SAW

They Had Us Scared for What?!

November 1 Birthday Special

Listen. I have spent this Halloween week talking about some of the most iconic horror villains ever created. We've had Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Pennywise, Ghostface, Chucky, and Michael Myers.

We've covered the man who won't die, the man who won't let you sleep, the clown who lives in a sewer, the killers who keep calling people on the phone, the doll who needs to be returned to the toy department, and the man who has turned Haddonfield into his personal walking route.

But for my November 1 birthday special, I decided to do something different.

We're talking about SAW.

And I have questions.

A LOT of questions.

First of all, why is everybody getting kidnapped? Who is driving these people around? Where are the vans coming from? How does John Kramer have all this time to plan elaborate psychological experiments when he is supposed to be seriously ill? Who is building these contraptions? Does he have a contractor? Is there a warehouse? Is somebody submitting invoices?!

And why does every game seem to have rules that sound reasonable for approximately four seconds before you realize that the person who designed it needs to sit down with a therapist?

This man will lock somebody in a room, give them an impossible-sounding challenge, and then act disappointed when they don't demonstrate a renewed appreciation for life.

SIR. YOU KIDNAPPED THEM.

Let's break this franchise down.

Because if we're going to spend my birthday talking about Jigsaw, we're going to figure out who these people are, why they're playing these games, what the traps are supposed to mean, and why the entire operation has more moving parts than a damn automobile factory.

And yes, we're talking about that pig-mask business, too.

Welcome to THEY HAD US SCARED FOR WHAT?!

FIRST, WHO THE HELL IS JIGSAW?

Before we get into the movies, we need to establish something important.

Jigsaw is not simply a guy who enjoys scaring people. His name is John Kramer, and he believes that people waste their lives until something forces them to recognize how valuable life is.

According to his twisted philosophy, he isn't murdering people. He's testing them.

He kidnaps people he believes have failed to appreciate life, puts them through elaborate games, and gives them a chance to survive by following the rules.

At least, that's how he sees it.

The rest of us are looking at the situation and thinking, "Have you considered just minding your business?"

John's background helps explain his obsession. He experiences devastating personal losses, including the collapse of his marriage and a terminal cancer diagnosis. Those experiences contribute to his increasingly disturbing worldview.

Instead of finding a healthy way to process his pain, he decides to become the world's most terrifying motivational speaker.

His seminars involve locked rooms.

His team-building exercises involve life-threatening challenges.

And his customer satisfaction surveys apparently consist of whether the participants survive.

Now, one of the most recognizable elements of the franchise is Billy the Puppet, the little puppet that appears on a tricycle and delivers Jigsaw's messages.

Billy has become the franchise's mascot, even though the puppet itself isn't the mastermind behind anything.

He's basically the messenger.

And what a terrible job that must be.

Imagine being assigned to deliver a message at work, except your boss insists on appearing on a tiny tricycle while announcing that somebody has been placed in a nightmare.

I would be updating my résumé immediately.

But John Kramer doesn't do everything alone. That's one of the most important parts of the franchise.

There are accomplices, successors, copycats, and people who become involved in his twisted philosophy for their own reasons.

And as the movies progress, the question changes from "Who is Jigsaw?" to "WHO THE HELL IS HELPING JIGSAW?"

Because apparently, one deeply disturbed man wasn't enough.

1. SAW (2004)

TWO MEN, ONE BATHROOM, AND A VERY BAD DAY

The first movie introduces us to a situation that looks like somebody's worst nightmare.

Dr. Lawrence Gordon and Adam Stanheight wake up in a filthy, enclosed bathroom. They're chained in place, with no clear explanation for how they got there.

There are other clues in the room, including a dead body lying between them.

And immediately, the audience is forced to ask the same question the men are asking:

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

The two men discover that they're part of a game. They must work out what their captor wants and how to escape their predicament.

Meanwhile, the police are investigating the mysterious Jigsaw killer, whose crimes involve elaborate tests designed around his own ideas about human behavior.

The investigation introduces Detective David Tapp and Detective Steven Sing, who are trying to identify the person responsible for the games.

As the story unfolds, we learn more about Dr. Gordon, Adam, and the circumstances that brought them into Jigsaw's world.

Dr. Gordon has a complicated personal life and has become connected to the investigation. Adam, meanwhile, is a photographer whose involvement in the situation is not what it initially appears to be.

