Saw Movies in Order: Release Order, Story Order and Why Each Film Goes Where It Does

The Saw series has 10 films so far, and an 11th was announced in September 2026. Release order is simple. Story order is not, because two of the later films jump back in time and two of the middle films overlap. This guide gives both orders, explains every placement in plain terms, and adds a short path for viewers who don’t want all 16 hours.

Saw movies in release order

These are the 10 theatrical Saw films in the order they opened in US theaters. Release dates come from each film’s Rotten Tomatoes page. Runtimes are the BBFC’s timed cinema versions, rounded to the nearest minute, so streaming listings may differ by a minute or two.

#	Film	US release	Runtime (min)	Who it centers on
1	Saw	Oct 29, 2004	103	Two men trapped in a bathroom
2	Saw II	Oct 28, 2005	93	Detective Eric Matthews
3	Saw III	Oct 27, 2006	108	Dr. Lynn Denlon and Jeff
4	Saw IV	Oct 26, 2007	92	SWAT Lt. Daniel Rigg
5	Saw V	Oct 24, 2008	92	Detective Hoffman
6	Saw VI	Oct 23, 2009	90	Hoffman and the FBI
7	Saw 3D (Saw: The Final Chapter)	Oct 29, 2010	90	The fight over Jigsaw’s legacy
8	Jigsaw	Oct 27, 2017	92	A new investigation, years later
9	Spiral: From the Book of Saw	May 14, 2021	93	Detective Zeke Banks
10	Saw X	Sep 29, 2023	118	John Kramer himself

Total: about 971 minutes, or roughly 16 hours and 11 minutes.

The first seven films arrived every October from 2004 to 2010. After a seven-year break, Jigsaw revived it in 2017, Spiral tried a spin-off in 2021, and Saw X brought back Tobin Bell as John Kramer in 2023. TheWrap reports that Saw X grossed over $125 million worldwide on a $13 million budget.

What about the director’s cuts?

The BBFC also lists director’s cuts of Saw II and Saw III. The Saw II director’s cut runs about 94 minutes, and the Saw III director’s cut runs about 116. Either version works for watch order. The tables here use the cinema cuts.

Saw movies in story (chronological) order

Light spoilers follow for the setup of each film, though not for the endings’ biggest twists. Published story orders differ most over where Jigsaw goes. The Rotten Tomatoes guide lists it first; we place it ninth, and the section after the table explains why.

#	Film	Where it sits	Why it goes here
1	Saw (2004)	Start of the main story	Introduces the Jigsaw killer and his bathroom game. Flashbacks show some of his earlier victims, so it already contains its own prequel material.
2	Saw X (2023)	Between Saw and Saw II	The official synopsis on Rotten Tomatoes says it is “set between the events of SAW I and II.” John Kramer is still alive and seeking a cancer cure in Mexico.
3	Saw II (2005)	After Saw X	The police close in on Jigsaw while eight people are trapped in a house, one of them the lead detective’s son.
4	Saw III (2006)	After Saw II	John Kramer is bedridden and dying, and a doctor is forced to keep him alive.
5	Saw IV (2007)	Overlaps with Saw III	It opens with Jigsaw’s autopsy, but Den of Geek notes the main games of III and IV happen at the same time. Flashbacks also show the killer’s origins, per its Rotten Tomatoes synopsis.
6	Saw V (2008)	After III and IV	Hoffman, called Jigsaw’s apparent last disciple, works to protect his secret, as the Rotten Tomatoes synopsis puts it.
7	Saw VI (2009)	After Saw V	Hoffman carries on the games as the FBI closes in.
8	Saw 3D (2010)	After Saw VI	Closes out the Hoffman storyline. A flashback goes back to the aftermath of the first film, as Den of Geek explains.
9	Jigsaw (2017)	After Saw 3D, with a flashback	Its present-day investigation chases a killer who died more than ten years earlier, per Rotten Tomatoes. Its scenes of an earlier game go back to Kramer’s early days, before the first film.
10	Spiral (2021)	Last, as a side story	Set in the same city many years later, with a copycat killer and only passing mentions of Kramer, says Den of Geek.

Why do some lists put Jigsaw first?

