Saw III was released in 2006.
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, Saw III continues the story of John Kramer while expanding the franchise’s mythology around his apprentices and the design of psychological tests. The film follows doctor Lynn Denlon after she is abducted and ordered to keep the dying Kramer alive while another subject undergoes a series of trials. It was the third theatrical entry after Saw in 2004 and Saw II in 2005.
The release year is easy to confuse with the surrounding films because the first three Saw installments arrived in consecutive years. Saw IV followed in 2007, continuing the series’ annual Halloween-season pattern. Saw III is also notable for being released in an unrated version alongside its theatrical cut, a practice that became common for the franchise’s home-video releases.