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I always loved the classic scene at the end of "A Fistful of Dollars" when Joe (Clint Eastwood) wanders back into town for a final shootout with the chief baddie and his henchmen. Ramón (Gian Maria Volonté) repeatedly guns him down, only to watch with disbelief as he rises again and reveals an improvised bulletproof vest beneath his poncho. That's a neat metaphor for the Western genre as a whole –- every time it gets consigned to Boot Hill, it staggers to its feet and keeps on shooting.

After a moribund previous decade, Hollywood Westerns were enjoying a rude burst of health in the early-to-mid-'90s after the Oscar-winning successes of "Dances with Wolves" and "Unforgiven." During this period, Gene Hackman seemingly sauntered from his juicy role in the latter to play a very similar villain in Sam Raimi's "The Quick and the Dead," a playful homage to Sergio Leone...

The year was 2004. A horror-slasher helmed by a first-time director premiered at Sundance, offering a simple, yet anxiety-inducing premise. What if two strangers found themselves chained inside an empty, dilapidated bathroom, with two contradicting tape recordings to guide their possible survival? After the film scrapped its original straight-to-video plan to opt for a limited theatrical release instead, it went on to gross an unexpected $104 million worldwide, becoming one of the most profitable horror flicks at the time. 

This was James Wan's feature debut, "Saw" (as Wan's actual debut feature is considered lost media), which bloomed into an iconic media franchise, finding a way to adapt to the shifting expectations that came with the genre. This impressive franchise journey, however, would've been impossible without Tobin Bell, who has embodied the twisted, diabolical Jigsaw ever since the first "Saw" unnerved us with his menacing presence.

Bell's contribution to "Saw" as a franchise is foundational,...

When you think of Sam Raimi, it's common for one of two things to pop up in your head: the Spider-Man franchise starring Tobey Maguire (Babylon) and Kirsten Dunst (Civil War) or the Evil Dead horror movies led by Bruce Campbell(Hysteria!). You hardly think about Raimi when listing Westerns, but the filmmaker took on the challenge of stepping out of his comfort zone back in the mid-'90s in order to film The Quick and the Dead. As the movie celebrates its 30th anniversary, it has suddenly climbed the Netflix global charts to become one of the top 10 most-watched movies of the week on the platform.

It's not difficult to see what attracted Raimi to this particular Western. Since Westerns were traditionally led by macho figures like John Wayne (True Grit) and Clint Eastwood, The Quick and the Deadsubverted the genre by centering around a woman gunslinger played by...

M3GAN 2.0 takes a wild risk by turning its renegade robot into an unlikely ally, but it’s not the only horror sequel that redeems a villain into a hero.

Sequels — particularly horror sequels — are subject to an extra level of scrutiny that often makes it seem as if they’re set up to fail, whether that’s by playing it safe and delivering more of the same or taking a wild swing that goes in a completely different direction. One of the most interesting angles that a sequel can take is when the first film’s antagonist turns into an unlikely ally and protector in the second go around. Terminator 2 may be the gold standard of this pivot, but it’s a controversial approach that’s found a healthy life in horror.

Most recently, M3GAN 2.0, the sequel to 2022’s Blumhouse hit, opted for a genre-bending angle that...

If you feel like watching a political thriller this Independence Day, Pluto TV has you covered — and they'll even let you stream it for free. In the Line of Fire, the critically acclaimed 1993 movie starring Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent and John Malkovich as a would-be presidential assassin, is coming to the Fast streamer starting on July 1.

The movie was the brainchild of producer Jeff Apple (The Recruit), who was inspired by a childhood memory of seeing Lyndon Johnson surrounded by Secret Service agents. Apple commissioned writer Jeff Maguire (Escape to Victory) to pen the script, which was eventually directed by Das Boot's Wolfgang Petersen, who would tackle Presidential action again a few years later in Air Force One. The movie was one of the first to use digital effects: footage of Eastwood from the 1960s was digitized and inserted into old news footage to depict his character's early career.

A billion-dollar horror franchise is returning to the people behind its creation. For almost as long as horror franchises have existed, they have been getting reboots and remakes, finding new ways to continue frightening audiences over the years. Remakes, especially slasher remakes, were particularly popular in the 2000s. Between 2003 and 2011, Platinum Dunes alone produced the remakes The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, The Hitcher, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, while other companies mounted remakes such as Halloween, My Bloody Valentine, Black Xmas, The Stepfather, and Sorority Row within that same time frame.

While reboots have now become less prominent, the horror genre has continued to find ways to resurrect iconic franchises, largely in the form of legacy sequels that introduce new characters alongside original stars. This includes 2018's Halloween, which kickstarted a new trilogy featuring Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, 2022's Scream, which featured...

