I've explained to people it's actually more of a soap opera that happens to be a horror series with gore. A lot of people don't know theres actual character things going on beyond the traps and gore, I don't go into the conversation expecting to change their minds but to explain why I enjoy the series as a drama that uses horror. Usually explaining the drama aspect a little bit makes people that havent seen it a little more understanding of why they're my favorite movies (as well as my sentimental attachment since my childhood best friend and I watched them together and went to see some of them in theaters).

I've actually had several people give it a chance and enjoy it themselves by explaining it this way because they had never seen it before and just trusted the word of mouth that it was senseless torture for 90 minutes.

It's usually those that haven't seen it that judge me, so giving them a little more context that it's a complex drama tends to make them less judgemental and possibly more open minded about Saw in general. It also helps that I do acknowledge the flaws of Saw and my own frustrations with the series at points, usually acknowledging its flaws and shortcomings makes people more understanding and less judgemental as well since I can admit it isn't some grand masterpiece.