Mostly known for its gruesome deaths and terrifying traps, the series also gained a name for itself for its genius twists. The Saw franchise, is among one of the most successful horror franchises of all time, and fans cannot get enough. With nine movies in the series, the Saw franchise is often referred to as a soap-opera, for its long-running story, tremendous amount of flashbacks, and some very interesting twists and turns.
Cementing itself as a great stand-alone horror movie, Saw was a ground-breaking entry into the horror genre, mostly due to its terrifying kills; the likes of which we had never seen. However, it was the genius and shocking twist that made Saw one of the best and scariest movies of the 2000s. Saw’s success kick-started an entire franchise, delivering many more terrifying and brutal kills, along with mostly shocking twists, while some felt a little lackluster and predictable, but that’s only in comparison to the other incredible twists in the franchise. So with that, here are the best twists in the Saw franchise.
5 They Were All Supposed to Survive the Game - Saw V
Lionsgate
Saw V focuses its main game on five victims who are all at first seemingly strangers. But after they start getting picked off one-by-one, it is soon revealed that they are all here for the same reason. This then leads to the final trap, where the final two victims must give 10 pints of blood, which is approximately the same amount of blood in the human body. To make things even harder, they had to do this in under 15 minutes.
The victims soon realize that this game was a test, and that they all could have survived each trap, if they had only helped each other, and had not been selfish. This is essentially why they are all being tested. While this twist isn’t necessarily the most shocking in the franchise, it certainly feels fresh. It was somewhat unique seeing a trap about teamwork, where if they had all worked together, none of them would have died, and the victims would barely have a scratch on any of them. But, due to their selfishness, they all perished one-by-one, before the final two were forced to push their hands through a spinning saw blade to give 5 pints of blood each. This results in the blade slicing through their hands and arms, from between the webs of their fingers, and horrifically all the way to their elbow, in a grizzly and painful trap.
4 Amanda’s Test - Saw III
Saw III mostly centers around Jeff’s test, but in typical Jigsaw fashion, Jeff wasn’t the only one being tested. As it was revealed in Saw II, Amanda Young is Jigsaw’s apprentice, helping Jigsaw build and design the traps, as well as kidnap his victims. Amanda first appeared in the first movie, wearing the iconic reverse bear trap around her head. But, since surviving, Jigsaw (John Kramer) took Amanda under his wing and named her his apprentice, to carry on John’s life’s work.
While this was a good idea at first, things soon took a turn for the worse. Amanda would build inescapable traps, like the angel trap, that was built for Detective Allison Kerry. Jigsaw has always had rules, and states that his games are “fair”. But as sadistic as that may sound, he does have rules that Amanda doesn’t follow. By making the traps inescapable, Amanda hasn’t given the test subjects a fair chance at surviving. This leads to John creating a test for Amanda, to follow the rules and grant someone the gift of life. Amanda’s test intertwines with Jeff’s test in a genius way, and by not freeing Jeff’s wife, Lynn, after she had successfully removed the tumor from John Kramer’s head, Amanda shoots Lynn in the back and in turn fails her test.
While this twist wasn’t the most shocking in the franchise, it was our first taste at seeing John Kramer test those who were close to him. This twist raised the stakes of these movies, making no-one safe and everyone susceptible to being tested by Jigsaw, even his own apprentices.
3 That is Not William Easton’s Family - Saw VI
The sixth entry in the Saw franchise was a return to form. Brutal and creative traps, alongside a shocking twist, made Saw VI one of the best films in the franchise. The film follows William Easton, a Health Insurance Executive, who has denied many dying patients’ health insurance, including John Kramer himself. William also denied health insurance to Harold Abbott, a cardiac patient who had a previous condition that Harold never told William’s company. Later on in the film, we find out that Harold died, because he was denied health insurance by William, which is a very important fact to keep in mind during the movie.
Throughout the film, we see a mother and a son trapped in a cage, with a lever connected to a vat of acid. Alongside them in the opposite cage, is a female reporter trapped because she has exploited Jigsaw’s message for her own benefit. Her cage is also fitted with a very similar vat of acid. It is never explained what this lever does until the end of the film, but we assume it is connected to the other person’s cage. It is later revealed that the reporter is in fact his sister, and the mom and son are the family of Harold Abbott. Jigsaw then appears on an old TV and asks Harold’s family if they will kill William or let him live, like he did to Harold. Angrily the mother rushes to the lever, ready to pull it, but she hesitates and can’t do it. This is when the son rushes in and pulls the lever without thinking otherwise.
We didn’t see this twist coming, as we assumed the mother and son were in fact William’s family, and it was absolutely shocking when the son decided to kill William in one of the most brutal deaths in the series.
2 The Footage Was Recorded - Saw II
Lions Gate Films
Saw II was a great sequel to a ground-breaking horror film, and this is thanks to this completely unexpected twist at the end of the film. Jigsaw’s lair is raided by the police, with monitors streaming “live” footage of a game that is currently happening, containing previous Jigsaw survivor Amanda Young and Detective Eric Matthews’ son.
Towards the end of the movie, Jigsaw takes Detective Matthews to the game. But when he arrives, the house is empty. While back at Jigsaw’s lair, Detective Allison Kerry realizes the tapes are in fact recorded as a SWAT group raids the wrong house. Over at the abandoned house, Eric Matthews goes into the basement to find the bathroom trap from the first movie, where he is then knocked unconscious by a figure wearing a pig mask.
This is shocking and unexpected enough, but adding to this twist is that we find out Amanda has become Jigsaw’s apprentice and was helping keep Eric’s son alive. It is revealed that Amanda was the one to knock Eric unconscious and chain his leg to a pipe, similar to Adam from the first movie. We then get to witness Amanda graduate from Jigsaw school as she says “game over” and slams the bathroom door.
1 Jigsaw Stands Up - Saw
This iconic twist from the first Saw movie has been hailed as one of the most shocking plot twists in the genre. The first movie eases us into the world of Saw and doesn’t ever tell us who Jigsaw actually is. With the two main Detectives trying tirelessly to find the man behind all these killings and deadly traps.
The majority of the film focuses on a test set in a bathroom with a “dead” body lying in the middle of the floor. It is revealed at the end of the movie that the body lying on the floor is in fact Jigsaw himself. Jigsaw rises as we first hear the awesome “Hello Zepp” track, which has become a staple of the franchise. The movie ends in one of the most iconic lines in horror movies, with Jigsaw uttering the words “game over”, and slamming the bathroom door, locking Adam in forever.
