The full general rule of horror franchises is that, as the series continues, the plots become simpler and more repetitive, until the inevitable reboot which resets everything. Not and then with the Saw series. What started in 2004 equally a clever, gripping, merely relatively modest thriller has, over the course of eight films, become a preposterously complicated narrative, with flashbacks, parallel subplots, recurring characters, twists, turns, and head-spinning callbacks. Screw: From the Book of Saw is the 9th movie in the series, and information technology hits theaters this week. Just it's been four years since the concluding motion-picture show, 2017'southward Jigsaw, which itself was preceded by a seven year gap since Saw 3D. So fans could be forgiven for not really remembering what the hell has happened then far.

The only true mode to make sense of what's going on is to sit through all of the previous movies--and handily, the start seven tin be plant on HBO Max, while Jigsaw is currently streaming on Peacock. But for those that don't have fourth dimension, here's a recap of the essential elements of the story so far.

The main trouble of attempting to chronicle the plot of the entire serial is that so much happens out of sequence. Every movie contains flashbacks to scenes at different points in the timeline, with a multifariousness of important events occurring earlier the commencement moving picture. So permit's go from the very start.

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There are several central players in the Saw story, all of whom have some backstory that is revealed before the first movie kicks off. At the center we accept John Kramer, also known as the Jigsaw Killer. Before he was a torture-obsessed maniac, Kramer was a morally responsible architect with an as wholesome, pregnant married woman named Jill, who ran a clinic for recovering drug addicts. But a robbery at the clinic led Jill to take a miscarriage, and soon afterwards, poor Kramer discovered he had an inoperable encephalon tumor. He attempted suicide just failed, and and then decided that his life should follow a darker form. He became adamant to use his remaining time to ready up a series of gruesome games, each one designed to test his victims' volition to live.

We also have Amanda, a recovering addict at Jill'southward clinic, who was ane of the people involved in the robbery. Kramer abducts her, and she survives his examination--the infamous "reverse bear trap"-- and is "reborn" as his apprentice.

Finally, there'southward Hoffman, a cop whose sister was murdered past her fellow, Seth Baxter. Hoffman learns about the so-called Jigsaw killer, and uses a Jigsaw-manner trap to kill Seth in an attempt to frame the serial killer. Kramer learns of this, abducts Hoffman, and blackmails him into condign another amateur.

Pre-Saw

Jigsaw, the 8th pic in the series, served as both a prequel and sequel, and started with Kramer'south first ever game, a ridiculously elaborate test involving the victims being pulled toward a wall of spinning buzzsaws. The sole survivor is a human being named Logan, who (nosotros later acquire) mislabeled John Kramer's X-Ray, delaying the diagnosis of his cancer. Kramer recruits Logan every bit his first always apprentice and the pair design the reverse conduct trap.

Saw

Now, onto the showtime Saw. The film centers on Dr. Gordon, the medico who first diagnosed Kramer's tumor, and a man named Adam. Adam is a photographer hired past a cop named Tapp to spy on Dr. Gordon. Tapp is convinced that Gordon is Jigsaw--he's been framed past Hoffman (something nosotros don't discover until Saw V). Gordon and Adam accept been chained and locked in a bath together, with a corpse on the flooring.

An orderly at Gordon's infirmary named Zepp is working with Jigsaw, and will murder Gordon's family unless he can escape in time. Gordon ends up sawing off his own pes, while Zepp is stopped from killing Gordon's family unit by Tapp. All four end upwardly in the same warehouse, where Zepp kills Tapp and Adam kills Zepp. Gordon shoots Adam before he escapes, and Adam is left to die in the room. FInally, the corpse in the center of the room stands up and reveals himself to be Jigsaw all along.

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Betwixt Saw and Saw II

Saw 3D: Gordon is nursed dorsum to health by Jigsaw, and recruited to become another amateur. He promises to keep Jill safe later Kramer is dead.

Saw Three: Amanda enters the bath and kills Adam, who had not died from the gunshot wound Gordon inflicted at the end of Saw 1.

Saw Ii

A dodgy cop named Matthews raids Jigsaw'due south hideout and learns that the bedlamite is belongings viii prisoners--including Matthews' son Daniel and an hole-and-corner Amanda--in a house that is slowly filling with a deadly nerve amanuensis that volition kill everyone still inside in two hours. Six of these victims were sent to prison as a issue of Matthews planting false evidence, and one by one, they are killed past traps, leaving only Daniel and Amanda.

Matthews releases Jigsaw in exchange for the location of the house, but unfortunately these events took identify days agone and what he thought was a alive video feed was in fact a recording. Information technology turns out Daniel was prophylactic in Jigsaw's lair all along. The film ends with Matthew locked in the bathroom from the first moving picture, while Jigsaw and Amanda escape.

Between Saw II and Saw Iii

Saw Three: Matthews mangles his pes and escapes from the bath, but is caught by Amanda soon after.

Saw VI: Jill visits Kramer at the Gideon Meatpacking Found, which Kramer congenital for many of his games, and where he is planning his next game. He gives her a mysterious cardinal. Hoffman discovers Amanda's interest in the incident that led to Jill's miscarriage, and uses it to blackmail her.

Saw III

Onto Saw III, and this is where things outset to get actually complicated, as the events of both Saw Iii and Saw Iv take identify simultaneously. Half-dozen months after Saw II, ii cops named Rigg and Kerry are looking for Jigsaw, with the "assist" of Hoffman. Kerry is abducted by Amanda and killed in a trap, with Rigg framed for the killing.

