Saw has returned! Tobin Bell is back as the famed serial killer and Saw X will explore events that took place before his infamous death in Saw III. The franchise burst onto the scene in 2004; Which means Saw has been in the mainstream for nearly 20 years. Admittedly, the series is overly convoluted, though that’s the charm of the ongoing franchise. However, the bread and butter for Saw is their traps and twists.
You can’t have a Saw film without a huge twist. There’s certainly no shortage of them in the past nine films. This list will narrow down the five best twists from Saw to Spiral. Which twist stands out as the franchise’s best? Let’s get started with the first shocking twist.
The Jigsaw Killer Revealed (Saw)
Admittedly, the Saw twist isn’t as good when looking back on it. Why did John Kramer need to pretend to be dead when he had cameras watching Gordon (Cary Elwes) and Adam (Leigh Whannell)? Even when the later films tried to explain it, the shocking twist started to lose its appeal. Still, the twist isn’t the worst thing in the world and it helped set the franchise on fire when it was first released in 2004.
The twist was a stunning reveal of the true serial killer in the series. Those haunting final moments of John getting up and telling Adam, “Game Over” will always stick as one of the finest moments in the Saw franchise. It’s never been truly clear why Kramer felt that Adam needed to suffer as much as he did since he was nothing more than a sleazy photographer, but the ending still had a strong impact overall.
The Game Is Already Over (Saw II)
Despite what the critics say – Saw II has a poor 37% on rotten tomatoes – Saw II was a welcome follow-up to the surprise hit in 2004. The second entry showed the promise the premise has for the long-running franchise: eight people are trapped inside a mysterious house and must deal with Jigsaw’s deadly games. The cleverness of the sequel was the time trick that was pulled off.
Saw II was really about dirty cop Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and him ending up in the same place as Adam made for a really strong ending. The editing department did a masterful job of tricking audiences into believing that the events happening in the house were taking place in real-time. The twist ultimately made sense and left a good taste in everyone’s mouth once the credits rolled.
Everyone Dies (Saw III)
Saw III was originally marked as the end of the series. So, naturally, the creatives decided that everyone should die. Jeff’s trial was all about forgiveness and learning to let go, but his actions cost three lives. After murdering the man responsible for the death of his son, that triggered off Lynn’s (Bahar Soomekh) collar effectively killing her.
Plus, John has his daughter locked in some place that only he knows about. The lessons regarding the value of life come full circle. Jeff learned nothing throughout his trial and other people suffered the consequences for his murderous actions. It was a jaw-dropping finale that could be argued as the best twist in the entire franchise thus far.
Peter Straum Finds Jigsaw’s Apprentice (Saw V)
Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) has taken over as Jigsaw’s apprentice. However, Straum (Scott Patterson) is hot on his trail as Saw V was a cat-and-mouse game between both detectives. The arc with Straum and Hoffman was better than the main story involving the latest victims trying to survive the serial killer’s string of deadly traps.
Straum ultimately got his answer by confronting Hoffman, but he paid the price by being crushed as Hoffman watched in glee. Saw V may have not been the strongest entry within the franchise, but the twist in the end was still a pretty darn good one overall. We knew that Straum would most likely fail at catching the killer. The brief glimmer of hope was when Straum escaped his trap. Their fight before Hoffman was stuffed in a glass coffin was also a nice way to yo-yo with audiences’ emotions. A smart ending overall.
Hoffman Is Put In The Reverse Bear Trap (Saw VI)
Saw VI has two good twists within it. However, the surprise of Hoffman finally paying for his sins is so much more rewarding. The series has made it clear that the former Police Officer isn’t as sympathetic as John or Amanda (Shawnee Smith). He has no problem using the traps as a source for revenge, and his slaughtering cops seems like a weekly activity. Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) electro-shocking Hoffman and putting him in the reverse bear trap was a nice surprise. The ending of the Jill/Hoffman arc is as ugly as it gets, but the beginning of this story was one of the best twists in the series.
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