20s Movie Review - Saw X

Director: Kevin Greutert
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnove Macody Lund, Stevn Brand, Renata Vaca, Joshua Okamoto, Octavio Hinojosa, Paulette Hernandez, Costas Mandylor, Michael Beach

Description: A sick and desperate John (Tobin Bell) travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure of a miracle cure for his cancer only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable.

Review: Jigsaw wants to play games again, and in this tenth film in the “Saw”-series, John Kramer makes it as bad as possible, too. This installment falls chronologically after the very first one, providing perfect space to delve into Kramer’s psyche. Instead of hiding from his victims, this time he is in the middle of the carnage. Magically, this tenth film manages to make itself indispensable withing the “Saw” franchise. Enough to pull disconnected fans and skeptics back over the line.

Unlike its predecessors, the first half of “Saw X” consists almost entirely of explanation and background. The storyline offers a deeper look in John Kramer’s motivations, especially why he took this work so seriously and went over the top. The central plot point is a life-threatening brain tumor, which leaves him with only a few months to love. Our of sheer desperation, Kramer goes to Mexico for an expensive experimental surgery. But after undergoing it, he soon discovers that he has been lied to.

In this group of con men, Kramer finds his new group of victims and then it is finally time for the well-known traps. Of course, most viewers come for this part of the film, but the first hour is certainly not slow or tedious. It presents intriguing character development.

 As mentioned, most people don’t got to a “Saw” movie for a good plot or intriguing story telling. They want to see blood flow. “Saw X” has more than enough of this. But not only are the characteristic elements of the traps present, but Jigsaw’s pupil Amanda is back on display as well.

“Saw X” wasn’t really a movie I was looking forward to, I didn’t believe we needed it. But it was pleasantly surprised by how good this movie really was. I believe it’s the best since the first film.

Rating: 4/ 5