I’m a horror fan who’s seen the first 9 ‘Saw’ movies. Here are the 3 you must watch and 6 you should skip.

The first “Saw” sequel gives fans more obstacles and unexpected events while maintaining a cohesive storyline.

The horror movie also gave minor characters from the first film, like Amanda, a chance to be further developed.

Like the first movie and almost every sequel that followed, “Saw II” has two main plotlines.

One follows the detective’s investigation of Jigsaw, and the other focuses on the participants in his latest trap. Players are poisoned in an abandoned house as they try to escape traps for the chance to win antidotes.

The setup is fairly straightforward for a “Saw” movie, and it’s easy to follow despite the recurring flashbacks that help make viewers more invested in the characters.

Later “Saw” movies show characters that aren’t connected at all — but the common thread linking them in this film helps ground the story.

The returning cast is also a strength, as Bell once again plays Jigsaw, and Smith comes back to portray Amanda.

The success of the first movie granted the sequel a larger budget, which helped make the traps look better. This film only featured escapable obstacles, which kept things interesting.

Viewers follow the new character Jeff (Angus Macfadyen) as he fails to save people from multiple traps.

The story revolves around Jeff’s anger toward the drunken driver who killed his son. He is put through grueling tests by Jigsaw meant to help him confront his emotions, but the plot sort of falls flat. 

The third installment of the franchise also introduces the concept of inescapable traps. This new addition lowers the stakes and is annoying to watch as characters fail to make a getaway when they never had a chance.  

Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) returns to answer some practical questions about how John/Jigsaw arranged such torturous traps.

The movie follows agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) as he hunts down Hoffman after discovering his true identity.

“Saw” fans get a chance to learn more about Hoffman and how he became entangled in Jigsaw’s master plan. The flashbacks are kind of interesting, but the main plot isn’t engaging enough.

It’s frustrating to watch the main group repeatedly fail to work together to survive their imprisonment. Plus the movie didn’t have any real major twists. 

In this film, viewers watch a group of police hunting down the original Jigsaw Killer who’s supposedly been dead for over a decade. Throughout the movie, they try to find out if he’s still alive or if someone else is playing his cruel games. 

I think the premise of this movie seemed interesting, but the characters in the trap were too unlikeable and poorly portrayed.

The latest film, “Spiral,” shows the Jigsaw mantle taken up by a new detective, Zeke Banks (Chris Rock), who has no ties to any previous movies.

Oddly enough, the movie is almost entirely focused on detectives. This makes it the first film to fully break away from the part-trap, part-cop formula.

The ending is disappointing to watch, and not even a cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson can save this movie from being a mess.

This story was originally published on October 21, 2021, and most recently updated on October 25, 2024.