A Timeline Of The ‘Saw’ Franchise
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    • Lions Gate Films/Saw, Lions Gate Films/Saw V

A Timeline Of The ‘Saw’ Franchise

Patrick Thornton
Updated April 15, 2024 23.9K views 13 items

Like any long-running horror franchise, the timeline of Saw is complicated at best. Although there are no split timelines like in the Halloween films, the 10 current installments of Saw are only in semi-chronological order and contain countless flashbacks. In fact, the latest film, Saw X, takes place between the first and second films, which were released in 2004 and 2005, respectively.

Whether you're a Saw newbie who's trying to figure out the timeline or a seasoned fan in need of a refresher course, the list below gives a complete breakdown of the Saw franchise in order of events, rather than theatrical releases. Looking at the movies from this vantage point, it becomes clear how a mild-mannered John Kramer became one of the most notorious killers in the horror genre.


  • Cecil Adams Causes Jill Tuck To Miscarry

    Cecil Adams Causes Jill Tuck To Miscarry

    Prior to the events of Saw, John Kramer was a civil engineer and was married to Jill Tuck, who ran the Homeward Bound Clinic for recovering addicts. Two of the patients at the clinic included Cecil Adams and Amanda Young, the latter of whom would play an integral role in the Saw franchise. Young persuaded Adams to help her rob the clinic one night, while Kramer was waiting outside for Tuck. When the robbery went wrong, Adams slammed a doorknob into the pregnant Tuck's stomach. Although Kramer immediately took her to the ER, Tuck miscarried the couple's unborn son, Gideon.

  • John Kramer Is Diagnosed With Cancer And Attempts To Take His Own Life

    John Kramer Is Diagnosed With Cancer And Attempts To Take His Own Life

    Saw II is the first film in the franchise to dig into the backstory of Kramer and how he became the Jigsaw Killer. In an interview with Detective Matthews, Kramer discusses Tuck's miscarriage and the deep depression he fell into afterward. Following that, Kramer developed a brain tumor that was misdiagnosed. When it was finally discovered, Kramer had mere months to live. Kramer then attempted to take his own life in a car crash but inexplicably survived. Believing he now had a second chance at life, Kramer began developing “games” that would force others to develop a new appreciation for their own lives or die. Along the way, Kramer targeted many of the individuals who wronged him.

  • Kramer Sets Up His First Traps

    Following his fatal diagnosis and divorce from Tuck, Kramer made Adams his first victim. Kramer bound Adams to a chair in which eight knives stared Adams in the face. After escaping the contraption, he attempted to kill Kramer, only to fall to his death in a pit of barbed wire. After removing a piece of Adams's flesh in a jigsaw pattern, the media began referring to Kramer as the Jigsaw Killer. 

    As Kramer entered a new era of his life, he began building torture devices in Tuck's barn, among which was a prototype of the Bucket Helmet trap. Kramer proceeded to kidnap five people who were made to participate in the “games” he was still trying to perfect, including Logan Nelson, who mixed up the X-rays that left Kramer's cancer undetected until it was too late. After realizing he'd made a mistake, Kramer saved the life of Nelson, who quickly became Kramer's first accomplice. Nelson went on to create the infamous Reverse Beartrap that appeared throughout the franchise, first popping up in a scene with Amanda Young.

  • Mark Hoffman Tries To Frame Jigsaw But Becomes An Accomplice Instead

    Mark Hoffman Tries To Frame Jigsaw But Becomes An Accomplice Instead

    As the investigation into the Jigsaw Killer got underway, Detective Mark Hoffman decided to escalate the search by framing Jigsaw. Hoffman kidnapped Seth Baxter and trapped him beneath a giant, swinging pendulum blade. Baxter died even though he solved Hoffman's game, and Hoffman proceeded to cut out a jigsaw piece from Baxter's flesh.

    When Kramer learned of the faked Jigsaw killing, he abducted Hoffman and placed a shotgun under his chin, which would go off if Hoffman tried to escape. Hoffman reluctantly agreed to help Kramer with his crimes to keep Kramer from revealing that Hoffman murdered Baxter. Hoffman's first task was to help frame Kramer's doctor, Lawrence Gordon, for the Jigsaw murders. Hoffman went on to become one of the lead villains in the Saw franchise. 

  • Bobby Dagen Fakes Being A Victim Of Jigsaw

    Bobby Dagen Fakes Being A Victim Of Jigsaw

    In Saw: The Final Chapter, better known as Saw 3D, author Bobby Dagen claims to be a victim of Jigsaw who survives, which he recounts in his bestselling memoir, S.U.R.V.I.V.E. Although Kramer dies before having the opportunity to test Dagen himself, he does show up at a book signing and indicates to Dagen that he knows that his book is all a lie.

    As Dagen continues his charade, even infiltrating a support group for Jigsaw survivors, he's eventually kidnapped by Hoffman. Dagen is then forced to endure a real series of tests made by the new Jigsaw. In the process, Dagen has to remove a fishhook from his publicist's stomach before watching her die. He then witnesses the violent deaths of his friends, including Joyce, a real Jigsaw survivor, all because Dagen keeps failing the tests. Dagen must also reenact the test he made up for the book, which leads to him shoving hooks through his chest.

  • Dr. Gordon And Adam Are Locked In A Bathroom

    In the first Saw film, Kramer's doctor, Lawrence Gordon, becomes a victim in Kramer's games due to the doctor having an affair and not seeing patients as real people. When Gordon wakes up in a filthy bathroom with a man named Adam, they see Kramer lying in a pool of blood, having apparently taken his own life. 

    As the men play tape recordings found in their pockets, they learn of the game and that Gordon's wife and daughter will be murdered if he doesn't kill Adam in a set amount of time. As they search the room, Gordon and Adam find hacksaws as well as a cell phone that allows Gordon to contact his wife and daughter. Believing they're being murdered after Gordon fails to kill Adam, Gordon cuts off his foot with one of the hacksaws and crawls for help. With only Adam left in the room, Kramer gets up and reveals that he faked his death before leaving Adam trapped in the bathroom.

    Like other victims of Jigsaw, Gordon goes on to become one of Kramer's apprentices.