Saw (the first one, then watch the other nine)

The Saw movies get a bad rap from people who consider them to be “torture porn.” By the time the series concluded its first run with 2010’s Saw 3D, it had truly fallen into the trappings of that descriptor, exchanging its philosophical debate about the value of life to instead treat characters as playthings to be put through a meat grinder as grossed-out audiences watched through their fingers.

But I’d argue that Saw is not torture porn, and not even really a “horror” franchise in the traditional sense. Instead, I view it as a death game, complete with players, high stakes, and a philosophical struggle driving the whole thing. John “Jigsaw” Kramer is still one of the most fascinating villains in the horror genre. As a man with delusions of grandeur fueled by his own mortality, his fundamental views are so flawed that half the fun of the series’ elaborate timeline is watching him clash with everyone he comes into contact with. Yes, Saw is violent, often needlessly so considering some of the people Kramer puts into his death games, but watching its central villain paint social and moral commentary with the blood of his victims never gets old. — Kenneth Shepard