Saw is a classic horror franchise that tortures audiences just as much as the characters in its films. From the first installment, Jigsaw becomes as frightening as Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, holding a grudge against his victims that he felt took life for granted and aims to teach them a deadly lesson. With 10 movies in the franchise, not all were hits, but that's something Blumhouse is looking to turn around now that the studio is adding Saw to its horror family. According to Variety, the company which made hits like Paranormal Activity, Five Nights at Freddy's, Get Out, M3GAN, and more has acquired the rights to future films, shows, and other properties of the franchise.

For a franchise of this status, Blumhouse must've paid a hefty sum to snag it; however, the amount is undisclosed. The company bought the portion of Saw that was owned by producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg,...

It's officially Blumhouse's time to play a game. News broke earlier this month that the production giant was set to acquire the rights to the long-running Saw franchise from Twisted Pictures, ensuring a future for the films and their many inventive traps. Today, that deal is now finalized with Jason Blum's banner reaching an agreement to purchase an ownership stake after negotiating with Oren Koules and Mark Burg's production company since last year. Terms haven't been made public yet, but Lionsgate is also set to keep its slice of the bloody pie, remaining on board as a distributor as it has since the first installment in 2004.

In addition to Blumhouse and Lionsgate, Content Partners, the parent company of Revolution Studios, has also purchased a stake in the existing library of Saw movies. The confirmed involvement of Blumhouse, however, is a massive development for the future of Jigsaw and company.

The biggest name in horror now has the rights to one of the most successful horror franchises ever.

Blumhouse has acquired the prospective rights to “Saw,” meaning the opportunity to bring Jigsaw back to life with new “Saw” films is back in the hands of Atomic Monster and James Wan, who directed the original “Saw” film from 2004.

The controlling stake in the “Saw” franchise was owned by producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg, who, after 20 years, are handing over the reins to Wan and Blumhouse’s Jason Blum, whose Blumhouse merged with Atomic Monster back in 2024. Leigh Whannell, who co-created and wrote the original “Saw,” is also in the Blumhouse universe and has directed both “The Invisible Man” and “Wolf Man” for the horror banner.

Koules and Burg are moving on after the recent passing of executive producer Jason Constantine, who died earlier this month. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

When Saw XI was taken off of the 2025 release calendar, I immediately thought of my friend Kevin Greutert. A longtime horror movie director/editor whose career traces back all the way to the first Saw (2004), Greutert’s oeuvre is inextricably linked to one of horror’s most venerable franchises. His is the vantage point of an editor-turned-director, initially remote from the actors whose narratives he shapes and later charged with being their leader.

Yet Greutert’s career includes much more than the story of John Kramer (Tobin Bell), the so-called Jigsaw Killer, and his disciples. As I learned during our wide-ranging interview, his favorites among the films in which he was involved are Saw II (2005), The Strangers (2008), and Barbarian (2020). Mine include not only a Saw installment, but also a Gothic-style supernatural drama set in the Louisiana bayous, Jessabelle (2014), starring Sarah Snook from Succession, a movie I recommend with copious quantities...

After what has been nothing but terrible news for followers of the Saw franchise, there’s finally a glimmer of hope. Yesterday, Deadline announced that Blumhouse is set to purchase the rights currently held by Twisted Pictures for their share of the gore-filled horror series. This is terrific news, as it shows promise for the future of what was not just put on the backburner but essentially canned earlier this spring. However, just to make things crystal clear, no movie has been announced at this time, and Lionsgate still owns 50% of the franchise. Blumhouse’s perspective buy would take over the IP’s ownership from Mark Burg and Oren Koules, who co-own Twisted Pictures. Still, the takeover would mean that the first film’s helmer and future franchise executive producer, James Wan, would be closer than ever to the property, as his Atomic Monster is a Blumhouse subsidiary.

After helming the tenth film,...

The early aughts launched a wave of horror remakes, but they’re especially known as an era full of American remakes of Japanese horror classics. One such adaptation is Takashi Shimizu‘s 2004 film, The Grudge, based on the Japanese film Ju-On: The Grudge, which Shimizu directed in 2002. It’s not often the original director is brought on for the American adaptation, so this is a fascinating film even for just that reason.

In the film, “An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.“

The Grudge stars horror icon Sarah Michelle Gellar, as well as Jason Behr (Roswell) and Clea DuVall (The Faculty). It was a massive hit upon release, raking in a reported $187.3 million on a $10 million budget. It was released when I was a kid,...

Like the movies in this series, we will continue to release fairly regularly and find out what happened to the Saw franchise. Saw V was already planned well before Saw IV even came out as the new creators had a whole storyline that needed multiple movies to pull off. When would the revenue stop coming in for this series? How would they bring back Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw yet again after he had now been dead for a full movie and the timeline had caught up to the present? It’s time to play another game as we find out what happened to Saw V.