The movie gradually reveals that the bathroom game is part of a larger plan.

And then comes one of the most memorable twists in horror history.

The supposed dead body in the middle of the room isn't what the men believe it to be.

The man gets up.

THE MAN GETS UP!

Imagine spending an entire movie trying to figure out how to escape a room, only to discover that the person you've been treating as a corpse has been part of the situation the entire time.

I have questions for everybody involved.

How long was that man lying there? Was he comfortable? Did his back hurt? Did nobody think to check whether the body was breathing?

And how did nobody notice that the dead man was the one person in the room who appeared to have the most information?

John Kramer reveals himself as Jigsaw, and the movie ends with Adam trapped in the bathroom while John leaves him behind.

The original Saw is less about a giant collection of elaborate contraptions and more about psychological manipulation, secrets, and the terrible consequences of the choices people make.

It also establishes the franchise's central trick: the audience doesn't have all the information.

Just when you think you understand the situation, the movie pulls the rug out from under you.

And after that ending, you couldn't look at a random person lying on the floor in a horror movie the same way again.

Because apparently, even the dead have appointments.

2. SAW II (2005)

EIGHT PEOPLE, ONE HOUSE, AND A DETECTIVE WHO NEEDS TO CALM DOWN

The second movie expands the operation.

This time, Detective Eric Matthews is investigating Jigsaw, and he has a personal reason to get involved: his son, Daniel, becomes part of the game.

A group of people wakes up inside a house filled with dangerous challenges. They must figure out how to survive while dealing with the tension, mistrust, and secrets that emerge among them.

Among the group are Amanda Young, Xavier Chavez, Jonas Singer, Addison Corday, Laura Hunter, Obi Tate, and Daniel Matthews.

And this is where the franchise begins showing us that the traps are only one part of the problem.

The people themselves can be just as dangerous.

They don't know whom to trust. Some are willing to cooperate, while others become increasingly aggressive. Their attempts to escape are complicated by their own decisions and their inability to work together.

Meanwhile, Detective Matthews is dealing directly with John Kramer.

John is in police custody, but he appears far more interested in talking than panicking.

He knows things about the investigation that make the detectives uncomfortable, and he keeps steering the conversation toward his beliefs about human nature.

John has a talent for making every conversation sound like a lecture nobody signed up for.

And the detective is so determined to find his son that he struggles to recognize how much of the situation is being controlled by Jigsaw.

The film eventually reveals a major deception involving the timing of the events and what Matthews believes he is watching.

The people inside the house have been experiencing events that don't line up with the detective's assumptions.

And Daniel's situation is not what his father thinks it is.

This is also a major installment for Amanda.

She survived one of John's earlier games, and her experience has changed her relationship with him. She becomes increasingly important to his operation.

Here's where I start having a problem with Jigsaw's whole philosophy.

He claims to be teaching people to appreciate life, but he keeps putting them into situations where fear and desperation make cooperation difficult.

Then he acts as if their behavior proves something about humanity.

Sir, you created the circumstances!

You can't lock people in a terrifying situation, make them suspicious of each other, and then act shocked when they don't form a neighborhood association.

The second film also makes it clear that Jigsaw isn't just a mysterious killer who appears and disappears.

His operation is growing.

And the people around him are becoming part of a much bigger story.

3. SAW III (2006)

JOHN NEEDS A SUCCESSOR, AMANDA NEEDS HELP, AND JEFF NEEDS TO LET GO

By the third film, John Kramer is seriously ill, and his physical condition is deteriorating.

Amanda is now one of the most important people in his operation.

But John needs more than someone who can carry out his instructions. He wants to believe that his philosophy can continue beyond him.

Amanda, however, has her own problems.

She has become emotionally entangled with John, and her interpretation of his methods doesn't always match what he claims to believe.

John insists that people need a genuine opportunity to survive their games.

Amanda increasingly struggles with the idea of allowing that opportunity.

Meanwhile, the movie introduces Jeff Denlon, a grieving father whose son was killed in a traffic incident.

Jeff has become consumed by his loss and his desire for justice.

John designs a series of tests that force Jeff to confront people connected to the case, including individuals whose decisions affected his son's death.

The central question is whether Jeff can move beyond his anger long enough to make different choices.

But here's the thing: grief is not a light switch.

You can't put somebody through a series of horrifying challenges and expect them to emerge emotionally healed because you arranged the challenges in a particular order.

That's not therapy.

