Saw is back, as is series star Tobin Bell as “Jigsaw” John Kramer. In this film, set mere weeks after the events in the original Saw, Kramer travels to Mexico seeking a cure for his brain tumor. Instead, what he finds is a scam that leads him back to his old “Jigsaw” ways with all new traps. Will this movie suck out your eyeballs with its violence and gore? Or do you need to put several ounces of gray matter in a jar to enjoy the tenth Saw release? Join our hosts Jakob, Arnie, and Marjorie now to find out! This podcast may also contains spoilers including plot or ending details.

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Ladies and gentlemen, I have one piece of advice for you. No matter what Jigsaw tells you, there’s no escape from a Jigsaw trap. None! Oh, there’s pain in a Jigsaw trap, but you don’t want pain…you want an escape. And Chris Rock’s new movie Spiral: From the Book of Saw shows there’s no escape from a Jigsaw trap. So play the game, and our podcast review of Spiral, now.This podcast may also contains spoilers including plot or ending details.

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Seven Year’s Later…it’s again Halloween; it’s again Now Playing Podcast reviewing Saw/! The “torture porn” genre had fallen out of vogue, and Saw/’s grosses fell to match. Now, not quite a decade later, is the world ready for more traps and (plot) twists? Does the Saw/ cut as deep in its eighth iteration? Strap on your bucket and join Arnie, Jakob, and Marjorie to find out!This podcast may also contains spoilers including plot or ending details.

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After Paranormal Activity knocked Saw off its Halloween throne, the producers decided the time had come to end the game. This final chapter promises one last round of traps, twists, and moral reckoning – now in 3D! Arnie, Marjorie, and Jakob reunite to finish their own long-running trial of the Saw series, putting more thought into this finale than some might argue the screenplay received. Does this last piece of the puzzle deliver a satisfying conclusion, or does the series end with a dull blade?

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Now Playing Podcast completes our Saw retrospective series (for now…) with Saw VI. This sequel takes Jigsaw’s moral crusade in a surprisingly topical direction. Though John Kramer is dead, his final plans target a new set of “players,” this time zeroing in on the cold calculus of insurance executives and corporate decision-making. With traps designed to force those who profit from denying coverage to confront the human cost of their policies, Saw VI leans harder into social commentary than previous entries. Some may see Jigsaw’s warped sense of justice as timely, others as heavy-handed. Does this entry sharpen the series’ themes, or does it stretch the premise too far? The hosts examine whether this latest game hits its mark or pushes the concept past its breaking point.

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Now Playing Podcast continues the game with Saw V, a chapter that shifts focus from elaborate set pieces to the growing legacy of Jigsaw’s work. With John Kramer gone, the spotlight turns to those carrying out his philosophy, and whether they truly understand the rules he claimed to live by. As a new group of victims faces traps that demand cooperation rather than selfish survival, the film digs deeper into the idea that the real test may not be physical endurance, but moral choice. Meanwhile, the investigation tightens around Jigsaw’s inner circle. Does Saw V meaningfully expand the mythology, or does the series start to feel like it’s running on borrowed time?

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At the end of Saw III, Jigsaw was dead. So how does the game continue in Saw IV? This fourth installment rewinds, overlaps, and twists the timeline as Detective Rigg becomes the latest player forced to navigate a deadly moral maze. Meanwhile, Donnie Wahlberg finds himself in serious jeopardy, hanging in the balance as Rigg (Skinwalkers’ Lyriq Bent) races against the clock to learn Jigsaw’s lesson before it’s too late. With John Kramer gone, the franchise leans harder into apprentices, legacy, and increasingly complex storytelling. But can Saw IV sustain the series without Jigsaw at the center, or does the absence of the mastermind expose cracks in the formula? The hosts untangle the traps, the timeline, and whether this chapter keeps the game alive.

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Now Playing Podcast continues its descent into Jigsaw’s world with Saw III. John Kramer, played by Tobin Bell, is dying from a brain tumor, but that doesn’t mean the games stop. This time, Dr. Lynn Denlon (Crash’s Bahar Soomekh) is forced to keep him alive while another victim, Jeff (Braveheart’s Angus Macfadyen), endures a brutal series of tests designed to confront his grief and thirst for revenge. Why would Lynn cooperate with a serial mastermind? Because if Jigsaw’s heart stops, the device strapped to her head detonates. Stakes escalate, traps grow more elaborate, and the mythology deepens as the franchise pushes its interconnected storytelling further than ever. Does Saw III raise the series to a new level of psychological complexity, or does it collapse under the weight of its own intricacy?

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Now Playing Podcast continues its dive into Jigsaw’s world with Saw II, the sequel that expands the game from one grimy bathroom to an entire house full of traps. This time, Detective Matthews (Dreamcatcher’s Donnie Wahlberg) finds himself pulled into Jigsaw’s latest test, while a group of strangers scrambles to survive a nerve gas–filled nightmare. With Tobin Bell (Rudy) returning as the calm, calculating mastermind and the mythology growing more intricate, Saw II aims to prove the original wasn’t a one-off shocker. Does this sequel smartly escalate the concept and deepen the puzzle, or does it trade tension for bigger, bloodier set pieces? The hosts examine the twists, the traps, and whether this second round ups the stakes or simply repeats the game.

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When Saw hit theaters in 2004, few predicted it would ignite one of the defining horror franchises of the 21st century. Yet within a few short years, Saw had staked its claim on Halloween, launching an annual tradition of increasingly elaborate traps and moral games. It all begins with Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell waking up chained in a filthy bathroom, given a simple but impossible choice: one must kill the other to survive. With Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, and Shawnee Smith rounding out the cast, the film blends low-budget ingenuity with psychological cruelty. Does Saw earn its reputation as the modern standard-bearer for horror, or was its success more about shock than substance? Our hosts dissect the twists, the traps, and whether this first game still cuts as deep now, as they cut into Now Playing Podcast’s Saw retrospective series!

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