The first “SawFilm was one of the most original horror films of its generation, single-handedly reviving the horror-gore genre and making a mark with an exceptional story line. From that point forward, the series saw diminishing marginal returns on subsequent titles, until the seventh film was supposed to end the franchise once and for all. Turns out the franchise is not dead yet, and is in fact set to make a come-back with several more titles in the pipeline currently.

Preserving a legacy

2016 was actually a stellar year for horror films, with titles like “The Witch,” “Don’t breathe” and “It follows” making a huge impact on the audience.

Maybe it was this sudden re-emergence of the genre that forced Lionsgate studios to consider bringing back the “Saw” franchise to the big screen. The new film has been named “Saw: Legacy”, and it will bring back fan-favorite Tobin Bell (for the time being at least).

The plot for the new film seems pretty straightforward and by-the-books for your average “Saw” film. A large number of mutilated bodies are found around the city out of the blues, and each of the victims has clearly met a specific and personalized gruesome death. All signs point to the re-emergence of Jigsaw, but that doesn’t make any sense because the killer has been supposedly dead for 10 years. The police are therefore forced to examine other possibilities behind this eerily familiar pattern and look into imitation killers, or even the possible emergence of a new Jigsaw altogether.

Devil in the details

Saw: Legacy” will be thrust into the hands of the Spierig Brothers, the directors of films such as Predestination and Daybreakers. Although the directors don’t have much experience within the horror genre, the writers – Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger, have some experience tackling gore due to their contributions to the Piranha 3D movies.

A large number of cast members have also been tied to this film including the likes of Mandela Van Peebles, Hannah Anderson, Callum Keith and Josiah Black. It is possible that one of the cast members will also play the role of the new Jigsaw in upcoming installments of the franchise.

A lot of people seem to believe that the “Saw” franchise already pushed things too far by making seven films before calling it a day.

Now that the series is set to make a comeback in just under seven years, it might have overplayed its hand by hoping that fans will still be interested in the on-going story line. The franchise might need to do something radically different in order to attract its audience again, and that could be the determining factor of the fate of the franchise.