After the massive 140-million-dollar success of Saw IV, Saw V would be a similar experience. Why change things around too much if the formula was working so well. It had a similar budget to its predecessor, going from 10 million to 10.8 million and brought back many...

More terrifyingly free horror titles are coming to Vizio WatchFree+ in May, including both Damien Leone’s original slasher Terrifier and its smash hit first sequel, Terrifier 2.

WatchFree+ has thousands of free premium movies and shows that can be streamed on demand on Vizio TVs, or Anyone can enjoy titles like these and more using the Vizio mobile app! All you need is a free Vizio Account to start enjoying WatchFree+.

Here’s the full lineup of fresh horror arrivals on May 1, 2025…

House at the End of the Street

After moving with her mother to a small town, a teenager finds that an accident happened in the house at the end of the street. Things get more complicated when she befriends a boy. A double murder is not an accident.

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games), Elisabeth Shue (The Boys), Max Thieriot (Jumper)

The Cabin in the Woods

A...

Altered Reality places corporate scientist Oliver Cook at the center of a tale that loops obsession and regret. Cook’s breakthrough pill promises miraculous cures yet exacts a higher price when his daughter Katy vanishes without warning. The film shifts between the anonymous urban sprawl of its unnamed U.S. setting and the moss-draped corridors of Spring Manor in Georgia, where time fractures like a cracked mirror.

This sci-fi thriller folds into a family drama and a Faustian myth, asking what fragments of self we would sacrifice to rewrite loss. Director Don E. FauntLeRoy employs disjointed flashbacks that jolt viewers out of temporal comfort, echoing Jean-Luc Godard’s playful sleight of sequence in the French New Wave. Scenes drift between warm sepia tones and shadowed modern interiors, suggesting memory’s hazy hold.

The story probes grief’s ability to warp reality—Cook’s desperation to undo tragedy becomes its own perilous experiment.

With over 100 IMDb credits to his name, Tobin Bell first debuted in an uncredited role in Woody Allen's "Manhattan" in 1979, and has been consistently performing in film and television for more than four decades. But his legacy and most memorable performance is with the "Saw" series thanks to his role as the maniacal trap architect and retribution seeker Jigsaw, aka John Kramer. "Saw" put the so-called "torture porn" subgenre on the map and features one of the most convoluted timelines in movie history, but what anchors all the twists and turns is Tobin Bell's chillingly even-keeled performance.

Interestingly, one of Tobin Bell's many credits is on the NBC sitcom "Seinfeld," in season 4, episode 18, "The Old Man." The episode centers around Jerry and the gang volunteering for a senior citizen program, which inadvertently ends up helping with Kramer and Newman's scheme to make money by selling records. Tobin Bell's...

The world of horror mourned the loss of icon Tony Todd on November 6, 2024, — but he left behind a legacy that can arguably never be topped. Even after his passing, Todd still graces the screens of horror lovers, during their endless watches of Candyman, for example, and soon in a new film that recently landed distribution. The Bunker, a sci-fi horror feature that first premiered at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival in 2024, is preparing to make its rounds. Led by Tony Todd, it's one of the legend's final roles that'll send shivers down viewers' spines in only a way he could.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Electric Entertainment has gained North American distribution rights to The Bunker, which hails from Jackrabbit Media. The full-service production and distribution company is headed by veteran producer Dean Devlin, co-writer of the 1998 film Godzilla. Tobin Bell (the Saw franchise), Chad Michael Collins, and Chelsea Edmundson...

Horror legend Tony Todd left behind a handful of upcoming projects when he passed away last year, including Final Destination Bloodlines and The Raven. Another one of Todd’s final projects is titled The Bunker, and The Hollywood Reporter has debuted the trailer today.

Directed by Brian Hanson and written by Charles L. Bunce and Brian Hanson, this sci-fi horror film explores isolation, paranoia, and survival under pressure. Watch the trailer below.

Electric Entertainment has acquired North American rights. Stay tuned for a release date.

In The Bunker…

“Earth faces an unprecedented threat as mysterious alien ships appear in the sky. Dr. Michelle Riley (Chelsea Edmundson), a micropathogen specialist, is sealed in an underground bunker, tasked with developing a biological weapon to combat the extraterrestrial invaders.”

Tony Todd stars alongside Tobin Bell and Chad Michael Collins.

The post ‘The Bunker’ Trailer – Tony Todd and Tobin Bell Co-Star in Extraterrestrial Horror...

The Bunker, a sci-fi horror feature led by the late Tony Todd, is getting ready to head out into the world.

