It’s a good time to be a horror fan. The genre has been thriving for years now, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Some of the best horror movies returned with new sequels, including the torture porn property Saw. The latest installment Saw X has been getting praise as the best movie of the entire franchise, but fans are crazy for sleeping on another sequel. Someone cue the theme music.
Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw has returned to the big screen (as well as the franchise itself) in Saw X. The movie is much more focused on him than other installments, and is set in between the events of the first and second Saw flicks. While it was definitely higher quality than we’ve seen from other movies (I’m looking at you Chris Rock’s bomb Spiral), I wouldn’t call it the best movie of the entire franchise. In my mind, that honor goes to the very first sequel, Saw II.
Legendary horror filmmaker James Wan helmed the original Saw movie, establishing John Kramer’s methodology as Jigsaw in the process. But I felt that the franchise as we knew it was really born in Saw II, which was bigger, bloodier, and told a more ambitious two-pronged story. And it’s the one I’ve most returned to over the years.
Saw II (which can be streamed with an Amazon Prime subscription) sees John Kramer apprehended by Donnie Osmond’s Detective Eric Matthews, while his son is in the middle of Jigsaw’s big game at a poisoned house. Matthews and Kramer watch it all play out in front of them, but the twist is that the footage was actually on a time delay. The movie also reveals that Jigsaw has a protege in the form of Shawee Smith’s Amanda Young.
The traps in Saw II are super iconic. I mean, the needle pit was true nightmare fuel. Who could forget the scene where Addison traps her arms between two blades when trying to find an antidote to the poison? And to top it all off, one of the villains fighting for their life is Seventh Heaven star Beverly Mitchell.
While Saw X might be a cleaner and more capsulated story, The complexity and multiple puzzles from Saw II was part of why it was such a fun moviegoing experience. The new sequel is also deeply connected with it, with Shawnee Smith even back as Amanda– and in a significant role. You wouldn’t return to the iconography of Saw II if it wasn’t such a great chapter of the long-running franchise.
It should be interesting to see if another sequel is greenlit, and if more Saw legacy characters end up appearing. Saw X’s credits scene featured another familiar face, which was fun as a longtime fan. Although I doubt another sequel could come that would dethrone Saw II as my favorite.
Saw X is in theaters now and Saw II is streaming on Amazon. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
