Saw Timeline Explained
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Michael Wynands
Come for the gore, stay for the complex, ever-expanding narrative! In this video, we'll be piecing together the full story from the “Saw” franchise in chronological order. Our video includes detailed introductions, explanations, breakdowns, and more!
Script Written by Michael Wynands
Come for the gore, stay for the complex, ever-expanding narrative! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be presenting the Saw Timeline Explained.
In this video, we’ll be piecing together the full story from the “Saw” franchise in chronological order. So grab a notepad, some snacks, and maybe a barf bag, because this is going to be one convoluted and messy cinematic ride.
Please note, this video contains spoilers galore!
“Saw” is a property that requires very little introduction. From its modest beginnings as a low-budget short film, it’s grown and expanded to become a billion dollar franchise. Eight instalments have been released to date, not to mention various video games, comic books, and numerous theme park attractions. The films have grossed over $976 million dollars at the box office - and that’s not counting home video, streaming, and merchandising profits. The property enjoys near universal name recognition - something that can be said of only a select handful of horror franchises. And with a ninth film, Spiral, starring Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, set to be released in 2020, “Saw” shows no signs of slowing down.
If you’re not familiar with the “Saw” franchise beyond the first couple of films, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it just rehashes the same old formula. Yes, each film involves people being forced to endure extreme physical and psychological torture as part of elaborate life and death games. But the films also tend to jump back and forth in terms of time periods, continuously expanding the mythology of the franchise by drawing connections between the various victims, killers, and cops. The films are best watched in order of release, but to fully appreciate this tapestry of gore, it helps to try to put this bloody jigsaw puzzle together.
Across the various sequels, viewers have repeatedly been brought back to before the event of the first film, filling in the backstory of the various supporting players, as well as the man at the heart of this gruesome story - John Kramer. Once upon a time, John Kramer was a happily married civil engineer, whose wife Jill operated a clinic for addicts. She eventually got pregnant, only for the child to be killed in-utero by a patient . . . and John’s world began to fall apart.
He was soon diagnosed with terminal cancer, and attempted to take his own life. It was only after this failed suicide, and crawling from the wreckage of his car in agony, that he learned the value of life. Divorced from his wife, he made it his mission to teach others to appreciate existence by forcing them to face death. The Jigsaw Killer was born!
Kramer’s first victim was Cecil Adams, the man who killed his unborn child. Suffice it to say… Cecil failed the test. Over the course of subsequent ‘games’ Kramer perfected his craft and even found his first apprentice in Logan Nelson, the sole survivor of his ‘barn’ game. Together, they continued to orchestrate various deadly tests of survival. When someone copied Kramer’s calling card however, John tracked down the copycat, Detective Mark Hoffman. After subjecting him to a little test of his own, he added another accomplice to his team. Kramer eventually turned his attention to Amanda Young, another of his wife’s former patients, who, after killing a man to survive the test, became yet another convert and apprentice.
This brings us to the events of the first film, 2004’s “Saw”. In it, Kramer’s oncologist, Dr. Lawrence Gordon, and photographer Adam Stanheight are tested in a plot that also implicates David Tapp, a detective who was discharged when he became obsessed with Jigsaw. Tapp is killed, Gordon escapes after cutting off his foot and Adam is left for dead after Kramer reveals himself to have been the supposedly dead body lying in the room. It’s later revealed that Amanda goes back and puts Adam out of his misery.
They say that traumatic events bring people together, and that’s certainly true of the “Saw” franchise, as Dr. Gordon joins Kramer as his newest apprentice.
In the second film, Kramer and his accomplices bring together various people convicted by Detective Eric Matthews - some of them wrongfully, as the detective had been planting evidence. Among them is Amanda, who is of course really working with Jigsaw. There’s also Matthews’ own son, Daniel. Daniel makes it out, but his father winds up locked in the bathroom. He breaks his foot to escape, only to end up in the clutches of another Kramer apprentice, Detective Hoffman, who still works as a police detective on the Jigsaw case.
The events of “Saw III” and “Saw IV” actually play out simultaneously, making this period of time in the franchise extra-convoluted. Around this time, John Kramer’s old lawyer, Art Blank is kidnapped and subjected to a Jigsaw test. He survives, but rather than a willing apprentice, he becomes an unwilling minion. Blank, Amanda, and Hoffman organize other bloody games for new victims, while Kramer undergoes surgery, which proves successful. Unfortunately for all parties involved, the whole thing ends in even messier fashion than usual. Abductee Jeff shoots Amanda and slices Kramer’s throat, killing Jigsaw but causing the death of his wife. Jeff is then accidentally killed by an FBI Agent, Peter Strahm; while Blank is killed by SWAT Officer Daniel Riggs.