Electric Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights to the movie that hails from Jackrabbit Media. Helmed by Brian Hanson (The Black String), the film stars Todd, Tobin Bell (the Saw franchise), Chad Michael Collins (Sniper: Rogue Mission) and Chelsea Edmundson (The Iron Claw).

The Bunker centers on Dr. Michelle Riley (Edmundson), a young scientist sealed in a secret bunker with a team of researchers tasked with developing a weapon to stop an alien invasion. However, Riley begins to have doubts about the true goal of the mission. A trailer exclusive to The Hollywood Reporter can be seen below.

A release date and plan for distribution platforms have not yet been announced for The Bunker, which premiered at last year’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival. Electric Entertainment coordinator...

Although the future of the Saw franchise remains unclear, it’s never game over for Billy the Puppet.

“Very cool stuff in the works from my friends Lionsgate,” Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, and Spiral director Darren Lynn Bousman wrote on Instagram. “Crazy to be looking back and rewatching Saw stuff decades later.”

With the series’ second installment celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and Bousman tagging post-production house FotoKem in the photo, it’s likely that a 4K restoration of Saw II is in the works.

The original Saw made its way to 4K Ultra HD back in 2021, but the sequels have yet to be upgraded. Perhaps we’ll get a box set with all 10 installments.

Written by Bousman and franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell, Saw II follows a group of ex-convicts forced to pass a series of deadly tests by the Jigsaw Killer.

Donnie Wahlberg, Franky G, Glenn Plummer,...

Want to play a game? Try to explain the entire "Saw" universe timeline in chronological order, from 2004's "Saw" through 2023's "Saw X."

The wildly popular and influential horror franchise made its mark with its intense use of gore, the performance of star Tobin Bell, and the many iconic traps that torture its characters. But what it's best remembered for by its dedicated fans is its soap-opera-like overarching storyline, featuring fake-out deaths, secret alliances, and a ton of flashbacks.

The "Saw" franchise timeline is so complicated that there isn't an easy answer to the question of what order someone should watch the movies in, with "Saw X" potentially setting up a secondary timeline of events that will continue to unfold parallel to the first nine films. We've done our best to take all the confusing events of the series and place them in order, revealing the hidden narrative that carries the saga of "Saw.

For those who have never hit Tampa’s Spookala, a fantastic and quickly-growing convention that’s home to numerous horror-related guests and a massive hall full of cool vendors, consider it a great reason to weather the heat, humidity, gators and bath salt zombies the state is generally known for.

This past weekend’s con saw fans enjoying autograph and photo opportunities with genre heavyweights like Saw’s Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith, Count Crowley’s David Dastmalchian (super nice guy), and The Punisher’s Thomas Jane (returning to the area for the first time in the two decades since that film was made). In addition, The Lost Boys’ Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric were in attendance, as well as Orphan/Orphan: First Kill star Isabelle Fuhrman.

Fuhrman was gracious with her time in chatting with each fan who approached her, including yours truly, who was able to thank her...

This week, we were treated to the teaser poster and plot synopsis for the legacy sequel to I Know What You Did Last Summer, and it may as well have been copy and pasted from the first film. A generic hook, the same title of the film released nearly 30 years ago, and the damn near exact same plot synopsis: “When five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences. A year later, their past comes back to haunt them and they’re forced to confront a horrifying truth: someone knows what they did last summer… and is hell-bent on revenge. As one by one the friends are stalked by a killer, they discover this has happened before, and they turn to two survivors of the legendary Southport Massacre of 1997 for help.“

Don’t get me wrong,...

A once pulse-pounding horror franchise has flatlined. Jigsaw's next killing spree was officially shelved on Monday after Lionsgate removed Saw 11 from its schedule and swapped in horror sequel The Strangers: Chapter 2 in its place.

Originally intended for a Fall 2024 release, the sequel was punted to the Sept. 26, 2025 date that The Strangers sequel now inherits. Despite the track record of delays, the latest puts the franchise's future in flux. Production warfare has plagued the project since its Spring 2024 announcement. Saw 11 co-writer Patrick Melton provided insight into the stall, telling The Hollywood Reporter:

“The reason it’s held up is just, there’s inter-squabbling between producers and Lionsgate. They just can’t quite get on the same page.”

Producers Can't Crack Jigsaw Puzzle, Lionsgate Silently Kills Saw 11 "It's 100% Over."

The grim update gets bleaker. According to Bloody Disgusting, a source "verified as being close to the production of its newest sequel.

Days after reports emerged about terminal problems with Saw XI, the horror sequel has been pulled from its September release slot.

Last week saw reports that horror sequel Saw XI was in trouble due to behind-the-scenes disagreements. Those stories now appear to have been borne out, to a degree, by the news that Lionsgate has removed the horror sequel from its release calendar.

