Saw X (2023)

Score: 3.5 / 5

If you had told me to expect actual entertainment from the tenth -- tenth -- installment in this particular franchise, I'd have laughed and probably asked what drug you're taking. The first is a work of brilliance, one of the best films of the 2000s, a puzzle box of horror and cleverness that is surprisingly tame; the following two are much more violent and "icky" but seem to create a decent story altogether. Beyond those, as noted in my review of the series, I have hated each subsequent entry, including its soft reboot Jigsaw and attempted spin-off reboot Spiral, which were basically more of the same tired format of the previous sequels. As such, I had no interest in seeing this film, until a friend mentioned its placing in the franchise and the return of an iconic character and I relented.

There's something about the rote nature of so many of these films I just can't endure anymore, from the angsty music to aggressive editing, which is annoying because at first they were original. But each sequel has gotten bogged down in the same ways: crueler and nastier violence, often inflicted on characters who don't deserve such awful punishments, that is increasingly meant to titillate viewers and further distance us from the actual narrative and potential themes. Each one hinges on some surprise reveal near the end about who the Jigsaw killer is this time, usually being an acolyte or apprentice of the original killer. It's clearly a fun gauntlet and aesthetic for some, given the sheer number of entries in the series, but it's not for me.

Saw X, however, does some pretty interesting things to disrupt the formula and cater to early fans. This movie is set between the events of the first and second films in the franchise, and it's made to somewhat reflect that visually. Director Kevin Greutert and his team slow the pace down substantially, at least for the first half, keeping character drama the focus of this entry rather than endless violence. They also flood certain scenes with colored light, saturating various situations with a hazy yellow or deep blue, apparently a tip-of-the-hat to the first film.

In terms of plot and character, this film is also a franchise disruptor. Set when it is, Jigsaw is still the sole mantle of John Kramer, and he's played once again by Tobin Bell. The first half of this film is essentially limited to his experience: we know that he is established as the Jigsaw killer, but we're with him on his journey as he receives his fatal diagnosis of cancer. While attempting to come to terms with this, utilizing group therapy, he learns of an experimental but life-saving treatment, for which he will pay a ton of money and have to travel to an off-the-grid facility in Mexico. Unfortunately, once it's done, Kramer comes to understand that the surgery was a fake, the providers scam artists, and that he himself is still going to die. The king of vengeance (and dubious justice) will not permit such a slight against himself, and so begins the second half.

It's nice (can we say that?) to follow such a straightforward setup, and to actually care about the characters involved. Well, "care" might be a stretch, but this film certainly strives to make us sympathize with Kramer's situation. By the time he starts actively hunting those fraudulent doctors, we're emotionally on his side, and we want him to teach them all a lesson. It's a sly move on the writers' part, and I'd say it works shockingly well. And Kramer is not alone, either, as fan favorite Amanda (Shawnee Smith) comes to help him wreak revenge on Dr. Cecilia Pederson (Synnove Macody Lund) and her co-conspirators. Their collaboration is actually kind of fun to see, although I was surprised more than once at how obviously they interact with their victims. Once they're all chained up together in the warehouse, John and Amanda pop in regularly to discuss their rules and games with the hysterical baddies. It kind of makes the Jigsaw audio tapes unnecessary, though it wouldn't be Saw without those!

And making him appear onscreen is a good thing for Bell, who fills every moment with nuance and dread; he seems to really enjoy getting to do some dramatically meaty material, and it's a pleasure to watch. Smith is also enjoyable here, especially as I don't fully remember her antics after Saw II, and her emotional relationship with John is impressively realized. And, really, this is why I liked this movie so much.

Eventually, the second half does dive headfirst into gory territory, as expected. Notably -- and I'd need a more dedicated fan to confirm this -- but I'd hazard that this is one of the bloodiest installments in the franchise. That's not to say it's to excess; indeed, unlike most of the "games" and "traps" in this series, here the punishments largely seem to fit the crimes, which also helps the plot feel more believable than in later sequels. Then again, the self-performed craniotomy was more than I could handle, and most of the violence I couldn't fully watch; it's just too intense for me, even when it feels clever or just in making the fake doctors perform real surgeries on themselves. Then again, I'm not sure that these particular traps are escapable; maybe that's the point, as Kramer does not want these folks to survive. But it does take some suspense out of the proceedings. And there's a renewed nihilistic streak to this film in that several of the desperate victims do complete their tests, but they fall just shy of their time limits, which is a bizarre and unfortunate element to this story I found perhaps the most disturbing. Surely extracting one's own femoral bone marrow should count for success, even if the exact amount would take a few more seconds to collect. But what do I know? I'm no sociopathic mastermind.