The moving-picture show largely focuses on a doctor named Lynn Denlon, who is placed in one of Jigsaw'south traps (the shotgun collar) by Amanda and forced to perform life-saving surgery on a bed-ridden Kramer. Meanwhile, a man named Jeff is consumed with a quest to avenge his son's death by a drunk driver, and has his ability to forgive tested by Jigsaw. Needless to say, he doesn't forgive everyone and everyone involved dies nastily.

Meanwhile, Lynn'due south surgery is a success, only a jealous Amanda refuses to remove her neckband and shoots her instead. Jeff turns upward and shoots Amanda, then kills Jigsaw with a buzzsaw, which triggers Lynn's neckband. Goodbye Lynn!

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Saw IV

Every bit mentioned, Saw IV takes place at the aforementioned time equally the bulk of Saw Three. Rigg and Hoffman notice Kerry'southward trunk, and the movie introduces two new cops--Peter Strahm and Lindsey Perez, who figure out that Jigsaw must have accomplices. Rigg is abducted and forced to play a game in order to save Hoffman and Matthews. Still, Hoffman is just pretending to have been captured and this is all role of his plan to frame Rigg.

Meanwhile, Strahm and Perez interview Kramer's ex-married woman Jill, and they larn about the Gideon Meatpacking Constitute. During the subsequent investigation, Perez is injured by an exploding doll, so Strahm heads to the plant lone, where Rigg is playing his game. Rigg triggers a trap that kills Matthews, but non before Matthews tin can shoot him.

Strahm bursts in just after the ending of Saw III and shoots Jeff dead. Hoffman manages to capture him and locks him in the establish to play another game. Finally, during Kramer's autopsy, a tape is found in his stomach that tells Hoffman he is to be tested, even afterward his master's expiry.

Saw V

OK, four movies downwards, four to go. Gear up for more? Saw V starts with Hoffman'southward test for Strahm--his head sealed in a box that slowly fills with water. Strahm uses a pen to perform a tracheotomy on himself in guild to survive. Meanwhile, Kramer leaves Jill a black box in his will.

The injured Strahm is placed on medical get out, with an FBI amanuensis named Erikson taking over the Jigsaw case. Simply Strahm continues his investigations in private, correctly assertive Hoffman is Jigsaw'southward amateur. Hoffman starts a new game, involving a grouping of people who were all connected by their involvement in a building fire that killed eight people. All but two of them die.

Strahm figures out that Hoffman was involved with the decease of Seth (Hoffman's sister's swain, who killed her--remember?) and gets confirmation that he was working with Jigsaw. Only Hoffman has framed Strahm as Jigsaw's final apprentice, putting Erikson on his trail. Strahm finds a human-size box, along with a tape from Hoffman telling Strahm to climb within if he wants to survive. Instead, following a scuffle, Strahm throws Hoffman within. Believing he has won, Strahm discovers that this was Hoffman'due south plan all along. Hoffman's box sinks into the floor, as the walls close in on Strahm, killing him every bit Hoffman watches from safety.

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Saw Six

We're getting in that location! Hoffman moves onto his side by side game, whose victims were specified by Kramer in Jill's blackness box. The game focuses on William Easton, the corrupt CEO of the insurance company that refused to pay for experimental treatment that might take saved Kramer's life. Hoffman forces him to weigh the lives of victims against each other. Inevitably well-nigh of them die horribly, and Easton himself ends up existence fatally injected with acid by the son of another homo whose treatment he refused to cover.

Meanwhile, Erikson and the now-recovered Perez figure out that Hoffman has been continuing Jigsaw's work. Unfortunately, Hoffman is at that place at the time, and is able to acceleration both ridiculously easily with the use of hot coffee and a knife. He so destroys all the prove pointing to him and frames Strahm once more. Honestly, Jigsaw's apprentices should take more pride in their piece of work instead of framing anyone they can think of.

The picture show ends with Jill kidnapping Hoffman and placing him in the reverse bear trap. She tells him this is Kramer's final test for him. Hoffman manages to escape but not without fierce his face open. Eeeww!

Saw 3D

Deep breath, just ii movies left. Later Hoffman escapes from the trap, Jill runs to Internal Affairs detective Matt Gibson and offers her testimony about Hoffman's involvement in commutation for protection. Hoffman remains committed to his piece of work and embarks on yet another game based on Kramer'southward posthumous directions, involving a cocky-help guru who falsely claims to take survived one of Jigsaw'southward tests. Of course, when the examination becomes a reality, he fails it desperately.

One time that's done, Hoffman embarks on a piffling killing spree, taking out Gibson, earlier finding Jill and plumbing equipment her with the reverse conduct trap. Subsequently seven long films of teasing, nosotros finally see it go off, killing Jill in splattery 3D style.

Hoffman gets ready to skip town, simply is abducted by Dr. Gordon, who reappears afterwards vi films to finally reveal that he is all the same another Jigsaw disciple (the retcon to cease all retcons). He fulfils Kramer's final asking by trapping Hoffman and leaving him to dice inside the bath in which the series began.

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Jigsaw

Half of Jigsaw'due south events take place pre-Saw ane; we covered that already. The film'southward present storyline takes identify 10 years after Jigsaw' death. Logan, now working at the morgue, sets up a recreation of Kramer's beginning game. The investigating cop, Halloran, suspects Logan's Jigsaw-obsessed colleague Eleanor, but in the grand tradition of this series, Logan frames Halloran as the killer. The movie ends with Halloran and Logan--pretending to exist a victim--waking upward in a room, fitted with laser collars. Halloran confesses that he permit criminals free for personal gain. Logan reveals he is this movie's Jigsaw, and lets the lasers kill Halloran.

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