10 Films That Should Never Have Become Franchises
5. Saw
This first Saw isn’t really about the traps or about Jigsaw – it’s a movie for the head, whose elaborate plot unfolds with one startling twist after another. The trouble with releasing a sequel every year quickly became apparent when the rushed-looking Saw II arrived in cinemas, boasting a plot that wasn’t as clever as the filmmakers seemed to think.
The rot set in with Saw III, which abandoned any semblance of logic in favour of more traps, more grue and more screaming. Most franchises would die along with their main character, but when Jigsaw breathes his last at the end of the film, he’s already left behind enough traps to set up the next four movies. For a character on his deathbed, that’s not bad.
By the time of Saw 3D there was no plot, just a sense that the train wreck was coming to a halt. Shtick is recycled from earlier installments and more characters return from the grave, but as another victim faces another round of torture porn, you’re reminded that you’ve seen it all before and simply upping the volume can’t change that.