchise that killed disconnected its main villain successful the 3rd movie.

Read our review of Jigsaw.

10. Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)

When Chris Rock decided to bash a Saw film, based connected a communicative he'd conceived himself, excitement for the franchise was renewed. The extremity goods, however, were a spot bereft arsenic Rock playing a detective tracking a (this clip for real) Jigsaw copycat, targeting atrocious cops, came disconnected much by-the-numbers than audiences expected. Spiral marks the archetypal movie not to person Tobin Bell play Jigsaw/John Kramer and though erstwhile movies had surely tally retired of flashback worldly for him, his lack was felt.

Read our review of Spiral: From the Book of Saw.

The Saw Movies successful (Flashback) Chronological Order

Alright, present we go. These small blurbs incorporate SPOILERS for the Saw franchise, arsenic this database tracks John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, and his progression from joined technologist to divorced, dying torture-lunatic. And that includes all the people helium recruited to assistance him on the way, who outpouring up passim the bid arsenic crippled twists. So to ticker John's beingness play out, spell successful this order...

Saw IV

Right aft the bid killed him disconnected successful Saw III, Tobin Bell inactive got to instrumentality astir for a flashback to John's life, joined to Jill, past large and moving a rehab clinic. A convulsive brushwood with a junkie causes a miscarriage. A strained matrimony ends successful divorce. John tries to termination himself but survives, helping him travel up with "games" wherever radical tin beryllium however overmuch they worth their lives by harming themselves to past death.

Jigsaw

Now it's yet unclear who the archetypal apprentice was: Logan Nelson oregon Mark Hoffman. There are arguments for some sides. But due to the fact that Nelson ne'er appeared with Hoffman oregon Amanda, he's this floating outer enlistee who whitethorn person been the archetypal idiosyncratic taken nether Jigsaw's wing. He was a crippled subordinate who accidentally survived his trial (placed determination due to the fact that his bungling led to John's crab diagnosis being delayed). After John spares his life, helium adopts the Jigsaw doctrine and helps physique the dreaded, famed reverse-beartrap.

Saw V

Saw IV revealed Mark Hoffman was successful with Jigsaw but Saw V showed however that meeting, and tutelage, came about. Mark, a crooked bull bent connected revenge for his sister's death, killed his sister's assailant successful the benignant of a Jigsaw trap to fell his crime, truthful that it would beryllium blamed connected John. John finds him nevertheless and much oregon little forces him to go his main stooge, and the 2 of them are shown mounting up traps and games from the erstwhile movies.

Saw II

As 1 of the film's 2 large extremity twists, Amanda Young is revealed to beryllium a caller apprentice, planted wrong the crippled itself. Amanda, seen successful the archetypal film, is an existent (not accidental) trap survivor, who past finds redemption successful John's huffy mission.

Saw III

This is different Amanda-heavy communicative (we cognize wherefore by the end) and we spot flashbacks of her and John mounting up the flight country trap script from the archetypal Saw movie.

Saw

Saw is Saw is Saw.

Saw 3D

This 1 revealed, close astatine the end, that Dr. Gordon, from the archetypal Saw, was saved by Jigsaw and turned into an apprentice nary of the others adjacent knew about, with orders to nonstop convulsive retribution if thing ever happened to Jill.

Saw VI

We spot the hostility betwixt Hoffman and Amanda, arsenic Hoffman blackmails her with the cognition she was connected to the incidental that caused Jill's miscarriage.

How to Watch The Saw Movies by Release Date

If you're looking to ticker each the movies successful theatrical merchandise order, the close database is below:

1. Saw (2004)
2. Saw II (2005)
3. Saw III (2006)
4. Saw IV (2007)
5. Saw V (2008)
6. Saw VI (2009)
7. Saw 3D (2010)
8. Jigsaw (2017)
9. Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
10. Saw X (2023)

Upcoming Saw Movies

The adjacent task successful the Saw franchise, Saw XI, was expected to deed theaters successful September aft being delayed retired of 2024, though it's present been delayed indefinitely owed to "inter-squabbling betwixt producers and Lionsgate."

“We haven’t heard thing since May [2024],” Saw XI screenwriter Patrick Melton said successful March. “It’s stalled astatine a managerial level. It has thing to bash with the originative oregon thing else. There’s higher-level things astatine play.”

Since the reports of the Saw XI's cancellation, Blumhouse reportedly acquired the rights to aboriginal Saw movies and series. As such, it's beauteous apt we'll get to spot the iconic fearfulness workplace bring Jigsaw backmost successful 1 signifier oregon another.

Matt Fowler is simply a freelance amusement writer/critic, covering TV news, reviews, interviews and features connected IGN for 13+ years.