Saw X

SAW X
2023 | Dir. Kevin Greutert | 118 Minutes

"This is not retribution. It's a reawakening."


As his cancer spreads rapidly, Jigsaw travels to Mexico for supposedly highly effective experimental medical treatment. However, he discovers too late that the alleged miracle cure is an elaborate con designed to defraud the terminally ill. With assistance from Amanda, Jigsaw places the fraudsters who deceived him in his latest game.

The first true Saw sequel in over a decade, Jigsaw and Spiral writers Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg return to pen a surprisingly moving previously untold chapter in the story of Jigsaw Killer John Kramer that slots neatly between the events of the original Saw and Saw II. For the first time in the long-running franchise, John Kramer is the main character, and this reasonably self-contained story shows a softer, more sympathetic side of the civil-engineer-turned-death-trap-mastermind. Before the bloody game is underway, the narrative spends the entirety of its first act with a bitter cancer patient who finds precious hope, a Jigsaw who is open to friendship, who fixes bicycles for children, who is ready to discard his cruel work for good, and it all comes together rather nicely to convince the viewer to care about the infamous boogeyman. It's a welcome sight to really see the humanity of John Kramer when he genuinely smiles for purely wholesome reasons. While his methods for teaching bad people warped self-mutilating lessons are beyond extreme, one can't help but understand his justifiable rage when that newfound hope is stripped away. Of course, once the games begin, challenges that happen to feature some of the nastiest traps of the series, the picture becomes an honest-to-goodness Saw movie, and one of the best ones at that. Making this sequel even better, the return of hot-tempered Amanda in the second act allows the story to further explore the deep bond she shares with Jigsaw. Amanda's judgmental attitude and barely-concealed fragility provides ample drama, giving her character more dimension than ever before. As a necessity for audience buy-in, this John Kramer centric sequel appropriately provides a primary antagonist who is far more despicable than Jigsaw - the sociopathic woman orchestrating the scam operation - and the climatic twist gives both her and her scumbag partner their toxic comeuppance in truly one of the most crowd-pleasing Saw endings.

Returning as both director and editor, Saw series veteran Kevin Greutert does his best work for the franchise yet, setting a deliberate pace that gives dramatic scenes plenty of room to breathe and resonate with the audience. For the trap sequences, Greutert aptly turns up the intensity considerably to give them the patented Saw look and feel. The trap set pieces delivered by production designer Anthony Stabley are delightfully disturbingly imaginative, perfectly emulating the grimy aesthetic of early series entries using mostly practical gore effects. Highlights include the finger-breaking eyeball vacuum game, the razor wire amputation bone marrow trial, and the harrowing brain matter challenge that plays like a crazy gamified take on the emergency open skull surgery from Saw III. Series composer Charlie Clouser's latest remix of the Saw theme music, incorporating excellent new elements written for this film, perfectly complements the climatic montage.

Reprising the part of Jigsaw, this time in the lead role, Tobin Bell is magnificent. Playing the part with believable heartfelt vulnerability and terrifyingly cold conviction, Bell more than capably carries the film, firmly establishing the fact that he is the Saw series' most valuable asset. Shawnee Smith is a lot of fun in her return as Amanda, incredibly entertaining interacting with the latest players of Jigsaw's game and heartbreaking in her moments of tender conversation with the ailing Jigsaw. As the chilly Cecilia Pederson, Synnøve Macody Lund exudes the perfect level of calm and collected to embody the evil con artist with a talent for speaking with a persuasive air of authority. As Pederson's accomplice boyfriend Parker Sears, Steven Brand makes for a convincing deceptive scoundrel. Renata Vaca is a incredible as the desperate drug addict Gabriela with a performance that demands sympathy. The cast also features Paulette Hernandez as the imposter medical technician Valentina, Octavio Hinojosa as the drug-dealing veterinarian Mateo pretending to be an anesthesiologist, Joshua Okamoto as the cab driver Diego impersonating a surgeon, Michael Beach as the phony cancer survivor Henry Kessler, Jorge Briseño as the innocent child forced by the villains to participate in Jigsaw's game, and Isan Beomhyun Lee as the custodian Jigsaw imagines placing in the elaborate eyeball trap.

Saw X is an exceptional series revival that successfully functions as both a superb additional chapter and a satisfying stand-alone picture. The film not only delivers some of the most brutal traps of the notorious torture-centric horror franchise, it also tells a much more emotionally resonant story than any previous installment of the series. Longtime Saw enthusiasts are rewarded with a narrative fully focused on the saga's diabolical mastermind featuring his fan-favorite associate playing a prominent role, while potential new viewers are treated to a proper showcase of the Saw series' most appealing aspects: intricately-designed gratuitously violent set pieces operating under a twisted ostensibly moral philosophy and seriously exhilarating twist endings.


MID-CREDITS STINGER
In a certain squalid bathroom, phony cancer survivor Henry Kessler, who initially lured Jigsaw into the scam, awakens in chains with a frightening device strapped to his chest. Jigsaw and accomplice Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) prepare him for a game.


BEST TRAP
The razor wire amputation bone marrow trap is merciless and simply gut-wrenching to watch, Valentina working through her reluctance and pain to pick up the pace severing her leg, and the visceral marrow bits pumping out of the stump just take it over the top. She was so close to winning, too.


FRAGMENTS
- I have to admit I was confused as to whether "X" in the title is intended to be the Roman numeral for "10" or the letter "X" -- as it turns out it is the letter "X" based on the multimedia marketing campaign for the film

- Lionsgate did not host a blood drive to promote Spiral due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the distributor revived the Saw series tradition by hosting a blood drive to promote Saw X
 
- Originally scheduled to be released on October 27, 2023, Lionsgate once again broke with the Saw series' October release tradition, as they did with Spiral, by moving the release to September 29, 2023

- It's incredibly strange to see the trailer for Saw co-creator James Wan's Aquaman sequel play before the tenth installment of the franchise he started that began with the film that launched his career


- Pederson seemingly turning the tables on Jigsaw by placing him in a trap cleverly subverts expectations, but naturally it plays out in a way that Jigsaw anticipated despite little Carlos's unexpected participation -- hopefully that giant bag of cash makes up for what is sure to be lasting psychological trauma for years to come

- I never thought I'd be so happy to see Hoffman again considering the terrible way the character exits the series, but the nostalgia is overwhelming




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