Top 10 Scariest Scenes in Saw Movies

“Saw V” (2008)
The movie opens with Agent Strahm inexplicably surviving a trap not meant to be beaten. So the last thing we expect is our main protagonist to bite it by the film’s conclusion. Oh, how wrong we are. At this point, Strahm has correctly deduced that Detective Hoffman is acting as the new Jigsaw. He follows Hoffman to the Nerve Gas House, where he eventually finds a coffin filled with glass shards and a tape instructing him to climb inside. Strahm and Hoffman have a brief struggle, which ends with the former trapping the latter in the coffin. But as Strahm soon learns, the coffin is the only safe place when the walls start closing in. Strahm is crushed, making us wince in horror.

“Saw II” (2005)
Xavier Chavez may be a victim in Jigsaw’s sadistic game, but he’s nothing short of unfeeling. He constantly antagonizes the other players, and will step on anyone to find an antidote to the nerve gas. Upon realizing the code to the safe is partially written on the backs of everyone’s necks, Xavier is more interested in doing it himself than working as a team. He mercilessly executes Jonas after an altercation, and coldly leaves Addison to die when she’s stuck in a trap. Going full horror movie villain, Xavier pursues Amanda and Daniel into the bowels of the house. Realizing he can’t read his own number, Xavier needlessly slices it off from the back of his neck, before Daniel quits playing possum and ends him.

“Saw VI” (2009)
The conceit of this trap is simple - six people are strapped to a rotating carousel, and an outside observer can endure pain and save two from a shotgun. But which two do you pick? William comes across six of his employees strapped to the device. Once the rules are read aloud, the victims can do nothing but make their cases and hope William’s impossible choices go in their favor. The fact that two-thirds are doomed no matter what makes this an especially hair-raising trap. And while banal, a point-blank shotgun blast to the chest is still a brutal way to go. Ultimately, Emily and Shelby are able to convince William of their importance to their families, while the others are deemed more expendable.

“Saw” (2004)
While the franchise formula is well established today, we had no idea what to expect going into the first film. So when Detectives Tapp and Sing track down Jigsaw’s lair, anything goes. The hideout already oozes creep factor, but things ratchet up to eleven when a prospective victim is discovered and Jigsaw arrives back on the scene. Jigsaw activates a drill trap, forcing Sing to shoot in lieu of cycling through an endless ring of keys. But Jigsaw escapes when he takes a blade to a distracted Tapp’s throat. Tapp’s injury is non-lethal, but Sing isn’t so lucky when he pursues Jigsaw down a hallway and sets off a string of shotguns. For a dying man, Jigsaw is surprisingly elusive.

“Saw III” (2006)
The cops going after Jigsaw often get unfairly punished merely for doing their jobs. But arguably no one gets the shorter end of the stick than Detective Allison Kerry. Already at the end of her rope, Kerry is kidnapped in her home and placed in a trap by Jigsaw accomplice Amanda Young, who doesn’t exactly play fair. Kerry’s ribcage is hooked up to a series of brackets that will tear her open if she doesn’t retrieve a key. The key sits at the bottom of a jar of acid, forcing Kerry to scald her hand in the process. However, the key doesn’t free her as advertised, forcing her to accept her fate as the victim of an unwinnable game.

“Saw” (2004)
Hospital orderly Zep Hindle already has a reputation for being a little off. But he goes full-on psycho when he infiltrates the home of Dr. Lawrence Gordon and terrorizes his family. Granted, we don’t know Zep is merely another victim in Jigsaw’s game at this point, but that doesn’t stop him from embracing his role and employing a handful of cruel intimidation tactics. Gordon’s wife and daughter are repeatedly traumatized over the course of the film. But thankfully, Alison is able to surreptitiously free herself and take control of the situation long enough for Detective Tapp to arrive on the scene. Zep may not be the actual antagonist of the film, but he proves more than horrifying.

“Saw III” (2006)
Easily one of the most iconic traps in the series, the Rack is also notable for being one of the most brutal. It sees medical student Timothy Young strapped to a device that will gradually twist each of his limbs past their breaking point before finishing off with his neck. Timothy is entirely at the mercy of Jeff Denlon, a man whose son Timothy killed in a drunk driving accident. Jeff is too emotionally bereft to do anything, forcing us to watch as Timothy’s arms and legs are distorted. When finally Jeff does act, he inadvertently kills another victim and is too late to save Timothy. It’s easily one of the darkest moments in arguably the franchise’s darkest movie.

“Saw” (2004)
Jigsaw doesn’t generally kill his victims directly, so the frights don’t often come in a conventional manner. But the various abduction scenes are almost always terrifying. A couple others that come to mind are Officer Daniel Rigg’s from “Saw IV.” Then there’s Dr. Gordon’s from the first film. If there’s any single abduction that gave us all nightmares, though, it was the one of photographer Adam Stanheight. When Adam wakes up in his apartment, he sees all the lights are out and upon hearing a strange noise, realizes there’s an intruder. He has to rely on the flash from his camera to periodically see, but by the time he gets a glimpse of ol’ Pig Mask, it’s too late.

Various
This trap is easily franchise’s quintessential torture tool. And whenever it appears, you can be sure it’ll invoke a few thrills. Its first appearance comes in the original film, as Jigsaw’s future protégée Amanda Young is forced to find a key in a man’s stomach to prevent the device from rearranging her face. While Amanda is able to evade the literal jaws of death, that doesn’t make the scene any less effective. Nor does it with Mark Hoffman in “Saw VI,” as he survives Jill’s attempt on his life by the skin of his cheek. Hoffman repays the favor in the subsequent film, becoming a one-man army to capture Jill. And this time, we see the realization of the trap in all its gory glory.

“Saw” (2004)
“Saw” was destined to become an institution in the horror genre no matter what. But it’s unclear if the first film would’ve reached legendary status without that gobsmacker of a twist ending. After Gordon amputates his foot and Adam kills Zep, it seems like things might end on an optimistic note as Gordon crawls away to find help. But everything changes when the supposed body in the middle of the room begins to rise. It turns out that the players’ supposedly deceased cellmate is actually Jigsaw. Before Adam can even process what’s going on, Jigsaw shambles over to the exit and shuts the door, leaving Adam screaming and us along with him.