Gabe Reviews Horror

October 2026 Horror Reviews #8 - Jigsaw (2017) After a seven-year hiatus (longer than the series had been around before the last entry), the Saw franchise came back with Jigsaw, a film titled by somebody with even less regard for naming conventions than whoever named the seventh film "Saw 3D". In this movie, it's been ten years John Kramer's death, when some bodies begin turning up with messages (seemingly from John himself) announcing that the games have begun anew. This is intercut with footage of five individuals trapped in one of Jigsaw's infamous deathtrap dungeons, all being forced to atone for their past sins by sacrificing life and limb at the altar of Jigsaw. Is John truly back from the dead, or is a copycat killer taking up the mantle? Or, could it be that someone has been there all along, carrying on Jigsaw's work? I want to get right out and say: I think this is a great movie, all things considered. This is the type of movie the series should have ...

October 2026 Horror Reviews #7 - Saw 3D (2010) Saw 3D (originally known as Saw: The Final Chapter) is the seventh of ten Saw movies, and the end of the current movie timeline (I say this because, of the three remaining films, one follows an entirely new set of characters some time later, one is an explicit spin-off, and the other takes place entirely between Saw I and Saw II). In this entry, Hoffman has survived being put into a deathtrap by Jill in the previous movie, so he essentially abandons his life and identity to hide out and orchestrate a series of events that will let him corner Jill and get his revenge. Meanwhile, a self-help writer who has gained fame and fortune by pretending to be a survivor of one of Jigsaw's traps is captured and put in an actual Jigsaw trap (it's unclear exactly how or why or when Hoffman had the time to set this up, but the movie doesn't care so you shouldn't either). Back when this movie came out I remember it being made pretty explici...

October 2026 Horror Reviews #6 - Saw VI (2009) We're back with another entry in the increasingly-serialized horror franchise, Saw! In this entry, we pick up right where the last one ended off with Detective Hoffman having emerged victorious, and he spends the rest of the movie trying to cast suspicion on the missing Agent Strahm. Meanwhile, the insurance adjuster who denied John Kramer coverage has been thrown into a Saw Deathtrap where he has to experience the pain and suffering he's inflicted on other people. Will he have a change of heart by the end? If so, will it save him? I complained last time that I don't like how these movies have become so serialized, and this one falls under that as well. (I honestly don't know how or why someone who has never seen a Saw movie would have ANY clue what was going on in this movie. I know that the typical moviegoer has probably seen at least one other entry in a series before buying a ticket to #6, but still, movies that release...

October 2026 Horror Reviews #5 - Saw V (2008) Saw V follows immediately after the events of Saw IV, and the main plot revolves around Detective Hoffman (whom we now know to be one of Jigsaw's apprentices) and FBI Agent Strahm (who was investigating the Jigsaw murders in the previous movie). Much of the film is a cat-and-mouse game between Hoffman and Strahm, with Strahm beginning to suspect Hoffman's involvement and Hoffman trying to throw suspicion anywhere he can. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this movie. On one hand, I do like the drama and suspense of the main plot, and I really like Strahm as a character. In the first few minutes of the movie he establishes himself as a strong protagonist (is he even the protagonist though? More on that in a moment) and he's one of the few people who unquestionably beats one of Jigsaw's famous deathtraps, in a moment that is quite possibly my favorite moment in the whole series. Additionally, I really like the sideplot of th...

October 2026 Horror Reviews #4 - Saw IV (2007) Hot off the heels of Saw III, Saw IV begins a mini-series of entries that solidifies the plot into a snarl of timeline jumps and continuity that will leave your head spinning. In this movie, the primary plot follows Rigg, the SWAT leader for the police force in whatever town these movies take place. After the disappearance of Detective Matthews in Saw II and Kerry in Saw III, Rigg is spiraling into depression as he feels responsible for the loss of his co-workers and his inability to find closure. But then he gets caught in one of Jigsaw's famous games- will he sit tight and let things play out, or will he charge headfirst into danger if it means stopping this twisted game once and for all? I mentioned in my last review that I felt the filmmakers of this series really sat down and had a long think about where the series was going to go; while I could see they spent the third movie seeding a lot of the material that would eventually tak...

October 2026 Horror Reviews #3 - Saw III (2006) Saw III was greenlit during the opening weekend of Saw II, thus cementing this series as an instant and runaway success. This entry, much like the previous two, mostly follows two concurrent storylines: a surgeon named Lynn is kidnapped and brought to Jigsaw's underground makeshift hospital, and forced to operate on him to keep him alive. Meanwhile, a grieving father named Jeff wakes up elsewhere in the same facility and is put face-to-face with three people involved in the wrongful death of his son, and he has to choose whether to let them each die or put himself in harm's way to save them. At the end these two storylines cross in a, shall we say, explosive manner? Just a fair warning: I'm going to spoil a lot of what happens in this one, because I have some issues with specific elements and I'm not sure how else to talk about it. If you haven't seen the movie and don't want it to be spoiled, I'll give my rati...