TAGGED AS: Horror, movies, saw
(Photo by Lionsgate)
One of the defining images of 2000’s horror cinema was a severed foot on a movie poster. The ingeniously simple poster for Saw (2004) is iconic because of its ability to condense the theme of the James Wan-directed film into a single image that spoke volumes to the audience. With the promise of foot mutilation, audiences flocked to the cinema in 2004 and the $1.5 million-budgeted horror movie pulled in $103 million worldwide. Game started! Nineteen years and eight sequels later, the Saw franchise now continues its run with Saw X, a prequel that takes place between Saw (2004) and Saw II (2006).
The interesting-but-unsurprising thing about Saw X is that it follows in the footsteps of the 2004 original and features a limb being sawed off (no more spoilers here). It’s interesting because it’s not afraid to draw comparisons to the most iconic film in the franchise; it’s not surprising because Saw X is a promising return to basics — which means a return to saws.
You’d think that a film series named after a hand tool would go heavier on actual sawing, but, the franchise in general hasn’t actually featured a lot of, well, sawing since 2004. In fact, after the first film, saws played a largely ancillary role in the series.
Nevertheless, we did a little research, and it turns out the style and amount of saw action can actually factor into how good a Saw movie might be. Here’s what we found.
(Photo by ©Lionsgate)
Tomatometer Average: 65%
Audience Score Average: 87%
Films: Saw (2004), Saw X (2023)
It’s notable that the only Saw films to feature an appendage being entirely cut off by a saw are Saw and Saw X. They are the two highest-rated films in the series according to the Tomatometer, and they currently bookend the franchise. It makes sense that it took 19 years to feature another limb being sawed off because the creators of the sequels wisely realized that they couldn’t recreate the feeling of watching a chalk-white Cary Elwes use an unsanitary hacksaw to hack off his foot inside a dirty prison bathroom. The scene isn’t all that graphic, and it only takes up 12 seconds of screen time, but the simplicity and urgency of the setup have helped it linger in the memory of millions of people around the world. There are much gorier moments in the franchise, but they are nowhere near as effective or memorable, because aside from 127 Hours, there aren’t many films that build towards a person becoming so desperate they willingly remove an arm or leg.
As far as narrative impact, the scene is arguably the high point of the series, and it serves as a reminder of the patience and planning that director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell dedicated to the film. What sets the first Saw apart from the eight sequels that followed is that Wan and Whannell, who didn’t direct any of the follow-ups, thought they were making a thriller in the vein of Seven. For better or worse, the marketing department latched onto the iconic torture element, and the rest is history.
(Photo by ©Lionsgate)
Tomatometer Average: 42.1%
Audience Score Average: 72.5%
Films: Saw (2004), Saw III (2006), Saw V (2008), Saw VI (2009), Jigsaw (2017), Saw X (2023)
One of the most stressful moments in the Saw franchise happens in Saw III when Dr. Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) performs an improvised surgery on John Kramer (Tobin Bell). During the successful operation to relieve the pressure on Kramer’s brain, Denlon uses a scalpel, drill, and circular saw to cut out a chunk of his skull. The scene is a welcome reminder that saws aren’t always the villain — and can have practical uses that don’t involve removing a foot. Maybe after the first movie, the public relations team at Big Saw asked the creators to at least show one positive benefit of the tool.
Saws are used more nefariously in Saw, Saw V, Saw VI, Jigsaw, and Saw X. In Saw VI, William Easton (Peter Outerbridge) is attacked with a buzzsaw, and in Saw V, Brit (Julie Benz) and Mallick (Greg Byrk) saw into their hands to collect blood during a game. When it comes to the amount of sheer carnage, Jigsaw wins easily, as the opening game features five people being sliced, and later, Anna (Laura Vandervoort) and Mitch (Mandela Van Peebles) are terrorized by falling saw blades while trapped inside a grain silo. There’s also a scene in which Kramer is working on a saw trap while talking to two victims who had their arms slashed by a saw earlier in the movie. It’s a lot.
None of these moments are as iconic as the original, of course, but they deserve credit for introducing saws or saw blades in inventive and non-fatal ways.
(Photo by ©Lionsgate)
Tomatometer Average: 31.6%
Audience Score Average: 68.8%
Films: Saw (2004), Saw II (2005), Saw III (2006), Saw: The Final Chapter aka Saw 3D(2009), Jigsaw (2017)
Here’s some movie trivia for you. In the original Saw, there were two hacksaws in the dirty bathroom prison, but one of them was broken when Adam (Leigh Whannell) started sawing into his metal chains. Consequently, the remaining hacksaw gets a lot of mileage in the series.
It pops up in Saw, Saw II, Saw III, Saw: The Final Chapter, and Jigsaw. Throughout the five films, it was used to saw off Gordon’s foot and slit a character’s throat, ultimately to be reunited with Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Elwes) in The Final Chapter. In Jigsaw, It’s only seen briefly in Eleanor Bonneville’s (Hannah Emily Anderson) shrine, but it’s a fun Easter egg and actually raises a lot of questions about how Eleanor got a hold of it in the first place.
While the hacksaw usage in Saw can’t be matched, the second-best occurrence happens in Saw III, when detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) briefly considers using it to cut off his foot when he’s trapped in the dirty bathroom prison. In a moment of creativity, he ditches it and chooses to break all the bones in his ankle and feet to get free from his chains. It’s a tough moment that still manages to make the audience squirm in new and unexpected ways.
The saw is proof of the series’ ability to intertwine its narrative and tie everything together via an intricate timeline.
Tomatometer Average: 39.5%
Audience Score Average: 65.25%
Films: Saw II (2005), Saw III (2006), Saw: The Final Chapter (2010), Saw X (2023)
Saws are surprisingly non-lethal in the Saw films. In fact, only four of the 109 deaths in the franchise are caused by saws of any type. However, it’s pretty great that John Kramer was killed by a power saw used by Jeff Denlon (Angus Macfadyen), the husband of Lynn Denlon, who earlier in the movie saved Kramer’s life — with a saw. It’s proof that the people who oversaw the franchise had a plan (or a sense of humor) and knew how to tie everything together. This case is also built when Daniel (Erik Knudsen) kills Xavier (Franky G) in Saw II with most likely the same hacksaw that his dad throws aside in Saw III. If only Detective Matthews was killed with a saw and not two ice blocks, then we’d really have some next-level storytelling.
The circular nature of the series is one of its strongest points, so it’s too bad the circular saw scene in Saw: The Final Chapter isn’t great, existing solely for some 3D nonsense involving throwaway characters. Poor Dina (Anne Greene).
(Photo by ©Lionsgate)
Tomatometer Average: 22.5%
Audience Score Average: 64%
Films: Saw III (2006), Saw IV (2007)
John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, was the glue that held the films together, and after his aforementioned murder (by saw) in the third installment, the audience was greeted by his autopsy in the early scenes of Saw IV. Sure, he’s already dead in the latter instance, but did the coroners use a saw on him? They sure did.
The good news is that John is back in Saw X. We should all be happy that the Saw franchise has a timeline to make Christopher Nolan jealous because the flashbacks, prequels, and sequels make sure the iconic villain can always pop up again in some form or another. What’s your favorite Saw franchise moment that features a saw? Let us know in the comments.
Saw X is currently in theaters.