That's a nightmare with a syllabus.

The film also includes Dr. Lynn Denlon, a surgeon who is brought into John's operation and ordered to keep him alive.

So now we've got John, Amanda, Jeff, Lynn, and several people caught in a complicated chain of events.

Everybody has a different understanding of what's happening, and their choices affect one another.

And the pig imagery becomes especially memorable in this installment.

The pig mask is associated with the people carrying out the kidnappings, and the film features a disturbing trap involving a vat filled with decomposing pig carcasses.

Jeff is forced to confront this challenge as part of his larger test.

If you're trying to remember the movie with the pig-related nightmare, this is likely the scene you're thinking of.

And I understand why it sticks in your memory.

The franchise has already introduced dirty bathrooms, elaborate games, and a puppet on a tricycle. Now we're dealing with pig masks and a vat of rotting pig remains.

Somewhere, an ordinary pig is having a perfectly peaceful day, completely unaware that a horror franchise has permanently damaged its public image.

But the pig imagery isn't random. It contributes to the film's grim atmosphere and reflects the increasingly disturbing methods used by Jigsaw's operation.

The story ultimately brings John, Amanda, Lynn, and Jeff into a devastating confrontation.

The film's ending reveals that John's plans are more complicated than they initially appear, but his own philosophy cannot protect him from the consequences of the people and choices he has set in motion.

And this is an important turning point for the franchise.

John's health is failing, Amanda's loyalty is unstable, and the question of who will continue the games becomes increasingly urgent.

The man has spent three movies explaining his philosophy.

Now we're seeing what happens when the people around him interpret it in their own ways.

And it is not going well.

4. SAW IV (2007)

JOHN IS DEAD, BUT APPARENTLY HIS BUSINESS IS STILL OPEN

One of the most confusing things about this franchise is how it handles time.

Saw IV begins with the aftermath of John's death, but the story overlaps with events from Saw III.

Yes, overlaps.

Because apparently, one movie happening at one time wasn't complicated enough.

The story follows Detective Mark Hoffman, who becomes increasingly important to the investigation into Jigsaw's activities.

At the same time, Lieutenant Daniel Rigg is forced into a series of challenges designed to test his behavior as a police officer.

Rigg is known for his determination to rescue people, sometimes even when his actions interfere with investigations or put others at risk.

His test is designed around that trait.

He must learn that trying to save everyone by acting impulsively can have consequences.

The movie also follows FBI agents Peter Strahm and Lindsey Perez as they investigate the growing network of Jigsaw-related crimes.

They are trying to understand how the games work, who is responsible, and whether the operation has continued beyond John's apparent death.

And that is the central issue.

If John Kramer is dead, who is running the operation?

The movie explores John's earlier life, his relationship with his wife Jill Tuck, and the events that helped shape his worldview.

It also gives us more information about Mark Hoffman and the role he plays in the larger story.

Hoffman isn't simply another detective investigating the case.

He has a much more complicated relationship with the games than the other officers initially realize.

And suddenly, all those previous movies start looking different.

Because when you discover that somebody has been connected to the operation for longer than you realized, you have to reconsider the clues you thought you understood.

The movie also features another major game involving a series of interconnected challenges.

The participants' actions affect other people, and the timing of their decisions becomes crucial.

Which is another reason the franchise's games are so frustrating.

Somebody is always being told to make a decision without understanding the full consequences.

And then the movie reveals that the person giving the instructions knew considerably more than the participants did.

This is where Saw starts becoming less about John Kramer alone and more about the machinery he has created.

His methods have outlived him.

And the people carrying on his work are not necessarily doing it for the reasons he claims to believe in.

5. SAW V (2008)

THE APPRENTICE HAS ENTERED THE CHAT

Now we're getting deeper into Mark Hoffman's role.

The fifth film explores how Hoffman became involved with Jigsaw and how his relationship with John developed.

We also see the consequences of Hoffman's actions as the investigation closes in on him.

Hoffman is trying to keep his involvement hidden while continuing the operation.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Peter Strahm is determined to uncover the truth.

Strahm has enough information to suspect that Hoffman is connected to the crimes, but proving it is another matter.

And Hoffman knows that Strahm is getting too close.

This installment introduces another group of people placed into a series of connected tests.

Their challenges are built around cooperation, but the participants initially behave as though they must compete against one another to survive.

That misunderstanding becomes central to the game.

