Known for its brutal and horrifying traps, theSawfranchise is among the best and most successful horror franchises out there. Itscomplex soap opera-esque storytellinghelps elevateSawfrom being just a ruthless and needless entry into the “torture porn” subgenre. Its storytelling is by no means perfect, in fact; it’s anything but. It’s completely bonkers and makes no sense. But it’s with this storytelling, that audiences witness some jaw-dropping twists and amazing villain reveals of Jigsaw’s secret apprentices.
The antagonists that inhabit theSawfranchise aren’t all Jigsaw apprentices, however. Some are even victims caught in Jigsaw traps. But it’s there that lies manipulation and awful acts that put these characters on this list. So without further ado, here are the best villains in theSawfranchise.
10Bobby Dagan - Saw VII (2010)
The first villain on the list is actually the main protagonist ofSaw VII, or, as it’s also known,Saw 3D: The Final Chapter.Bobby Dagan earns his way onto the list of villains due to the lies he told about being placed in a Jigsaw trap, forcing him to face the trap he effortlessly lied about at the end of the movie. Bobby wrote a book about his “traumatizing” experience in a Jigsaw trap. However, as we learn later in the film, this was all a lie. He even holds a Jigsaw survivor support group, consisting of past characters who have appeared in theSawfranchise. Due to his lies, those close to him, including his manager, best friend, and wife, are forced to undergo horrifying traps, where they all meet their tragic ends.
Related:These Are the Greatest Final Scenes in Horror Movie History
9Logan Nelson - Jigsaw (2017)
As Jigsaw apprentices go, Logan Nelson was pretty disappointing. Logan Nelson was Jigsaw’s first apprentice, who was one of the five participants of the first trap in Tuck’s Pig Farm, in 2017’sJigsaw.But after John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, decided that Logan didn’t deserve to be in the trap, John freed Logan and quickly tended to his wounds. Due to John’s compassion towards Logan, Logan began helping John build iconic traps, like the reverse bear trap.
This reveal, however, is a little underwhelming, and due to Logan being a fairly uninspired character before this reveal, audiences just won’t care about this villain. On top of that, compared to greats like Amanda Young and Detective Mark Hoffman, Logan Nelson just pales in comparison.
8Anna - Jigsaw (2017)
Anna is another character whose lies earn her a place on this list. Throughout the movie, we are led to believe that Anna was never actually meant to be in Jigsaw’s trap inJigsaw. In fact, we believe that it’s her ex-husband who should have been there in her place, for murdering their newborn baby. However, by the end of the movie, we learn that it was Anna who actually killed her baby, and blamed it on her husband, forcing him to serve a life sentence in prison. Anna is undoubtedly a secondary antagonist to the film, and this was a bigger twist than Jigsaw’s apprentice’s big reveal.
7Jill Tuck - Saw III & Saw VII (2006 & 2007)
Proving how disjointed the storytelling in theSawmovies is, Jill Tuck at first didn’t agree with John’s experiments, until, for some reason, she did. She didn’t want anything to do with John’s tests and murders, but after John’s death, she helps her former husband dish out one final test for one of his most prolific disciples, Detective Mark Hoffman. Her sheer amount of screen time and importance in the story make Jill Tuck a great character who isn’t necessarily a hero or a villain.
6Dr. Lawrence Gordon - Saw & Saw VII (2004 & 2010)
Dr. Lawrence Gordon is one of themore memorable charactersin the franchise. He served as one of the main protagonists in the firstSawmovie, who cut off his leg in order to escape the bathroom trap. Audiences then quickly assume that he died of blood loss some time later. Never did we expect to see his character again, yet comeSaw VII,it’s revealed that Dr. Gordon not only survived his deadly wounds, but has been a secret Jigsaw apprentice this entire time. The twist itself was a little irritating and unearned; however, it is the convolutedSawfranchise, so at this point anything is possible.
That said, Dr. Lawrence Gordon is an incredibly important disciple of Jigsaw’s, and without his deep medical history, Jigsaw’s traps perhaps wouldn’t have worked as well without him. Dr. Gordon was there to aid Jigsaw in the Venus flytrap, among many, many others, proving how long he has been one of Jigsaw’s apprentices.