Saw XI was originally scheduled to appear in US cinemas on the 26th September; that slot has now been filled by a different kind of scare-fest: The Strangers – Chapter 2, according to Variety.

The box office success of Saw X in 2023 seemed to have put the long-running splatter franchise back on track, and Lionsgate wasted little time in announcing a sequel. That follow-up was originally scheduled for 2024, echoing the annual turnaround the Saw movies often stuck to when their popularity was at its height in the 2000s.

The 2024 release was pushed back,...

'Saw XI' may still have a future despite being removed from its release slot.The iconic horror franchise was due to return with its 11th instalment in September 2025 - which had already been delayed by a year - and it was recently revealed that the project had "stalled".According to The Hollywood Reporter, studio Lionsgate has removed the planned sequel from its planned release date.However, on Monday (24.03.25) the studio shared a tongue in cheek statement from ventriloquist dummy Billy the Puppet, which is used by John Kramer's Jigsaw persona.He said: "I’ve seen the rumors. They say it’s Game Over. You all should know me better than that. The game is never over.”The update comes after screenwriting partners Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan revealed they hadn't received any news since presenting a draft script in spring 2024.Melton - who has been involved in...

Lionsgate has pulled Saw XI from its release schedule and put The Strangers: Chapter 2 in its place, but the Saw franchise’s killer mascot, Billy the Puppet, has issued an amusing warning via THR.

Coming off of a very successful tenth installment, Saw XI was set to release on September 26, 2025, but turmoil behind the scenes has left the fate of the franchise hanging in the balance.

But horror icons never die, and rarely do their franchises, either. That’s supported by a statement from Saw’s pint-sized icon, who all but vows that the franchise will continue in some form. Billy the Puppet, via Lionsgate, told THR, “I’ve seen the rumors. They say it’s Game Over. You all should know me better than that. The game is never over.”

Saw X director Kevin Greutert was set to return to helm Saw XI. Fellow franchise alum Marcus Dunstan...

Like the extremities of one of Jigsaw's victims, Saw XI has been sliced off the release calendar. The Hollywood Reporter has the news that the troubled horror sequel will no longer be released on September 26, 2025. It has been ceded to an entry in another long-running horror franchise: The Strangers: Chapter 2 will now see a wide release on that date.

It was previously reported last week that Saw XI, the follow-up to 2023's franchise-reviving Saw X, was effectively dead at Lionsgate after coming to a standstill amid squabbling among its producers. The removal of the film from the release calendar would seem to confirm that, but Lionsgate insists that, unlike John Kramer, the movie isn't as dead as it appears. In a statement purported to be from series mascot Billy the Puppet, the studio stated that "I’ve seen the rumors. They say it’s Game Over. You all...

The Saw franchise appeared to have come to an end with recent reports that trouble behind the scenes had seen Saw XI ensnared in a trap it could not escape from. However, despite that, and Lionsgate replacing the movie with The Strangers: Chapter 2 in the slot earmarked for it, it looks like it is not “game over” for the franchise yet.

Just like in the movies, it looks like Jigsaw and Billy the Puppet could be about to defy the odds and return again…just a little later than originally planned. While The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Saw XI seems to have now officially lost its September 26 slot to the next movie in The Strangers franchise, both Lionsgate and one of the Saw franchise’s creepy stars seem to be confident that the franchise is not over, just on hiatus.

Lionsgate shared a statement from Billy the Puppet, the...

Jigsaw won’t be returning to theaters in 2025 after all.

“Saw XI” has been axed from the release calendar. Lionsgate’s gory slasher, the 11th installment in the long-running franchise, was scheduled to open on Sept. 26, 2025. The studio will instead release another blood-soaked horror film, “The Strangers – Chapter 2,” on the newly freed date.

It’s not clear if Lionsgate has plans to unveil “Saw XI” at any point. The studio greenlit the sequel in 2023 with franchise veteran Kevin Greutert on board to direct. Yet the film’s screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan recently told the Hollywood Reporter that “zero progress” had been made since they turned in a draft in the spring of 2024.

Billy the Puppet, the ventriloquist dummy used by John “Jigsaw” Kramer in “Saw,” is apparently well versed in these reports, which he dismisses as idle chatter. The spooky doll promises he’ll eventually return to theaters.

Note to Mayors: Next Time, Maybe Try Economy Plus?

What is it with big-city mayors and ill-advised air travel decisions these days? Before Trump’s Justice Department abruptly dropped its charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams — who, completely coincidentally, is now super concerned about undocumented migrants in Manhattan — federal investigators were looking into illegal campaign contributions in the form of luxury travel perks, like $15,000 business class seats that Turkish Airlines was offering Adams for all of $50. Now, it’s Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ turn in the hot seat — or, rather, the fully reclinable, 70-inch pitch, first class private suite. Bass’ political foes, pointing to published reports and flight tracking data, have been pushing a story on local reporters about how the mayor flew on a U.S. Air Force Gulfstream C-37B during her recent (and obviously ill-timed) trip to Africa to attend the inauguration of Ghana President...

