Jigsaw (2017)

Although the latest movies were pretty bad, especially the last one, Saw 3D (which by the way was supposed to end the franchise), I had faith in Jigsaw. I thought seven years could be enough to write something good. Turns out I was wrong. 

More than 10 years after Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) death, bodies are turning up around the city. The police start investigating and guess what, evidence points to one suspect only, John Kramer aka Jigsaw. Meanwhile, a group of five people, Anna (Laura Vandervoort), Ryan (Paul Braunstein), Mitch (Mandela Van Peebles), Carly (Brittany Allen) and a nameless fifth person, are chained to a wall with buckets on their heads and they must play one of Jigsaw's sick games to survive.

Saw 3D (2010)

The Saw franchise has had its ups and downs but I think it's only with Saw 3D that it hit the bottom. This film is indeed terrible. There isn't a single good thing about it.

Starting from the plot that sees Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) hunting down Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) wife, for trying to kill him in the previous movie. Meanwhile, Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flannery), the leader of a Jigsaw survivor support group, is abducted with his wife (Gina Holden) and friends and they are forced to play yet another sick game. 

Saw VI (2009)

I didn't enjoy Saw V at all. Nothing worked for me. Too many flashbacks, too much chaotic, random characters, poor gore. Basically it was just an excuse to make another Saw movie. Luckily, Saw VI was different. 

Agent Strahm is now dead, his body completely destroyed, and Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) frames him as Jigsaw's apprentice. Unfortunately for him, FBI agent Erickson (Mark Rolston) finds a tape with the voice of the killer so he has to deal with that. Meanwhile, the unethical CEO of an insurance company (Peter Outerbridge) and his team are abducted and the CEO is forced to play one of Jigsaw's twisted games.

Saw V (2008)

Althgouh the entries weren't dreadful, the Saw franchise has been slowly getting worse, film after film. With Saw V, it hits the bottom. I'm pretty sure the following entries will be even worse than this one though.

Following the events of Saw IV, detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) is commended as a hero. Special agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson), however, is suspicious of him because his assistant agent Lindsay Perez said Hoffman's name and looks into Hoffman's past. Meanwhile, a group of five people is put through a series of gruesome tests.

Saw IV (2007)

If there's something I like about the Saw franchise (other than the fact that, film after film, we slowly get to know why Jigsaw killed those people) is its consistency. The original Saw was great and the followings didn't live up to that, but they all are pretty much on the same level and they still make for decent films. Saw IV is another of those movies. Nothing great, but still a decent horror.

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is finally dead but his sick games continue as Lieutenant Daniel Riggs (Lyriq Bent) is put through a series of tests that is supposed to teach him to let go of his obsession with saving everyone and that allows him to save his partner, Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg). Meanwhile, FBI agents Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Perez (Athena Karkanis) investigates the legacy of Jigsaw.

Saw III (2006)

If there's something I've learned watching movies is that (horror) series eventually go bad. It happens all the time. However, that's not really the case with Saw III. It doesn't hold up to the original Saw but it still is a solid-ish horror. 

This time around, John Kramer aka Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) testes Jeff (Angus Macfadyen), a man who got his son killed in a hit-and-run, and gives him the chance to let go his of vengeance. Meanwhile, Kramer is lying on a bed and has his apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith) kidnap a doctor, Lynn (Bahar Soomekh), and tasks her to keep him alive.

Saw II (2005)

I think we can all agree that Saw was a brilliant horror. It was tense, suspenseful and had one of the best plot twists ever. They tried to replicate that with Saw II and it worked. Only in part though.

In this one, detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is called to a crime scene of a victim of Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) and finds a lead that brings him to the serial killer's hiding place. Once there, a horrible reality awaits him: eight people are trapped in a shelter and they are inhaling a lethal nerve gas; one of those people is Matthew's son (Erik Knudsen). As Matthews tries to convince Jigsaw to free his son, the eight victims fight for their lives.

Saw (2004)

There was a time when I was a horror junkie and Saw was one of my favourite movies. I'm not a horror junkie anymore, but Saw is easily one of my favourite horrors for the simple reason that is more complex than most horrors.

Two strangers, Larry (Cary Elwes) and Adam (Leigh Whannell), wake up at the opposite sides of a dirty bathroom having no idea of how they got there or why. Later on, clues hidden around the room suggest that this might be the work of the jigsaw killer, a sick individual who engages his victims in deadly games. So locked in the room, Larry and Adam must trust each other and work together to get out.