5Zep Hindle - Saw (2004)
For the majority of the firstSawmovie, Zep Hindle was the main antagonist and was who we all thought was the Jigsaw killer. His fascination with the human body, and his generally creepy persona, led us to immediately believe that Zep was the Jigsaw killer. However, we were all wrong, as Zep was, in fact, a red herring, and was also a part of Jigsaw’s game as a victim. Zep was the one who caught Dr. Lawrence Gordon and Adam Faulkner and put them in the trap, as well as being the character who was sent to kill and torture Dr. Gordon’s family. His impact as an antagonist is still felt today, as the mainSawtheme that is heard uponevery twistin eachSawmovie is labeled “Hello Zep”.
4William Schenk - Spiral
As a spin-off set in theSawworld, 2021’sSpiraltells a surprisingly cohesive and contained story, considering the franchise’s past. With that, the movie’s villain, although pretty predictable, had a pretty great motive and had a complex and intricate plan, as to get revenge on the corrupt police officers who run this city and who killed his father. His character was compelling, and although he wasn’t a disciple of Jigsaw, he still built many twisted yet well-designed traps. AlthoughSpiralis a spin-off, we can certainly expect to see William Schenk, or William Emmerson, as he was known before, taking on a new identity, returning to the franchise, and becoming the new Jigsaw killer in the modern timeline.
3Detective Mark Hoffman - Saw III - Saw VII
After the brutal murder of his sister, Detective Mark Hoffman sought revenge with his own hands. With that, Detective Mark Hoffman built his own, inescapable Jigsaw trap in order to murder the man who murdered and abused Hoffman’s sister. Jigsaw found out that Hoffman built a trap, pinning the murder on Jigsaw, however, this led Jigsaw to come after Hoffman, calling Hoffman’s work sloppy and an embarrassment. However, Jigsaw saw his potential, and could use all the help he could get, so he recruits Hoffman as one of his disciples. This may be Jigsaw’s biggest regret, as Hoffman, full of evil and vengeance, has no regard for human life, and puts Jigsaw’s work and rehabilitation to shame.
Mark Hoffman is a terrifying villain; not only is he intelligent, but his brute strength is simply unmatched. After serving under the tutelage of Jigsaw for some time, Hoffman became an expert at building traps and kidnapping the poor victims for whom the traps were built. With both John Kramer and his other disciple, Amanda Young, dead, Hoffman enacts his own sense of vengeance, finishing Jigsaw’s work, while also turning into a bloodthirsty serial killer during his final moments. Somehow, he managed to slaughter an entire police station in order to murder John Kramer’s wife, Jill Tuck.
2Amanda Young - Saw - Saw X (2004 & 2023)
Amanda Young was originally the victim of thefranchise’s most infamous trap, the reverse bear trap. Where, let’s be honest, she had an easy escape, in one of Jigsaw’s easiest and most escapable traps. Upon her escape, Amanda was then recruited by John Kramer to help him, and help others receive the “rehabilitation” that Amanda received after surviving Jigsaw’s trap. Amanda has helped John Kramer through almost every single trap that he set between the events of the first and thirdSawmovies. Which doesn’t really narrow it down, considering everySawmovie has a flashback to when both John and Amanda were alive. This is made even more convoluted with the two returning inSaw X.
Related:Saw X Trailer Resurrects Jigsaw and His Deranged and Devious Traps
1John Kramer: Jigsaw - Saw - Saw X (2004 - 2023)
Few villains in the horror genre are as iconic, or as ingenious as Jigsaw. Sure, he may not hold any brute strength whatsoever, and typically, whenever we see John Kramer on screen, he is usually tragically dying from cancer weakening his body. However,no one can deny his wit and intelligence, as he was able to design and build incredibly complex machines and traps, as well as having the ability to stalk and find out deeply secretive information on criminals, and people who have caused injustice in society.
After losing his unborn child in a robbery gone wrong, and finding out he has an unbeatable type of cancer, John Kramer attempted to kill himself, but failed. Getting a new lease on life, John Kramer believed that by putting bad individuals who don’t appreciate their own lives or the lives of others through the same treatment, these individuals would become better human beings. John Kramer doesn’t label himself as a serial killer, as he doesn’t kill his victims by hand, which is, of course, poppycock. John Kramer is undoubtedly a serial killer. After cutting Jigsaw pieces out of his murdered victims, John Kramer quickly became known as the Jigsaw Killer. Although many associate the Jigsaw franchise with the haunting Billy puppet, it’s actually John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, who is behind all the murders and gruesome carnage. John Kramer is an unbeatable enemy, and no matter if you think he is beaten, even after death, John Kramer will always be 10 steps ahead.
