With this summer's release of Spiral: From the Book of Saw, the iconic Saw horror franchise was taken into an interesting new direction. While the new movie helped to breathe some new life into the series that has been quiet since 2017, many fans still look back on the original series very fondly.
Ever since the unforgettable first movie launched this twisted journey, many characters have come and gone (often in grisly ways). With all the mysteries and twists packed into the franchise, it is interesting to look back at the most important characters and how they began and ended their times in the Saw universe.
Adam Stanheight
"Help!" - "Don't!"
Adam is the first character to appear in the franchise and the first to speak. Like many characters in this series, he begins with a terrified cry for help as he wakes up chained in a dark basement. At the end of the movie, Adam is left chained in that same basement by Jigsaw as he begs for mercy.
Beginning this movie with a character who is so scared and disoriented feels very appropriate. And the twist ending that seals Adam's doomed fate also becomes a common theme in the series.
Detective Eric Matthews
"Excuse me." - "Don't open the door!"
In Saw II, Eric Matthews is introduced as he asks a mall cop about his son who has been detained. Eric makes his gory exit from the series in Saw IV yells at Daniel Rigg not to open the door so as not to trigger the trap he is hooked up to.
Eric's first line is just an easy introduction to his troubled relationship with his son. His final line marks the pretty brutal end for the character as the door is opened, activating a trap that crushes his head between two blocks of ice.
Daniel Rigg
"All right, fellas. Listen up" - "Don't f***ing move!"
Daniel Rigg is first introduced as a secondary police character and partner of Eric Matthews who gives a briefing on their team's raid on Jigsaw's hideout. He becomes the main target of Jigsaw's game in Saw IV, which ends with his warning a suspect not to move before shooting him.
His early role is filled with standard cop dialogue which doesn't stand out. However, his final line proves his hotheaded approach, as he shoots a suspect only to realize he was another pawn in the game and Daniel is left to bleed to death for his foolish mistake.
Jeff Denlon
"Help!" - "F***"
Jeff Denlon is another character who is brought into this series scared and confused as he wakes up in a crate at the beginning of Saw III. His story concludes in Saw IV while still inside Jigsaw's game, as he gets shot after mistaking a cop for an enemy.
Jeff is not one of the most interesting protagonists in the series. He pretty much spends the entire time confused by everything and his first and last lines actually feel like the perfect summations of his time in the series.
Detective Allison Kerry
"This one's not fresh anymore." - "You!"
Allison Kerry appears in a small role in the first movie as a detective who walks the other detectives through one of Jigsaw's crime scenes. In Saw III, she finds herself in one of the traps only to discover it was made impossible to escape from. She sees the unseen person who put her there just before she is killed.
Kerry's first appearance is not very noteworthy other than to establish her as one of the cops in this series. Her last line is meant to hint at a mysterious yet obvious assailant, but her gory death is what most people will remember.
Jill Tuck
"Good." - "Help me!"
While John Kramer is having brain surgery in Saw III, he has visions of happier times with a woman audience hadn't met yet. Jill Tuck is later revealed to be John's wife and in Saw 3D, she is pursued by the new Jigsaw, Mark Hoffman.
Her first appearance really comes out of nowhere and hints that she was this good presence in John's life at some point. After all of that, to see her become a terrorized victim of Hoffman's and die in the most gruesome way is quite upsetting.
Detective Mark Hoffman
"It's not Detective Matthews." - "Nooooo!"
After Eric Matthews goes missing after Saw II, Hoffman is introduced, confirming that the most recent Jigsaw victim was not Eric. After becoming an even more evil version of Jigsaw, Hoffman is left to the same fate as Adam in the first movie, locked in the same basement.
Given how forgettable his first appearance is, it's pretty strange that Hoffman eventually becomes the main character in the series. And after seeing all the ways he twists Jigsaw's philosophy and all the people he killed, it was satisfying to see him end up scared and defeated.
Amanda Young
"I woke up and all I could taste was blood and metal." - "I said no!"
In the first Saw movie, Amanda Young is introduced as the only person to have survived one of Jigsaw's traps and recounts her experience for the police. In Saw III, she is now Jigsaw's apprentice who refuses to let Lynn go after succeeding in her test.
Her first line is certainly a striking one and immediately communicates that this is someone who has been through a terrible ordeal. While that ordeal changed her, it wasn't necessarily for the better, as her refusal to let Lynn leave meant she failed her own test.
Dr. Lawrence Gordon
"You're not dead." - "Game over!"
Dr. Lawrence Gordon is first introduced as a voice in the darkness in the first movie, assuring Adam that he is not dead. In Saw 3D, it is revealed that Gordon also became an apprentice of Jigsaw and repeated his famous catchphrase as he seals Hoffman's fate.
His first line seems to be there to just add to the mystery of the opening, as that doesn't seem like the reaction someone would have after waking up as a prisoner in some dirty basement. His final line brings Gordon full circle as he locks Hoffman in that same basement to die.
John "Jigsaw" Kramer
"Rise and shine, Adam." - "Because we'll speak for the dead."
John Kramer AKA Jigsaw is first heard as a creepy voice in a recorded message who welcomes Adam into the twisted game. Jigsaw introduces yet another past chapter of John Kramer's journey as he explains his philosophy to his first apprentice.
Jigsaw's first line is appropriately eerie, setting up the grisly journey he will take audiences on. His final line is a bit strange as this backstory doesn't really fit with the rest of the series, but it does feature John's view that he is actually seeing justice done with his actions.