They make decisions based on incomplete information, and their choices have consequences for the entire group.

In other words, they spend valuable time treating each other as enemies when they should be trying to understand the rules.

This franchise really knows how to make people fail a group project.

And not a normal group project, either.

This is the kind where everybody thinks they have to be the last person standing, only to discover that the assignment required them to work together the entire time.

The movie also reveals more about the planning behind John's earlier games.

We learn that the operation involved more preparation, more coordination, and more people than the earlier installments initially suggested.

The result is a story in which the past and present continually collide.

And the franchise's timeline gets even more complicated.

John is no longer alive to run the operation, but his decisions continue affecting the people who remain.

Hoffman is attempting to control the situation, while Strahm is trying to expose him.

The question is no longer simply whether somebody will survive a trap.

It's whether the investigation can finally identify the person continuing Jigsaw's work.

And the deeper the investigators dig, the more dangerous the situation becomes.

6. SAW VI (2009)

JIGSAW HAS ENTERED THE HEALTH INSURANCE DISCUSSION

This movie gives us one of the clearest examples of John's twisted ideas about accountability.

The central character in the main game is William Easton, an executive involved in deciding whether people qualify for insurance coverage.

John believes William's decisions demonstrate that he values financial calculations over human lives.

So William becomes the subject of a series of tests designed around the consequences of his professional decisions.

And this is where the movie brings its themes into especially sharp focus.

The franchise has always been concerned with how people value life, but here the story connects those questions to a system that makes decisions about people's access to medical care.

William must confront the human consequences of his work.

The film also continues Hoffman's story as he attempts to keep his identity hidden and maintain control over the operation.

Other investigators are becoming increasingly suspicious, and the danger of exposure is growing.

Meanwhile, the games involving William force him to make decisions that affect people around him.

The movie asks viewers to consider the difference between making a difficult decision and refusing to recognize the people affected by it.

That is a legitimate subject for a story.

But we still have to deal with the fact that John Kramer has appointed himself the supreme authority on who deserves a second chance.

He is essentially saying, "I don't like your decisions, so I'm going to arrange an elaborate test to prove my point."

Sir, you could have written an article.

You could have started a nonprofit.

You could have attended a public hearing.

Instead, you built an entire operation around kidnapping people and forcing them to participate in your personal philosophy seminar.

The movie's ending also advances the conflict between Hoffman and the people investigating him.

His position becomes increasingly precarious.

And the more we learn about his methods, the harder it becomes to pretend that the operation is simply a continuation of John's original intentions.

The franchise has now shown us multiple people who claim to be carrying on Jigsaw's work.

But their motivations are not all the same.

Some believe in John's philosophy.

Some are motivated by personal revenge.

Some want control.

And some appear to have taken the worst possible lessons from the entire operation.

7. SAW 3D / SAW: THE FINAL CHAPTER (2010)

THE FINAL CHAPTER? YOU MEAN THE FINAL CHAPTER UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER?

The seventh installment was marketed as Saw 3D and is also known as Saw: The Final Chapter.

And if you've watched enough horror franchises, you already know that calling something the final chapter is a dangerous decision.

Because the movie industry has a complicated relationship with the word "final."

The film follows Bobby Dagen, a man who becomes famous after claiming that he survived a Jigsaw game.

Bobby builds a public identity around his supposed experience.

But there's a problem.

His story isn't true in the way he claims.

And his attempt to profit from the Jigsaw phenomenon eventually brings him into a situation where he must confront the consequences of his deception.

The film also continues Hoffman's increasingly desperate effort to avoid exposure.

The police investigation has closed in on him, and his control over the situation is slipping.

Meanwhile, the story brings back Dr. Lawrence Gordon, the surgeon from the original movie.

His return connects the latest events to the franchise's beginnings.

And it forces the audience to reconsider what happened after he escaped the bathroom in the first film.

What became of him?

How did his experience affect his life?

And what role has he played in the events that followed?

The answers connect the original movie to the larger Jigsaw mythology.

The film also includes a group of people who become involved in Bobby's game, with his public claims placing others in danger.

Once again, the story examines the consequences of deception, but it also exposes the hypocrisy of an operation built around punishing people for their mistakes.

The franchise keeps asking us to distinguish between people who deserve a second chance and people who don't.

But who gets to make that decision?

John Kramer?

Mark Hoffman?

Somebody who thinks they understand John's philosophy?

