Tag: Tobin Bell

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Saw X

John Stark

I watched all of the Saw films this year because a friend asked me to. This marathon was made possible by the sad truth that, finally, all of the Saw films were available with audio description on Netflix. Mind you, this franchise has been going on for quite a while. The fact that this was somehow a momentous occasion in 2026 is just another reminder of the entertainment industry’s lackadaisical approach to accessibility. Saw X, being the most recent entry in the franchise, had audio description for its theatrical release. But as someone who had previously only seen the first … Continue reading Saw X

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Jigsaw

John Stark

Jigsaw marks a welcome change of pace for the Saw franchise. More importantly, thank God the tales of Hoffman are finally behind us. I know plenty of critics would argue there was never much value in any of the first seven Saw films, but it’s hard to deny the impact the original movie had when it arrived in 2004. If nothing else, it shocked audiences with one of the most memorable twist endings of its era. It also became the poster child for the crudely named “torture porn” subgenre, paving the way for films like Hostel and The Collector, movies … Continue reading Jigsaw

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Saw 4

John Stark

As I continue working my way through the Saw franchise, we’ve officially arrived at what I like to call the Tales of Hoffman era. If there has ever been a less inspired replacement killer in horror history, I’m struggling to think of one. One thing the Saw sequels absolutely love doing is circling back to previous films and pretending there were major revelations hiding in plain sight the entire time. Every sequel seems determined to convince us that events from earlier movies were secretly much more important than we realized. Saw IV leans heavily into that approach, but it does … Continue reading Saw 4

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Saw 3

John Stark

And now we’ve come to Saw III, which had so much promise to it, but also starts to show the cracks that would eventually split the Saw franchise wide open. Weirdly enough, this is the only one of the first seven films not done by Descriptive Video Works, so even the narrator changes. It’s strange how noticeable that is once you’ve settled into a rhythm with these movies. I’m not sure the writing itself suffered because of it, but the film definitely feels heavier. More cluttered. Like the franchise is starting to collapse under the weight of its own mythology. … Continue reading Saw 3