Jigsaw (2017) is two stories in one. Much of its running time is an earlier game, and Rotten Tomatoes’ watch-order guide treats the film as mostly set before the first Saw. The detective story wrapped around that game happens more than ten years after John Kramer’s death.

Putting Jigsaw first follows the flashback. Putting it ninth follows the frame story. We put it ninth because the film is built to surprise viewers who already know the series. Watched first, it would spoil a reveal and introduce characters you have no reason to care about yet.

Do Saw III and Saw IV happen at the same time?

Mostly, yes. Saw IV opens after the end of Saw III, with Kramer’s autopsy, then follows a separate game that runs alongside the events of Saw III.

Watch Saw III first either way. Saw IV’s structure only pays off if you remember what happened in the earlier film.

Where does Saw X fit, and why was it made as a prequel?

Saw X is set between the first two films, at a point when Kramer is alive and sick. In it, Kramer travels to Mexico for an experimental treatment that turns out to be a scam. It gives Tobin Bell’s Kramer the lead role for a full film, something the main sequels could not do once his character was dying in Saw III.

Den of Geek describes Saw X as a largely self-contained story, and that matters for planning. You can drop it into slot two for a strict chronological run, or save it for last as a send-off. Both choices work.

Is Spiral part of the same timeline?

It is set in the same world, but it is a side story. Spiral follows Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks, played by Chris Rock, as he investigates murders that echo the city’s past, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Samuel L. Jackson plays his father, a respected police veteran, and Max Minghella plays his rookie partner. Kramer is never part of its main plot.

Which order should you watch the Saw movies in?

For a first viewing, use release order. Each sequel was written to reveal things about the film before it, and the twists land the way the filmmakers intended.

For a rewatch, story order is more rewarding. Seeing Saw X right after the original makes Kramer’s methods in Saw II feel like a continuation. Running Saw III straight into Saw IV also makes the overlap easy to follow.

The minimum Saw viewing path

Ten films is a lot of horror for one sitting. Here are three shorter routes, built on what each film actually needs from the others.

Path	Films	Runtime
The essentials	Saw, Saw II, Saw III, Saw X	About 7 hr 2 min
The full Kramer and Hoffman saga	Saw through Saw 3D (films 1-7), plus Saw X	About 13 hr 6 min
Everything	All 10 films	About 16 hr 11 min

The essentials. The first three films tell John Kramer’s story from his first big game to his deathbed. Add Saw X, which is mostly self-contained and brings Tobin Bell back for a full film. You can watch it second or fourth. This route gives you the whole of Kramer’s arc in a single long evening.

The full saga. Saw IV through Saw 3D shift the focus to Detective Hoffman and the people fighting over Kramer’s legacy. They depend on each other heavily, so watch them back to back rather than dipping in and out.

The optional entries. Jigsaw and Spiral are the safest to skip. Jigsaw ties back to Kramer through flashbacks but tells its own case. Spiral is a standalone copycat story.

Is there a new Saw movie coming?

Yes, but it has no date. On September 24, 2026, Lionsgate and Blumhouse Atomic Monster announced that Mike P. Nelson will direct the 11th Saw film, TheWrap reported. Gregory Weidman and Geoff Tock wrote the script. Series creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell are producing with Jason Blum.

Film	Status as of October 30, 2026	Key names
Untitled 11th Saw film	Announced; no official title or release date	Mike P. Nelson (director), James Wan, Leigh Whannell, Jason Blum (producers)

The project has had a bumpy road. An earlier version, Saw XI, held a September 26, 2025, release date until Lionsgate pulled it from the schedule in March 2025 and gave the slot to The Strangers: Chapter 2. In June 2025, Deadline reported that Blumhouse had closed its deal for Twisted Pictures’ share of the franchise rights, with Lionsgate keeping a 50% interest and continuing to distribute the films. No plot details have been released. We will add the new film to the tables once a release date is official.

If you want to be ready for it, the essentials path above covers the characters the series keeps returning to.

More horror watch orders

If you finish the Saw marathon and want more, try our Conjuring Universe in order guide, the Insidious movies in order, or the Halloween movies in order, which has its own tangle of timelines. For science fiction horror, see where to watch the Alien movies.