And why are these people acting as though the best way to address dishonesty is to create another elaborate test?

The movie brings several ongoing storylines toward a conclusion, including Hoffman's fate and Dr. Gordon's connection to Jigsaw.

But despite the title, the franchise was not finished.

Apparently, The Final Chapter was more of a suggestion.

8. JIGSAW (2017)

EIGHT YEARS LATER, AND SOMEBODY HAS FOUND THE DAMN PUZZLE BOX AGAIN

After a break in the theatrical series, Jigsaw brings the franchise back with a new mystery.

The story begins with a group of people who find themselves trapped in a series of deadly games.

The situation appears connected to John Kramer, even though the original Jigsaw has been dead for years.

That creates the central question:

Is somebody copying Jigsaw, or is there more to the timeline than the investigators understand?

The film follows police officers Halloran and Hunt as they investigate the new crimes.

At the same time, the story introduces Logan Nelson, a medical examiner whose connection to the case becomes increasingly important.

The movie moves between the current investigation and events connected to an earlier game.

As the story unfolds, viewers are given clues about when the different events took place.

And then comes the reveal that changes how the audience understands the apparent timeline.

The games are connected to events from much earlier than the initial investigation suggests.

The film uses that structure to bring the Jigsaw mythology back into play while introducing new characters and expanding the history surrounding John Kramer.

Now, I'm going to say something.

If a man has been dead for years and people are still showing up in elaborate games bearing his signature, somebody needs to conduct a serious investigation into the supply chain.

Who is buying the equipment?

Who is arranging the locations?

Who is paying for transportation?

Who keeps finding people willing to participate in this operation?

Because this is no longer a one-man project.

This is an organization.

And the fact that John is dead doesn't mean his influence has disappeared.

The movie explores how the Jigsaw identity can be used by someone who has their own reasons for continuing the games.

It also reminds us that the franchise's timeline is not always presented in a straightforward way.

Sometimes the most important clue is not what happens, but when it happens.

Which means that if you're watching these movies while scrolling through your phone, you may miss the one detail that explains the entire mystery.

Put the phone down.

Billy is on the tricycle.

Something is happening.

9. SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW (2021)

SOMEBODY HAS A PROBLEM WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Spiral takes the franchise in a somewhat different direction.

Instead of focusing primarily on John Kramer and the people who directly continue his work, the film follows a new investigation involving a killer who appears to be inspired by Jigsaw.

Detective Zeke Banks is investigating a series of crimes targeting members of the police department.

His new partner, William Schenk, becomes involved in the investigation as the mystery deepens.

The crimes appear designed to expose misconduct within the department.

And the killer's methods are clearly connected to the Jigsaw mythology, even though the story introduces a different set of characters and motivations.

This time, the central conflict involves corruption, loyalty, and the consequences of protecting people who have abused their authority.

Zeke has a complicated relationship with the department because of his father's history as a police officer.

He is forced to confront the difference between protecting colleagues and holding them accountable for their actions.

The movie uses the Jigsaw-inspired games as part of a broader story about institutional wrongdoing.

And that gives the franchise a different focus.

The killer isn't simply recreating John's original tests.

The games are being used to make a statement about the people being targeted.

But that doesn't mean the story avoids the franchise's familiar questions.

Who decides what justice should look like?

What happens when somebody takes the law into their own hands?

And when does the pursuit of accountability become another form of violence?

Those questions are central to Zeke's investigation.

The movie also gives us a different perspective on the Jigsaw phenomenon.

The name has become so infamous that someone can use its reputation to create fear, attract attention, and make people wonder whether the original operation has returned.

And that is one of the franchise's most interesting ideas.

John Kramer created an identity that can outlive him.

But once other people start using that identity, the meaning of the games changes.

The name Jigsaw no longer guarantees that the person behind the crimes shares John's beliefs.

It may simply be a convenient disguise.

Which means the real mystery is not just who is behind the mask.

It's why they chose to wear it.

10. SAW X (2023)

JOHN KRAMER GOES TO MEXICO, AND THESE PEOPLE MAKE A TERRIBLE BUSINESS DECISION

Now we get to Saw X, which takes the story back to a point between the events of the original Saw and Saw II.

That placement matters because John Kramer is alive during this story.

He is seriously ill and desperate for treatment.

After learning about an experimental medical procedure that supposedly offers hope, John travels to Mexico.

He believes he may finally have found a way to treat his cancer.