'Saw XI' has "stalled" with writers kept in the dark for almost a year.Progress on the latest instalment in the long running horror franchise has "stalled" with no updates for screenwriting partners Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan since they presented a draft in spring 2024.Melton - who has been involved in the film series since 2007 entry 'Saw IV' - told The Hollywood Reporter: "We haven’t heard anything since May.“It’s stalled at a managerial level. It has nothing to do with the creative or anything else. There’s higher-level things at play.”As confirmed by studio Lionsgate in December 2023, franchise mainstay Kevin Greutert - who helmed 'Saw X' that same year - joined as director with an aim of a September 2024 release.This was pushed back by a year, but now the future of the next film is up in the air.

If you ever found yourself screaming at the characters in a horror film for making dumb decisions, the Saw franchise flips the script. Here, the victims don’t just run into a dark alleyway with a dead end when there’s a serial killer chasing them, instead, they find themselves in horrifying traps where every move means life or death. Guess there is just something about watching people struggle against almost impossible odds…in a twisted kind of way.

Saw X (2023) | Credits: Lionsgate Films

While the critics may have not been entirely kind to the franchise, which has ten movies to its name, Saw sure is a favorite among horror fanatics who are looking for something different than your average ghosts and killers lurking in the shadows. Unfortunately, recent reports have proven to be an unpleasant surprise for the fans as Saw XI gets canceled.

Saw 11 reportedly faces a devastating...

Saw XI appears to be struggling to survive.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned “zero progress” has been made on the next installment since writing partners Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan turned in a draft back in spring of 2024.

“We haven’t heard anything since May,” says Saw XI screenwriter Melton, who has been involved with the franchise since 2007’s Saw IV. “It’s stalled at a managerial level. It has nothing to do with the creative or anything else. There’s higher-level things at play.”

In late December 2023, Lionsgate announced that franchise mainstay Kevin Greutert was attached to direct Saw XI for a September 2024 release, but the studio ultimately delayed it by a year to Sept. 26, 2025. Greutert helmed Saw X, which revitalized the franchise when it hit theaters in September 2023 and collected $112 million at the global box office. It is unclear if he is still involved in Saw XI, and...

The next movie in the Saw franchise, Saw XI, has reportedly been canceled. The horror series, created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, was supposed to continue in 2025. However, sources now say that the project is “totally dead.”

This news comes as a shock to fans. Saw X, released in 2023, was a big success. It received good reviews and made a lot of money at the box office. Unlike previous sequels, it took place between the first two films. This allowed the story to focus on John Kramer, played by Tobin Bell. Many people consider him the best character in the series.

According to Bloody Disgusting, problems started in January 2024. Their source said, “Everything went sideways in January 2024 … the producers started fighting.” They also mentioned that Lionsgate, the studio behind Saw, “didn’t have anyone to smooth over the disagreement.“

Before this, there were signs that Saw XI was still happening.

As soon as Saw X, the tenth entry in the Saw franchise (you can read our review Here), was released in September of 2023, franchise producers were already talking about the potential of a Saw XI. The official announcement came that December, along with a release date: September 27, 2024… but then it was said that the producers and Lionsgate had decided to take a little extra time with this one, Saw XI was pushed back to September 26, 2025. Now, our friends at Bloody Disgusting are reporting that we might not see another sequel in the Saw franchise at all, as a source “close to the production” has informed them that Saw XI has been cancelled!

According to this source, “It’s totally dead. It’s 100% over. Almost a year now.” The source added, “Everything went sideways in January 2024 … the producers started fighting.” One producer attempted to plow forward with the film, but the...

It's game over for Saw fans. According to an exclusive new report from Bloody Disgusting, the eleventh film in the franchise is dead and no longer moving forward, so we aren't going to see Jigsaw setting traps anytime soon, or even another showdown between John Kramer and Cecilia as hinted at by the end of Saw X.

The outlet quotes a source who was reportedly close to production for Saw XI, which was slated to release this September after being delayed a year.

"It’s totally dead. It’s 100% over. Almost a year now.”

The source claims that infighting on set caused the film to eventually breakdown, kicking off way back in January 2024, when one person wanted to "plow forward" to make the film, and the other stalling production.

As devastating as this update is, it's not all that surprising. Rumors have been circling about a troubled production for months now.

