The Complete ‘Saw’ Timeline, Explained

When James Wan’s Saw arrived in theaters in 2004, it was a cultural reset for the sub-genre of splatter films that would be later known as “torture porn.” The term was originally coined by critic David Edelstein in a New York Magazine op-ed titled “Now Playing at Your Local Multiplex: Torture Porn.” He was referring to Eli Roth’s Hostel, but the term eventually pivoted over to the Saw franchise. Soon enough, “torture porn” became a sub-category to compile features featuring excessive violence and gore.

Saw was conceived by Australian director and writer duo James Wan and Leigh Whannell, who gained the inspiration from the low-budget horror The Blair Witch Project. In order to minimize the budget, they agreed that shooting with two actors in one room would be most efficient. The concept of Jigsaw came from Whannell’s heath scare; he went to the neurologist convinced that his migraines were a brain tumor, which paved the way for John Kramer, a serial killer with colon cancer and a frontal lobe tumor.

Since 2004, Saw has spawned eight sequels thus far with a ninth (Saw X) on the way. While the original is a captivating whodunnit, the sequels rely far more on shocking twists and convoluted death traps that’ll make you wince. As we await Saw X, let’s break down the extensive history of the Saw franchise.

Jill’s miscarriage

When we first meet John Kramer, we know nothing about him other than the fact that he’s the infamous Jigsaw killer. And even then, we aren’t privy to that information until the climax. His moral and backstory aren’t explored until later sequels, which is where we learn about his then-wife Jill and his unborn son Gideon. Only when we get some insight as to John’s history do we start to understand — to some extent — why he does what he does.

In Saw IV, we learn that it all started with Jill, who was heavily pregnant with John’s child. But things turn awry when Jill meets Cecil Adams, a junkie who holds her at knifepoint as she’s leaving the rehab facility she founded. He had stolen methadone from the clinic, but during his escape, found himself cornered by Jill. As he rushes out, he slams a door into Jill’s pregnant stomach, which causes her to miscarry. We later find out that Amanda Young, John’s apprentice, was the fellow junkie who coerced Cecil into stealing from Jill’s clinic, thus indirectly causing Gideon’s death.

John is diagnosed with colon cancer

According to Jill’s dialogue in Saw IV, John received his stage-four colon cancer diagnosis “soon after” Gideon’s death, so that’s just the icing on the proverbial cake. In Jigsaw, a former medic for the U.S. Army mislabels John’s X-rays, resulting in a late diagnosis for Kramer, who might have had better odds had he found the cancer sooner. William Easton, a health insurance executive, declined Kramer’s several claims for coverage, prompting John to suggest experimental gene therapy. William discourages the idea, confirming that John is, effectively, a dead man.

This leads to John making an attempt to end his life by suicide, which he survives, and discovers a newfound appreciation for life. He decides to devote his remaining years to forcing morally impaired people to reassess their will to live using convoluted death traps, which he calls “games,” and this becomes his modus operandi.