For a man who has spent years putting other people through tests, this is a moment when he is especially vulnerable.

And then he discovers that the treatment operation is a scam.

The people involved have taken advantage of patients who are desperate for hope.

John is furious.

And if there's one person you should never deceive, it's apparently a man who has turned revenge into an elaborate project-management system.

John decides that the people responsible will face games of their own.

Amanda Young returns in this installment, working alongside him.

Their relationship is important because Amanda is not simply another person following instructions. She has her own history with John and her own complicated feelings about his methods.

The movie focuses on Cecilia Pederson, the woman who presents the supposed treatment, along with other people involved in the operation.

John's plan is designed around the belief that the people responsible should experience the consequences of their actions.

And this is where the movie becomes especially interesting.

For once, the person organizing the games has been the victim of a deception himself.

The audience can understand why he feels betrayed.

People who exploit seriously ill patients are doing something deeply wrong.

But understanding John's anger is not the same as agreeing with what he does next.

Because, once again, he responds to wrongdoing by creating an elaborate series of life-threatening challenges.

The man has two settings: terminally ill and extremely committed to a plan.

There is no middle ground.

The film also gives Amanda a larger role, allowing viewers to see more of her relationship with John and the beliefs that shape her involvement.

And the story makes clear that Jigsaw's methods are not simply about the games themselves.

They're about power.

John decides who will be tested, what they will be forced to confront, and what he believes their actions mean.

The participants do not have the same information he has.

They don't know the full plan.

And they certainly don't get to vote on whether they would like to attend this particular seminar.

The movie's final developments connect it back to the wider franchise, reminding us that even a story set earlier in the timeline can contain clues and connections to later events.

And if you thought you had the entire Jigsaw operation figured out by this point, Saw X has a few more things to show you.

Because apparently, the games never really end.

SO WHAT THE HELL IS THE DEAL WITH THE PIG MASK?

Let's answer the question that brought us here.

The pig mask is one of the franchise's recurring images. It is used by people involved in Jigsaw's operation when they abduct victims and conceal their identities.

The mask is associated with the operation's disturbing visual style, but it doesn't mean an actual pig is responsible for kidnapping everybody.

The pig-related imagery becomes especially memorable in Saw III, which includes the vat filled with decomposing pig remains.

That is probably the scene you're remembering.

But the larger point is that the pig mask is part of the mythology surrounding the games. It helps disguise the people carrying them out and connects the different installments visually.

And I have to ask:

How many people are working for this operation?

Because somebody has to transport the victims.

Somebody has to arrange the locations.

Somebody has to keep track of the timing.

Somebody has to make sure the equipment is where it needs to be.

Somebody has to know which person is supposed to be in which room.

This is a whole logistical operation.

John Kramer may be the mastermind, but the people around him are doing an extraordinary amount of work to keep these games running.

And none of them has apparently considered using their organizational skills for something less terrifying.

WHY DO THESE GAMES ALWAYS SEEM RIGGED?

This is one of the biggest questions raised by the franchise.

John Kramer claims that his games give people a chance to survive.

He believes that people who face extreme circumstances may recognize the value of their lives and change their behavior.

But the movies repeatedly show situations in which the participants have incomplete information, conflicting incentives, and very little time to understand what is happening.

Some games are designed around cooperation.

Others force people to confront their past decisions.

Some depend on a participant making a difficult choice.

And sometimes the actions of one person have consequences for somebody else.

The problem is that the participants rarely know the full rules when the game begins.

They may not understand how their decisions affect other people.

They may be forced to choose between competing priorities.

And they may have no way to determine whether the person running the game is telling them the truth.

That makes it difficult to argue that every participant has been given a fair opportunity.

John believes he is testing people.

But he is also controlling the circumstances under which those people must make decisions.

And that distinction matters.

If you design the situation, control the information, decide the rules, and determine the consequences, you have enormous power over the outcome.

Then, if somebody fails, you can claim the result proves your original opinion about them.

That's not an objective test.

That's a conclusion looking for evidence.

And it explains why viewers can spend an entire movie arguing about whether a particular game was fair.

Some of the participants make terrible choices.

Some are dishonest.

Some have hurt other people.

But the franchise also gives us people who are caught in situations where their ability to understand or control the outcome is severely limited.

John's belief that everyone can be judged through these games is part of what makes him such a disturbing character.

He wants to believe that he is teaching people something.