It might just be the end of an era for one of horror's most enduring franchises. Despite being announced well over a year ago by Lionsgate, it looks like "Saw XI" might not be happening anymore. What's more, we could be looking at major changes for the franchise in the future, with anything from a complete halt to new movies or a reboot in the cards, depending on how things shake out.

According to a new report from Bloody Disgusting, "Saw XI" is "totally dead," according to an anonymous source close to the production. "It's 100% over. Almost a year now," the source added. "Saw XI" was confirmed by Lionsgate in December 2023, with a September 2024 release date initially announced. It was later delayed to September 2025, though that was believed to be owed to the SAG and WGA strikes that ground Hollywood to a halt in 2023.

So, what went wrong? The report...

Saw XI has reportedly been cancelled, with production on the horror sequel having halted over a year ago, according to a new update about the movie. Saw XI was confirmed not long after Saw X was released, the tenth installment of the gore-splattered horror franchise which earned critical and commercial success. The sequel was originally scheduled for release on September 27, 2024, before being pushed back an entire year to September 26, 2025. Since then, there's been no news on what to expect from the eleventh movie in the series.

Now, according to Bloody Disgusting, Saw XI has quietly been cancelled, with a source revealing production hasn't been moving forward for "[a]lmost a year now." The report claims infighting among producers stalled production in January 2024, with one trying to "plow forward" on the movie while another tried halting its progress. Lionsgate didn't have anyone to step in and negotiate a path forward, effectively leading to the sequel's cancellation.

Fans of the Saw franchise have been anxiously awaiting news on Saw XI since it was suggested the franchise could be in trouble last month, and now it looks like it may well be game over for the gory franchise. According to a new report from Bloody Disgusting, Saw XI is completely “100% dead.”

According to a source close to the production, the production has been in trouble for a long time, but as of now, they said:

“It’s totally dead. It’s 100% over. Almost a year now.”

The newest sequel in the long-running horror franchise that became part of the “torture-porn” era of horror movies, was originally announced with a 2024 release date following the success of Saw X in 2023. However, the production was first pushed back to a new release date of September 26, 2025. Since then, little has been heard about the production until last month.

In February, it was...

Jigsaw's games are over, at least for now.

Per Bloody Disgusting, it's been reported that the upcoming sequel Saw XI has been canceled. The sequel was previously announced for a theatrical release on Sept. 27, 2024, before it was then delayed to Sept. 26, 2025. While the movie's fate hasn't been officially confirmed, the new report quotes an unnamed source close to the production as saying, "It's totally dead. It's 100% over. Almost a year now."

The new report also noted that the source stated, "Everything went sideways in January 2024... the producers started fighting." One of the producers reportedly attempted to "plow forward" with production despite the friction, while the other "put up roadblocks," ultimately stalling the movie from getting started. As for why Lionsgate executives didn't get involved in an attempt to get Saw XI back on track, the source added, “[Lionsgate] didn’t have anyone to smooth over the disagreement.”

Is the Saw Franchise Finished?...

Seven installments. A soft reboot. A spinoff. An… inbetweenquel?

After two decades, ten films, and over a billion dollars grossed worldwide, Saw remains one of horror’s most popular and enduring franchises. Unfortunately, the series’ iconic villain Jigsaw may have already set his last trap, according to an anonymous source Bd has verified as being close to the production of its newest sequel.

“It’s totally dead,” the source tells us. “It’s 100% over. Almost a year now.”

After the commercial and critical success of 2023’s Saw X, Lionsgate announced Saw XI with a teaser image and a September 27th, 2024 release date. Not long after, Saw X director (and franchise veteran) Kevin Greutert was revealed as the upcoming sequel’s director, with previous series scribes Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan on scripting duties.

In addition, Saw stars Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith and Costas Mandylor were to return to their roles for this outing.

Monster-Mania Con / Philadelphia horror convention – East Coast movie and memorabilia show Monster-Mania 62- 3 Days of Sheer Terror This year Monster-Mania welcomes the Icon Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith for a Saw Reunion. Also in attendance: Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon, Eli Roth, Chris Jericho, Linnea Quigley, Beverly Randolph, Miguel Nunez …

The post Monster-Mania Con 62 – 3 Days of Sheer Terror! appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Quick LinksWhat Is Rory Karpf's Grace Point About?Grace Point Is a Prison Town

Saw is one of the most popular franchises in the horror genre. It's not just about horror, but a story made for fans who love murder mysteries. Those films saw Tobin Bell's Jigsaw lay traps for sinners as part of a revenge scheme, but there was also a twist: he wanted to cure people he felt could atone and become forces for good. He wanted to form a group of vigilantes as his last will.

As someone who was terminally ill, he needed to find kindred spirits to carry on his work and make people love life more. Interestingly, director Rory Karpf takes a detour from his sports work like ESPN 30 for 30 to reinterpret what Saw did in 2023's Grace Point. It's less gory, but it does subvert Saw's twist and Jigsaw's mission in a very thought-provoking manner.

