Saw X

Director: Kevin Greutert
Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, Renata Vaca, Michael Beach, Joshua Okamoto, Octavio Hinojosa, Paulette Hernández, Jorge Briseño
Running Time: 118 min.
Rating: R

★★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

After 2021's somewhat divisive Saw spin-off, Spiral, Lionsgate seemed to hint they'd be taking the franchise in a new direction that veered even further from previous installments. What that meant was anyone's guess, which is why it came as a shock to hear Saw X would be going back to the beginning, taking place between the events of 2004's original and its first sequel. But it turns out this decision enables director and longtime series editor Kevin Greutert to get around what's been the property's biggest problem. Namely that the dying Jigsaw was killed off too soon, leaving subsequent films to pick up the slack with countless flashbacks, overcomplicated plots, police procedural nonsense and shoehorned apprentices. 

Some sequels had their moments, but every film since the third has worked overtime to cover Jigsaw's premature demise, not envisioning this would extend past an intended trilogy. And since Tobin Bell's bone chilling performance as John Kramer was always the best thing in it, an encore just feels right, especially after being relegated to the sidelines for much of his own story. What results is the strongest entry since the original, treating its premise seriously and digging deeper into the twisted moral relativism that's bubbled under the surface of these movies for nearly two decades. This is the one we've been waiting for, giving Bell the showcase he's long deserved while forcing viewers to confront the grim circumstances that transformed John into Jigsaw. 

Writers Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg fully examine what's only been hinted at, going all in with the idea of Jigsaw as a flawed anti-hero. In presenting a group of deplorables who find themselves tested for incredibly valid reasons, the stakes rise, creating conversations around not only Kramer's intentions, but his heinous methods. Gory traps and over-the-top brutality remain, only this time accompanied by a slow, simmering build, making it feel more like a psychological character study than the "torture porn" it's frequently been labeled as. With a singular focus, its gripping, stripped down plot actually makes sense, avoiding the missteps of its many sequels.

Suffering from advanced incurable brain cancer, John Kramer (Bell) is told by his physician he only has a few months to live. After encountering Henry (Michael Beach), a member of his cancer support group who suddenly looks much healthier, John obtains from him the contact info for Dr. Pederson, whose experimental treatment Henry claims cured him. After a phone conversation with the doctor's daughter, Cecilia (Synnøve Macody Lund), John books a flight to Mexico City for surgery.

Upon his arrival at the mysterious clinic, John's greeted by Cecilia and her medical team consisting of Mateo (Octavio Hinojosa), Valentina (Paulette Hernández) and a surgeon known as "Dr. Cortez." He also meets two patients named Gabriela (Renata Vaca) and Parker Sears (Steven Brand), both of whom were successfully treated there. But after awaking from surgery and told he's cancer free, a betrayed, heartbroken John discovers it was all a scam and enlists trusted apprentice Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) to help him round up the conspirators. What follows is Jigsaw's deadliest, most personal game yet.   

In a series known for its frenetic editing and grimy, yellowish tint, this represents a departure, and not just in setting. Some recognizable trademarks are still present, but by Saw standards it's downright restrained, at least for the first thirty minutes. John attending a support group, wrestling with the devastating news and even cordially interacting with service workers ends up being a strange but welcome sight considering Bell was never given these notes to hit before, allowing viewers to see the character as an actual human being for a change. 

After spending years speculating whether the diagnosis or some other unknown event in his past led to Jigsaw's creation, this heavily implies the former, with Bell conveying subtle glimpses of hope and optimism immediately following the "procedure." His performance brilliantly hints at John possibly not going down this dark path had he been cured, only to see that shattered by these scammers, who emotionally break him to pieces. And that Bell plays a much younger version of Jigsaw isn't the continuity issue you'd think, easily explained away by the character's terminal condition. 

The script covers its bases, making sure John never looks like a fool for believing this treatment is on the level. These criminals know their desperate, vulnerable targets are willing to believe anything if it means buying themselves and their families one more day. John's no exception, helping draw the clearest line yet separating the former civil engineer from Jigsaw, who's now front and center, letting his subjects  know exactly what they'll be doing and why. Of course, we still get Billy the Puppet, pig masks and tape recorders, though the presence of these staples are sparser than usual, making it mean all the more when he employs them. And despite some wildly unforeseen circumstances, the self-professed "life coach" has never been this obsessed with enforcing his stringent rules

His most valuable weapon is Amanda, who's still in the formative stages of her training, but maybe having some doubts as their teacher/student dynamic compellingly plays out. Shawnee Smith again impresses opposite Bell, reminding us how Amanda was the only apprentice who mattered, their relationship serving as more than just a plot contrivance. The rest of the performances are unusually strong, particularly that of Norwegian actress Synnøve Macody Lund, whose Cecilia tests Jigsaw like no other victim has. Manipulative and detestable to the core, her reaction to this predicament will reveal her as more dismissive of human life than he is, even as the screenplay doesn't hesitate exposing the hypocrisies of both.  

This does eventually settle into a rhythm more typical of the series, but anyone who made it this far into won't mind, especially since it's so refreshingly raw, with hardly a cop or detective in sight, eliminating what's become an increasingly annoying plot crutch. The traps remain graphic as ever, but benefit from a better story, a simplicity to the gruesome challenges and tenser, tighter time frames for the subjects to escape, or not.    

In the rare horror franchise that keeps its continuity straight, Saw X is its standalone, requiring no intricate knowledge of the series to fully appreciate. If its ending visually recalls the original's iconic final moments, the closing twist will have many second guessing their perceptions of Bell's antagonist in ways that seemed impossible nine sequels in. Subverting all expectations, this feels like the defining chapter, raising the bar of what a Saw film can do when freed from the creative shackles holding it back.