7. Saw
The first
Saw film was a fierce independent success from creators Leigh Whannel and James Wan, earning $103m against a $1-2m budget. Marked out for its intensity, minimalist concept, and of course, its shocking twist, the film enjoyed a healthy bout of acclaim from horror aficionados in particular before it was announced that a sequel would be following. A year later,
Saw II clambered onto the scene, and began an annual tradition that would continue until 2010, when
Saw 3D, the seventh and final film, was released. While the first two sequels were in fact surprisingly watchable, by the time
Saw IV rolled around, the gore was monotonous, the twists had become predictable, and the revelation that a new apprentice was to take over from a departed Jigsaw served as a cynical and needless way to wring more money out of the franchise. Of course, this plan worked, because against a mere $64 combined budget for the 7 films, they ended up grossing a massive $873m, making it the most lucrative horror franchise of all time by a sizeable margin. From the fourth Saw, the series just stagnated, with
Saw V being a particularly horrible entry, essentially consisting of a surplus of "Previously on Saw" flashback elements, and failing to really move the story forward at all. The sixth film did admittedly try something different by taking a satirical approach and attacking America's healthcare industry, but it wasn't enough to make the film anything more than a slight improvement.
Saw 3D, the final one, went out with quite a bang indeed, but was so ridiculous with its inevitable twist ending - featuring the return of Cary Elwes' Dr. Gordon - that even hardened fans were likely to find themselves laughing at what had been served up. However, prior to the 3D bump-up of the last film, box office receipts had been steadily dropping off, with
Saw VI only grossing $68m, which is roughly half the previous film. Audience favour had clearly faded, and many likely only turned out for the final chapter out of morbid curiosity to see how everything wrapped up. As a trilogy, the Saw films might have been regarded as a solid set of horrors, but as a collection of 7, it feels completely distended beyond and reasonable bounds, and is purely motivated by money. While it's tempting to go easy on the films - because, in honesty, what other horror franchises do we have? - it's undeniable that the obvious money-grabbing of the overall franchise has diminished the otherwise cult classic status that the original would have enjoyed.