Saw III could have been the end of the series. It killed off it’s primary antagonist in Jigsaw and wrapped up everything it could. That’s not how horror franchises work though, do they? While it’s easy to say that the massive 165-million-dollar box office of Saw III is responsible for the production of Saw IV, the truth is that the movie was greenlit before the third entry ever hit the theaters. How would the story progress after the death of John Kramer? Who would be in the directors’ chair to follow up the most successful film in the franchise? What would the original creators have to do with this movie? Sit back and prepare for another game as we find out what happened to Saw IV.

Saw IV opens with the audience witnessing an autopsy. It takes place immediately after Saw III with John Kramer, Jigsaw himself,...

Jigsaw may have set his last trap, as the Saw franchise finds itself in trouble amid the delayed release of the next sequel, Saw XI. A new report by Scream Magazine claims that, according to “a reliable source,” the eleventh Saw movie has come across several problems, including issues behind the scenes with the studio, Lionsgate, and problems with returning star Tobin Bell.

Saw XI was initially given a release date of September 27, 2024. However, this was quickly pushed back to September 26, 2025, with Bell later confirmed to return as the infamous serial killer John Kramer, Aka Jigsaw. The source tells Scream Magazine “that it looks highly unlikely that Saw XI will meet its new September 2025 release date. It has been hinted that there are significant problems behind the scenes, and “unless something major changes,” Saw XI won’t be coming next fall.”

The issues at Lionsgate are likely due to the studio’s current financial losses,...

Creep I.E. Con is one of Southern California’s biggest horror themed conventions of the year and Bloody Disgusting is slicing right into it! Once again, we’re heading to Ontario, California for a few frightful days filled with spooky shenanigans: 30+ celebrity guests, 170+ vendors, and a series of blockbuster Q & As hosted by the best of BloodyFM.

At the top of the frightful festivities is a 40th anniversary reunion panel for Re-Animator featuring Barbara Crampton, Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Brian Yuzna, and Richard Band. In anticipation of the new 4K release, they’ll discuss the legacy of the Stuart Gordon classic with Scare You to Sleep host Shelby Novak and Halloweenies co-host Michael Roffman.

Look to the skies, grab that garlic, and snatch that stereo off the shelf because The Lost Boys will also be reassembling for an exclusive panel, specifically stars Jason Patric, Alex Winter, Billy Wirth, Jamison Newlander,...

A brand-new year means new opportunities to explore and experience good films, and we’ve got you covered with all the must-watch movies for the whole year. Whether you like action, comedy, horror, musical, romance, or a mix of them—there’s surely one or two for you!

Last year was phenomenal in terms of the cinema business, and the industry was able to replicate the trend of pitting highly popular titles against each other, like the case of Gladiator II and Wicked, and it’s possible to do that again this year.

Must-watch movies list for 2025

CultureCrave shared an extensive list of the 60 films everyone should watch in 2025, so here are some of the major movies you should not miss in theaters.

60 movies releasing in 2025...

Jigsaw continues the legacy of John Kramer (Tobin Bell) after his death but with two major twists, as is tradition in the Saw saga. Seven years after the supposed “final chapter” of the Saw saga with Saw 3D, an eighth installment arrived to shake up what the audience thought they knew about John Kramer and his whole history as the Jigsaw killer. Directed by the Spierig Brothers, Jigsaw introduces viewers to a new group of “players” in Jigsaw’s twisted games, all of them chosen as they have some dark confessions to make.

Parallel to the game, Jigsaw follows the efforts of Detectives Brad Halloran (Callum Keith Rennie) and Keith Hunt (Clé Bennett) to find the copycat Jigsaw killer that has started this new game, as Kramer died in Saw III. Working with Halloran and Hunt is pathologist Logan Nelson (Matt Passmore) and his assistant Eleanor Bonneville (Hannah Emily Anderson...

Sharon Stone, the Hollywood legend that starred in films like Basic Instinct and Casino, has called out Sam Raimi, her director in 1995’s The Quick and the Dead, for being disloyal to her after she reportedly gave so much to him: “He didn’t thank me, he didn’t hire me again, he didn’t acknowledge the relationship.”

Stone appeared at the Torino Film Festival, where she spoke about Raimi, and what followed after they worked together in The Quick and the Dead. Also a producer on the film, Stone was involved in making some very important decisions, as she recounted:

“I had my great Italian cinematographer Dante Spinotti, and I was very blessed to produce and to have the opportunity to cast this film. The director Sam Raimi, who I had an opportunity to bring from B movies to A movies, and then he directed Spider-Man and became a very big A movie director.