Want to see Jigsaw but confused about the Saw movie series timeline? We’ve got you covered.

Since debuting on October 29, 2004, the Saw movies have become one of the most recognizable and successful franchises in modern-horror cinema, paving the way for the “torture-porn” horror genre.

While the initial film offered moviegoers one of the most original twists in movie history, the subsequent sequels have done little to mix-up the formula, instead relying on an increasingly violent set of gut-wrenching set-pieces that escalate the brutality and shock with each new installment.

The Saw movies, while still enjoyable as pre-Halloween horror entries, have become increasingly convoluted. As a result, the franchise peaked with Saw 2 (domestically) and Saw 3 (internationally) – and box office numbers have since been steadily decreasing. However, filmmakers are hoping for a franchise revival with a series revamp: Jigsaw. In anticipation of Jigsaw, we’re putting together a brief summary of each chapter in order to fill in the blanks for any fans who may have missed a movie or two (or all of them up to this point).

It goes without saying that this feature article will be FULL OF SPOILERS – detailing the over-arching story of each film, who the killers are, as well as who lives and who dies.

If you’ve already seen a few of the movies, feel free to skip ahead with the links below.

• Saw, and Saw 2 (this page)
• Saw 3 and Saw 4
• Saw 5 and Saw 6
• Saw 3D and Jigsaw

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SPOILERSAHEAD

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For the totally unindoctrinated, the Saw movie franchise revolves around the Jigsaw Killer (a.k.a. John Kramer), who tortures victims he believes are complacent or guilty, in order to make them appreciate their time on Earth. Jigsaw never murders anyone with his own hands, opting instead to force his victims to play “games” by placing them in brutal situations that can only be escaped after a tremendous amount of physical and/or psychological pain. The “inspiration” for Jigsaw’s killings came as a result of being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, the loss of an unborn child (Gideon), as well as a failed suicide attempt, which led Kramer to test other people’s will to live.

Saw

Tagline: Every puzzle has its piecesOctober 29, 2004

Summary: Adam Stanheight and Dr. Lawrence Gordon awaken inside a decaying washroom and discover a corpse with a gunshot wound to the head. The corpse is holding a cassette player in one hand, and each man quickly discovers a tape in his respective pocket. Adam has been tasked with escaping the bathroom and Lawrence has been instructed to kill Adam before 6pm. If Lawrence fails to kill Adam, Jigsaw will instruct Zep Hindle (who is also a victim of the game) to kill Lawrence’s wife (Alison) and daughter (Diana).

Thinking Lawrence might be Jigsaw, Ex-Detective David Tapp is monitoring the Gordon household after he became obsessed with Jigsaw following the death of his partner, as well as hearing the testimony of Amanda Young (Jigsaw’s only surviving victim). Tapp is able to rescue Alison and Diana before Zep can kill them, by shooting at Zep before chasing him underground. As the clock ticks closer to 6pm, Lawrence gets restless and, upon hearing Tapp’s gunshots on the other end of a cell phone call from Alison, grabs a hacksaw, cuts off his foot and shoots Adam.

Zep enters the bathroom where Lawrence and Adam are being held and is beaten to death by Adam, who survived the gunshot. Shortly thereafter, Lawrence crawls out of the open door promising to help Adam. The “corpse” in the room rises (revealing Jigsaw was with them the entire time) and walks out of the room, leaving Adam behind to die.

Note: While Detective Tapp survives the events of Saw, he later commits suicide in the “Freedom” ending of the official tie-in, Saw: The Video Game. The alternate “Truth” ending to the game asserts that Tapp is sent to an asylum, having gone insane as a result of his experiences.

Primary Characters (Deceased = Strikethrough):

• Jigsaw (Tobin Bell)
• Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes)
• Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell)
• Zep Hindle (Michael Emerson)
• Detective David Tapp (Danny Glover)
• Alison Gordon (Monica Potter)
• Diana Gordon (Makenzie Vega)
• Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith)

Saw 2

Tagline: Oh yes… There Will Be BloodOctober 28, 2005

Summary: Detectives Eric Matthews and Allison Kerry, as well as Sergeant Rigg, discover an extremely sick John Kramer (aka Jigsaw) at an abandoned mill. Kramer points-out video monitors revealing eight people including Amanda Young as well as Matthews’ son, Daniel, trapped inside a house. According to Kramer, the group has two hours to escape before the house fills with nerve gas – killing everyone inside. However, Kramer promises that if Matthews will sit and talk with him, the detective will get to see his son “safe.” In order to buy time for the police, who are attempting to trace the video feed, Matthews agrees.

Inside the house, one of the victims, Xavier, realizes that each of the victims has a number on the back of their neck and begins hunting the other occupants in order to discover their numbers, which Xavier assumes represent the combination to a safe that contains a key to his escape. The victims are killed off in a variety of ways – by accident, at Xavier’s hand, or in desperate attempts to reach freedom – until only Daniel, Amanda, and Xavier remain. When Xavier comes for Daniel and Amanda, Daniel kills him with a hacksaw.

Back at the mill, Matthews sees Xavier advancing toward Daniel and forces Kramer to take him to the house. The two escape by way of an elevator platform Kramer has been sitting on the whole time. Once at the house, Matthews is attacked by Amanda Young, who is revealed as Jigsaw’s protege. Amanda locks Mattehews in the same bathroom where Dr. Gordon and Adam Stanheight were held captive in the first film, and it’s revealed that the events on the video occurred hours before; at the same time, a safe at the mill opens – revealing Daniel Matthews alive and unharmed.

Primary Characters (Deceased = Strikethrough):

• John Kramer (Tobin Bell)
• Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg)
• Allison Kerry (Dina Meyer)
• Sergeant Rigg (Lyriq Bent)
• Daniel Matthews (Erik Knudsen)
• Xavier(Franky G)
• Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith)

Continue to Saw 3 and Saw 4…

About The Author

Ben Kendrick
(1439 Articles Published)

Ben Kendrick is the former Content Director (and current film critic) of Screen Rant, CBR, and Collider as well as host of the Screen Rant Underground and Total Geekall podcast. He is a member of the Denver Film Critics Society as well as the Online Film Critics Society – with work referenced, cited, or syndicated on CNN, Wikipedia, Huffington Post, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, Yahoo, and Business Insider, among others. A graduate of the New School’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, Ben has been passionate about movies ever since standing in line for a midnight showing of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when he was eight years-old. Thanks to a background in fiction writing, Ben is drawn to films that make story and character a priority; however, that doesn’t stop him from enjoying a range of Hollywood offerings – from blockbuster action flicks to campy so-bad-they’re-good B-movies.

Visit Ben Kendrick’s website for info on his fiction work, follow him on Twitter @benkendrick, or check out what he’s doing now over at Rise at Seven.

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