How do you watch the Saw movies in order? Would you like to play a game? The defining horror movie franchise of the 2000s, Saw quickly evolved from a clever, well-made chiller into a sprawling franchise that is now nine films deep.
Along the way, we’ve followed John Kramer (Tobin Bell), who becomes the serial killer Jigsaw when the American healthcare system refuses to help his terminal cancer diagnosis. Well, “Serial killer” is technically incorrect, because the movie villain never murders anyone. The victims just kill themselves by failing to escape some horrendous puzzles he makes for them. However, that’s excusing how he stalks and kidnaps them, even if he offers a way out.
Philosophical misgivings asides, Saw traps have long made the horror movies a prime attraction for people who want some gore on the big screen. Around all the drowning pig carcasses and acid baths, there’s a long, expansive lore built around the infamous John Kramer and his convincing way of enlisting others to his cause. This makes following all the Saw movies in order a task, but one we’re here to help with. No games, just good, honest information!
How to watch the Saw movies in chronological order:
- Jigsaw (first half)
- Saw
- Saw 2
- Saw 3
- Saw 4
- Saw 5
- Saw 6
- Saw 3D
- Jigsaw (second half)
- Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Jigsaw (first half) (2017)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
The twisted games of Jigsaw start in his namesake instalment, the eighth film in the franchise. An extended flashback that composes the entire first act shows his first experiment and the poor victims who suffered because of it. It’s not the entire first half, but it’s close enough, and if you want the full story from the start, this is where to go.
Saw (2004)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
James Wan’s classic bottleneck detective movie that started it all. You know the premise by now: two men wake up chained to opposite sides of a bathroom, one of them is instructed to kill the other to save his family. As they try to figure out what to do, a parallel subplot has detectives hunting for the Jigsaw Killer, who’s become well-known for his sadistic traps. Works as a stand-alone film or as part of this greater mythology.
Saw 2 (2005)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
Right after Saw, Jigsaw, otherwise known as John Kramer, is caught by Detective Eric Matthews. Always two steps ahead, John has Eric’s son Daniel in one of his games. Daniel is locked inside an unidentified house with eight other people, and they all have two hours to live. Stressful. Flashbacks reveal that Jigsaw has terminal cancer, setting up his downward spiral.
Saw 3 (2006)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
Here’s where things start to get a little tricky. Amanda, from Saw 2, is now an apprentice Jigsaw Killer, along with detective Mark Hoffman. In Saw 3 and Saw 4, they each initiate different methods of torture, demonstrating what John taught them, at the same time, around six months on from the last film.
Amanda’s charged John himself, keeping a doctor in charge of his fading body by strapping them into a headpiece that’ll blast them with five shotgun shells if they run. Meanwhile, a grieving father is forced to punish those involved in the death of his son from a drink-driving accent. Gruelling, and where the endings start to become truly obtuse.
Saw 4 (2007)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
Away from all that, Mark puts an investigator on Jigsaw’s case through utter hell. Lieutenant Daniel Rigg moves from victim to victim, all in a vain effort to finally apprehend John Kramer. He fails, and the rabbit hole of Jigsaw’s influence gets deeper and deeper. The Saw movies have fully transitioned into ‘gorenographic’ territory by this point.
Saw 5 (2008)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
In the aftermath of Saw 4, Mark sealed the case on Jigsaw and gets promoted. He doesn’t have everyone convinced, though, and FBI agent Peter Strahm is on his trail.
Five more victims are locked in an explosive, deadly game in n underground bunker, and Peter finds the Jigsaw case a crushing one to follow – literally and figuratively. Mark, in contrast to Jigsaw, clearly enjoys the cruelty, breaking away from the ethos of offering a “fair” escape for the subject.
Saw 6 (2009)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
Mark takes over another game at the posthumous request of Jigsaw, targeting William Easton, the head of a dubious health insurance company that refused to cover John for his cancer. In the end, Jill, Jigsaw’s widow, reveals a plan to take out Mark, but he survives, setting up a big clash for Saw 7.
Saw 3D (2010)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
Remember when Avatar came out and 3D was inescapable for a few years? Even Saw got involved. Jill trades information on Mark and Jigsaw for immunity from the FBI.
As detective Matt Gibson searches for Mark, another game involving white supremacists takes place. In a massive twist, Dr Lawrence Gordon, a survivor from the first movie, is revealed to be another apprentice, and he traps Mark as the credits roll.
Jigsaw (2017) (second half)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
And we’re right back into Jigsaw, where, a decade after Saw 3, another of John’s dedicated followers emerges. Logan Nelson, who survived another Saw trap, is now carrying on the criminal mastermind’s work. Yet more history on John’s masterplan is revealed. Ultimately, it’s just about all the gore.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
The latest chapter of Saw is Spiral, the Chris Rock-fronted spin-off about a copycat Jigsaw. Samuel L Jackson joins the franchise as well. Darren Lynn Bousman, who directed Saw 2, Saw 3, and Saw 4, helms the film, which mostly serves to give us a brand new Jigsaw, who outwits and outsmarts everyone to maximum bloody results. We’ll have to wait for Saw 10 to see what other terrors await.
How to watch the Saw movies in release order:
- Saw
- Saw 2
- Saw 3
- Saw 4
- Saw 5
- Saw 6
- Saw 3D
- Jigsaw
- Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Unlike Jigsaw’s heinous puzzles, the Saw timeline is straightforward regardless of what way you watch it. If you choose release order, the Saw movies are exactly the same bar the first act of Jigsaw.
Then you’re into seven instalments of John Kramer’s particular brand of justice, and then Jigsaw and Spiral, and the next era of Saw. It should be noted that a new film is coming to the franchise! The Saw 10 release date is October 27, 2023.
So keep your eyes on this guide as our favourite imprisonment franchise continues to grow! Also, why not have a look at our guides to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre timelines and the Halloween movies for other ominous killers?
We’ve also got a list of all the new movies coming out in 2023 for you to enjoy. Or for more classics, here is our list of the best movies of all time.
