Saw X, 2023.
Directed by Kevin Greutert.
Starring Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, Renata Vaca, and Michael Beach.
SYNOPSIS:
Terminally ill John Kramer goes to Mexico to receive experimental treatment for his cancer, only to discover that he has been scammed and that the scammers don’t cherish their lives as much as John does his.
It’s October, so that must mean it is time for a new Saw movie, right? Okay, it has been a few years since the halcyon days of getting a new installment in the Jigsaw universe on a regular basis, but given how formulaic and lacklustre 2017s Jigsaw and 2021s Spiral were, is now the right time to reintroduce John Kramer and head back into the twisted world of making people appreciate their life?
Set between the events of Saw and Saw II, Saw X sees John Kramer (Tobin Bell) fully digesting his terminal cancer diagnosis and desperate for some sort of treatment. The answer comes in the form of Henry Kessler (Michael Beach), a fellow patient from John’s support group who tells John of an experimental new treatment that has completely cured him, leaving him with only a scar. John follows this up by contacting the surgeons who provide this service, which leads him to Mexico where he undergoes said treatment, or so he thinks as during his recovery it becomes clear that it was all a scam, he’s lost his money and he is still terminal.
Therefore, John takes revenge the only way he knows how and everyone who was involved in the scam, from the taxi driver who picked him up at the airport to the fake surgeons and even Henry, is now required to play a game to see how much they value their own lives.
Pretty much a standalone story, Saw X gets things right straight off the bat by returning us to the world of those early movies, where the grubby visuals and downbeat tone are as big a part of the experience as the gore; yes, the technology has moved on and it does look a little tidier, but this is nowhere near the slicker visuals of Jigsaw or Spiral and it feels – for want of a better word – comfortable being back in this world. The obvious sign of being twenty years removed from that first movie is the returning actors have aged, and although this plays into John Kramer’s look as Tobin Bell is thinner in the face and a little more wrinkled, when Shawnee Smith shows up as Amanda it is a little startling as her short wig just looks weird. Nevertheless, the feel is right and given the smaller scope of the movie this was the right way to go.
Not that the Saw franchise needed anywhere to go, because the biggest draw to the original series of movies was that it was telling one story, albeit it a rather convoluted and twisty one, but one story nonetheless, the narrative wrapped up in Saw 3D. There was nowhere else for it to go, which is why Jigsaw felt so lazy and unnecessary, and whilst Saw X is also unnecessary as it adds nothing new to that original story arc, the filmmakers wisely decided not to go down the sequel route again; after all, John Kramer as a character died in Saw III so they’ve done pretty well to keep him at the forefront for all this time.
So for the first half of this movie we see a very frail John Kramer get his hopes up, go to Mexico, make a very convenient friendship with a young Mexican boy by fixing his bike for him, and then go through what he thinks is life-saving surgery. Tobin Bell seems to enjoy exploring the dramatic side of this character during these scenes and were it not for the knowledge that this was a Saw movie then you could be mistaken for thinking that this was some sort of tear-jerking drama about an ill man who just doesn’t want to die.
But this is a Saw movie and once the realisation of what has happened kicks in then all bets are off as John goes into Jigsaw mode and some inventive new traps that we haven’t seen before are introduced, such as a cheesewire-type contraption that will decapitate the unfortunate person attached to it if they don’t sever their leg with a flexible Gigli saw blade within the allotted time. There are others that are just as gruesome and the gore is plentiful without going to the ridiculous extremes that some of the other sequels did, all helped by some deliciously squelchy sound effects, and also, John and Amanda are present throughout each torture, which means that when one victim does manage to pass the test you can see John’s motivations at work, which adds to the moral complexity of the main characters given what we already know about them and how we view them.
As far as the horror and brutality go, Saw X is business as usual but it feels reinvigorated here, like we’ve had a couple of movies of treading water and going through the motions in an uninspired way, but now we have a spark of creativity, a plot that is simple and works within the timeframe of the series, and a story that gives Tobin Bell a chance to do more than just voiceover work and actually be a part of what is happening on the screen. Saw X is far from a masterpiece, but it does get most things right in regards to what has gone before, it is entertaining – if people performing brain surgery on themselves is your idea of entertainment, that is – and despite being a little too long it does keep the momentum going for the most part, making this the most satisfying Saw movie since Saw VI.
Whether this prompts any future installments is anyone’s guess – although knowing how studios work, it shouldn’t be ruled out – and despite Saw being a franchise that doesn’t need any more entries, if it does get them then this is the level of quality the makers need to be aiming at, as anything less would be torture.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