With Kramer and Amanda both dead, Hoffman has effectively taken over the mantle of the Jigsaw killer. And the scariest thing about that is the fact that he’s being treated as a hero by the media. However, Agent Peter Strahm, has escaped from the trap Hoffman left him in, and he’s now rightly suspicious. A tense game of wits, lies and deceptions ensues. But just as Strahm seems to get the upper hand on Hoffman, he’s killed by a trap.
Not only does this would-be hero wind up another victim, but he’s framed as a killer by Hoffman, who uses Strahm’s severed hand to plant fingerprints. And then Hoffman essentially goes on his merry way, continuing to set up deadly games like he was taught. Unfortunately for him, Jill, Kramer’s wife, has slowly but surely been pulled into the fray by her late husband’s legacy over the course of the previous films. She gives Hoffman a taste of his own medicine, leaving him to die in a Reverse Bear Trap.
But just like his mentor, Hoffman refuses to die easily. He escapes the trap and starts setting up new games. His most recent high profile target? Bobby Dagen, an author who published a book falsely claiming to have survived Jigsaw. Dagen finally becomes the survivor he claimed to be in his book, but his wife and acquaintances are killed in the game, along with the cops who attempt to stop it.
Hoffman, for his part, manages to sneak into the police station in a body bag, where he and Jill have a rematch. This time around, he comes out on top, killing Jill. As things tend to do in this franchise however, it all comes full circle when another one of Kramer’s apprentices, Gordon, locks Hoffman in the bathroom, sealing his fate.
So long as a disciple of John Kramer survives, Jigsaw will live on. And in the 2017 film, Kramer’s first apprentice, Logan Nelson, restarted the cycle of violence by recreating Kramer’s barn game. He plays his games, and even manages to frame someone else for the murders, tying up this most recent chapter in tidy fashion.
Of course, with Spiral set to hit theaters May 12th, 2020, it would seem that Jigsaw’s future remains secure and that this franchise will not only be getting a new lease on life, but also a fresh perspective.
The Saw Timeline Explained
Come for the gore, stay for the complex, ever-expanding narrative! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be presenting the Saw Timeline Explained.
In this video, we’ll be piecing together the full story from the “Saw” franchise in chronological order. So grab a notepad, some snacks, and maybe a barf bag, because this is going to be one convoluted and messy cinematic ride.
Please note, this video contains spoilers galore!
“Saw” is a property that requires very little introduction. From its modest beginnings as a low-budget short film, it’s grown and expanded to become a billion dollar franchise. Eight instalments have been released to date, not to mention various video games, comic books, and numerous theme park attractions. The films have grossed over $976 million dollars at the box office - and that’s not counting home video, streaming, and merchandising profits. The property enjoys near universal name recognition - something that can be said of only a select handful of horror franchises. And with a ninth film, Spiral, starring Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, set to be released in 2020, “Saw” shows no signs of slowing down.
If you’re not familiar with the “Saw” franchise beyond the first couple of films, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it just rehashes the same old formula. Yes, each film involves people being forced to endure extreme physical and psychological torture as part of elaborate life and death games. But the films also tend to jump back and forth in terms of time periods, continuously expanding the mythology of the franchise by drawing connections between the various victims, killers, and cops. The films are best watched in order of release, but to fully appreciate this tapestry of gore, it helps to try to put this bloody jigsaw puzzle together.
Across the various sequels, viewers have repeatedly been brought back to before the event of the first film, filling in the backstory of the various supporting players, as well as the man at the heart of this gruesome story - John Kramer. Once upon a time, John Kramer was a happily married civil engineer, whose wife Jill operated a clinic for addicts. She eventually got pregnant, only for the child to be killed in-utero by a patient . . . and John’s world began to fall apart.
He was soon diagnosed with terminal cancer, and attempted to take his own life. It was only after this failed suicide, and crawling from the wreckage of his car in agony, that he learned the value of life. Divorced from his wife, he made it his mission to teach others to appreciate existence by forcing them to face death. The Jigsaw Killer was born!