But he has appointed himself the person who decides who gets tested, what the test means, and whether the result proves his point.

And the more people become involved in his operation, the less consistent that philosophy becomes.

Amanda doesn't always follow John's principles.

Hoffman has his own motivations.

The copycat killers have their own reasons for using the Jigsaw identity.

And the games become increasingly difficult to separate from the personal agendas of the people running them.

Which brings us to the biggest question of all.

Is Jigsaw actually teaching people to appreciate life, or is he using that philosophy to justify having control over other people's lives?

That's the question underneath the entire franchise.

And it's a lot more interesting than simply asking which contraption is the most memorable.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: TEN MOVIES, ONE VERY COMPLICATED LEGACY

The Saw franchise begins with a mystery involving two men trapped in a bathroom.

Over time, it expands into a complicated story about John Kramer, Amanda Young, Mark Hoffman, Dr. Lawrence Gordon, the investigators pursuing the operation, and the people who continue using the Jigsaw identity.

The films explore grief, accountability, deception, revenge, and the question of whether people can change when forced to confront the consequences of their choices.

They also build a complicated timeline through flashbacks, overlapping events, and revelations that change how earlier scenes are understood.

The result is a franchise where a character who appears to be a minor part of one film may become important later.

A seemingly straightforward game may have a much larger purpose.

And an event that looks like the end of one storyline may actually be the beginning of another.

The original Saw established the formula.

Saw II expanded the number of people involved.

Saw III explored John's declining health and Amanda's increasingly complicated role.

Saw IV, Saw V, and Saw VI developed the story of the people continuing the operation.

Saw 3D brought several major storylines toward a conclusion.

Jigsaw introduced another mystery connected to the past.

Spiral explored a different killer using the Jigsaw identity.

And Saw X returned to an earlier period in John's life, showing what happened when he became the victim of a medical scam.

Ten released movies later, the franchise has become far more than the story of one man and his games.

It is a story about what happens when somebody creates a system based on his personal beliefs and other people decide to use that system for their own purposes.

And honestly, that is what keeps the mythology going.

Because even when John Kramer is no longer present, the people he influenced continue making decisions in his name.

The games can stop.

The person who created them can die.

But the ideas behind them can continue affecting the people left behind.

And that is a much more disturbing legacy than any individual contraption.

FINAL VERDICT: WHO THE HELL IS GOING TO CLEAN UP AFTER ALL THIS?

Let's be honest.

The Saw franchise is not for everybody.

It is dark, intense, and often deliberately unsettling. Its elaborate games, psychological twists, and complicated mythology are designed to make viewers question what they think they know.

Some installments develop the story more effectively than others.

Some twists work better than others.

And some of the franchise's games leave viewers arguing about the rules long after the credits roll.

But the series has created an unmistakable identity.

The puppet.

The voice delivering the instructions.

The pig mask.

The complicated relationship between John Kramer and his successors.

The flashbacks that reveal new information.

The endings that make you reconsider what you just watched.

All of those elements have helped make Saw one of horror's most recognizable franchises.

And while John Kramer insists that his games are about appreciating life, the audience is left with a different question:

Why does this man need so much equipment to make his point?

Sir, have you considered a strongly worded letter?

A podcast?

A motivational seminar?

ANYTHING?!

Instead, we get a puppet on a tricycle and a new group of people who have apparently been selected for the world's worst escape room.

And the fact that the franchise keeps finding new ways to expand its mythology is both impressive and deeply concerning.

Because every time you think the story is finished, somebody discovers another secret, another accomplice, another connection, or another reason to keep the games going.

So if you're watching Saw for the first time, pay attention.

If you're rewatching it, look for the connections between the films.

And if you ever receive an invitation to participate in a mysterious game run by a man who calls himself Jigsaw?

DECLINE.

You do not need to discover what the game is about.

You do not need to prove that you appreciate your life.

You do not need to demonstrate personal growth in a locked room.

Go home.

Lock your doors.

And stop answering invitations from people who communicate through puppets.

Because some games are not worth playing.

And some birthday celebrations should probably just involve cake.

Although, apparently, mine involves Jigsaw.

Happy birthday to me. 😂🎂

THIS HAS BEEN: THEY HAD US SCARED FOR WHAT?!

COMING SOON: More horror history, more iconic villains, more questionable decisions, and more reasons to wonder why anybody in these movies refuses to call for help before things get completely out of hand.