Saw X is the 10th installment in the Saw franchise and is directed by veteran Saw director Kevin Greutert (Saw 6, Saw: The Final Chapter). Saw X follows the earlier days of John Kramer when he still had a bit of hope left. He comes across an experimental cancer treatment that has the potential to cure him, but discovering that his surgery was a complete sham, Jigsaw is put on a path of vengeance that will test all those who wronged him.

 After the commercial failures of 2017’s Jigsaw and 2021’s Spiral, producers have seemingly decided to go back-to-basics with the Saw franchise. This film is a bit of an oddity in the sense that this isn’t a prequel, sequel, or a “requel” that is a direct sequel to the original in the vein of Halloween (2018). This film takes place between the events of the first and second Saw films (Which many fans consider to be the best films in the series). This seems like an odd, original, yet somewhat fitting choice for the franchise’s future. Let’s remember that one of the most confusing yet iconic elements of the original Saw franchise is its tendency to include a plethora of flashbacks, belated reveals, and silly retcons. The longer the series continues with the character John Kramer, the more convoluted and unbelievable the franchise becomes. It feels fitting to, in a sense, have the entire movie be a flashback of sorts.

 There is no way that any human being is able to have as much foresight as John Kramer has in these films. That being said, his foresight became laughably convoluted within the franchise all the way back in SAW 4 (The movie immediately following Jigsaw’s canonical death), so I have a difficult time criticizing a Saw movie for those kinds of things at this point. In a sense, those kinds of absurd logic elements are seemingly an ingredient in what makes these films so much fun at this point. The series as well as our tastes have evolved since the early days of this franchise. In Saw X, what used to be criticisms/plot holes are now worn by the film like a bloody badge of courage.

The logic errors are still present, but the film finds fun ways to comment on what the audience must be thinking/feeling at this point in the franchise without stepping into meta territory. For example, John Kramer is for the first time in this franchise the undeniable protagonist. We are asked in a way to root for Jigsaw throughout the film. Again, this feels fitting considering that Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw is considered an almost necessary element of a successful Saw film. Besides the carnage candy, Tobin Bell is the reason to see a Saw film. I do usually find it difficult to root for the killer in horror films, but Saw X does a much more effective job at achieving this than, for example, 2021’s Don’t Breathe 2. The rooting for the killer thing only really works with undeniably iconic horror villains such as Chucky, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Pinhead, and Jason Voorhees. At this point in the franchise, it’s clear that John Kramer/Jigsaw has achieved that same iconic status. The blind man from Don’t Breathe 2 was an interesting enough horror character, but the writing of his character had two glaring elements that did not work. The first was that this was only the character’s second film and they expected the audience to jump on board with him as a hero almost immediately. Getting the audience to root for killers is not an easy task when they are constantly killing innocent people within their films. Most of the work of getting people to like a killer to the point where they will root for him is achieved more culturally than anything. If the audience is ever going to root for the killer in a slasher franchise, they more or less need to be on the killer’s side before the movie even starts. The second problem with Don’t Breathe 2 is that the writers insult your intelligence by assuming that you’re one hundred percent on board with the idea that the blind man is not a bad guy in the slightest and never was. What Saw X does well is ask you to root for John Kramer while also not shying away from the fact that he is still a scary, mentally unhinged killer who denies any role in the deaths he causes. It’s clear throughout almost every film in the franchise that Jigsaw’s sick form of rehabilitation doesn’t work in the slightest, or at least doesn’t work half as well as some good old fashioned therapy. Even though Saw X does well with this element, I still found myself holding back a slight chuckle every time the film wanted the audience to feel truly sympathetic for John Kramer.

Tobin Bell is once again perfect in the lead role and is joined by Shawnee Smith who reprises her role as fan-favorite Jigsaw apprentice, Amanda Young. Smith gives her best performance of the franchise here, really fleshing out aspects of her character that I didn’t know I needed or wanted. The movie also really does well at subtly reframing certain aspects of the original timeline. This retroactively strengthens the franchise in a way. They use the franchise’s tendency for flashbacks and retcons effectively, using them to strengthen aspects of the mythos that were either confusing or just plain undercooked. The rest of the cast here is serviceable for a Saw film, reaching the correct levels of terror and pain throughout their performances. 

Besides the extra focus on John and Amanda’s characters, the film closely follows the Saw formula. After two films that tried to either subdue this formula or get rid of it entirely, I found this to be a breath of fresh air (that admittedly isn’t really fresh at all).  The iconic twists are here and they are some of the stronger ones in the franchise. That being said, I think they are only strong in terms of the rest of the Saw franchise. The traps are effectively squirm-worthy as they should be and the tension of who will live and who will die is actually quite palpable.

Overall, Saw X doesn’t achieve the originality or horror of the first film, but it does succeed in reaching and maybe even exceeding the heights of some of the better Saw sequels. Unfortunately many would say that isn’t the highest bar. If you’re a fan of the franchise, especially the first 3 films, I expect you to find Saw X to be a gory, twisty return to form. B