Kramer’s first victim was Cecil Adams, the man who killed his unborn child. Suffice it to say… Cecil failed the test. Over the course of subsequent ‘games’ Kramer perfected his craft and even found his first apprentice in Logan Nelson, the sole survivor of his ‘barn’ game. Together, they continued to orchestrate various deadly tests of survival. When someone copied Kramer’s calling card however, John tracked down the copycat, Detective Mark Hoffman. After subjecting him to a little test of his own, he added another accomplice to his team. Kramer eventually turned his attention to Amanda Young, another of his wife’s former patients, who, after killing a man to survive the test, became yet another convert and apprentice.
This brings us to the events of the first film, 2004’s “Saw”. In it, Kramer’s oncologist, Dr. Lawrence Gordon, and photographer Adam Stanheight are tested in a plot that also implicates David Tapp, a detective who was discharged when he became obsessed with Jigsaw. Tapp is killed, Gordon escapes after cutting off his foot and Adam is left for dead after Kramer reveals himself to have been the supposedly dead body lying in the room. It’s later revealed that Amanda goes back and puts Adam out of his misery.
They say that traumatic events bring people together, and that’s certainly true of the “Saw” franchise, as Dr. Gordon joins Kramer as his newest apprentice.
In the second film, Kramer and his accomplices bring together various people convicted by Detective Eric Matthews - some of them wrongfully, as the detective had been planting evidence. Among them is Amanda, who is of course really working with Jigsaw. There’s also Matthews’ own son, Daniel. Daniel makes it out, but his father winds up locked in the bathroom. He breaks his foot to escape, only to end up in the clutches of another Kramer apprentice, Detective Hoffman, who still works as a police detective on the Jigsaw case.
The events of “Saw III” and “Saw IV” actually play out simultaneously, making this period of time in the franchise extra-convoluted. Around this time, John Kramer’s old lawyer, Art Blank is kidnapped and subjected to a Jigsaw test. He survives, but rather than a willing apprentice, he becomes an unwilling minion. Blank, Amanda, and Hoffman organize other bloody games for new victims, while Kramer undergoes surgery, which proves successful. Unfortunately for all parties involved, the whole thing ends in even messier fashion than usual. Abductee Jeff shoots Amanda and slices Kramer’s throat, killing Jigsaw but causing the death of his wife. Jeff is then accidentally killed by an FBI Agent, Peter Strahm; while Blank is killed by SWAT Officer Daniel Riggs.
With Kramer and Amanda both dead, Hoffman has effectively taken over the mantle of the Jigsaw killer. And the scariest thing about that is the fact that he’s being treated as a hero by the media. However, Agent Peter Strahm, has escaped from the trap Hoffman left him in, and he’s now rightly suspicious. A tense game of wits, lies and deceptions ensues. But just as Strahm seems to get the upper hand on Hoffman, he’s killed by a trap.
Not only does this would-be hero wind up another victim, but he’s framed as a killer by Hoffman, who uses Strahm’s severed hand to plant fingerprints. And then Hoffman essentially goes on his merry way, continuing to set up deadly games like he was taught. Unfortunately for him, Jill, Kramer’s wife, has slowly but surely been pulled into the fray by her late husband’s legacy over the course of the previous films. She gives Hoffman a taste of his own medicine, leaving him to die in a Reverse Bear Trap.
But just like his mentor, Hoffman refuses to die easily. He escapes the trap and starts setting up new games. His most recent high profile target? Bobby Dagen, an author who published a book falsely claiming to have survived Jigsaw. Dagen finally becomes the survivor he claimed to be in his book, but his wife and acquaintances are killed in the game, along with the cops who attempt to stop it.
Hoffman, for his part, manages to sneak into the police station in a body bag, where he and Jill have a rematch. This time around, he comes out on top, killing Jill. As things tend to do in this franchise however, it all comes full circle when another one of Kramer’s apprentices, Gordon, locks Hoffman in the bathroom, sealing his fate.
So long as a disciple of John Kramer survives, Jigsaw will live on. And in the 2017 film, Kramer’s first apprentice, Logan Nelson, restarted the cycle of violence by recreating Kramer’s barn game. He plays his games, and even manages to frame someone else for the murders, tying up this most recent chapter in tidy fashion.
Of course, with Spiral set to hit theaters May 12th, 2020, it would seem that Jigsaw’s future remains secure and that this franchise will not only be getting a new lease on life, but also a fresh perspective.
