This is not retribution. It’s a reawakening. It’s also a reinvigoration for my favorite film franchise.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Saw X.

Surprisingly, we break tradition, as this Saw entry does not start with a trap.

Instead, the film begins with John Kramer, played as always by Tobin Bell, inside an MRI machine as he receives a scan to see the progress of his brain cancer. As this film is set between Saw I and II, you’ll recall that the first Saw established that John Kramer has an inoperable frontal lobe tumor.

John is not long for this world and is on borrowed time. John’s doctor, not Dr. Lawrence Gordon, mind you, informs John that, at best, he has a year. Maybe months. John’s doctor suggests that John simply retire and live out the rest of his days. However, John still has a lot of work that needs to be done.

That’s putting it nicely. Anyway, John rejects the notion that he should just die easily.

John’s not alone in this. He’s part of a cancer support group with others who have a diagnosis similar to his. They realize that time is short, but recognize that each day is a gift.

A gift almost arrives perfectly wrapped for John Kramer. While at the hospital, John observes an orderly about to rob a patient of their possessions, and it’s here where the film cuts to the first trap of the movie: the eye tube trap you’ve seen from the poster and trailers.

See, this orderly has sticky fingers and must excise that sickness. In order to save his soul and eyesight, he just has to press the dial and free himself- at the expense of breaking his fingers in the process. Otherwise, the tubes will suck the orderly’s eyes out of his head. The orderly gets three notches in, but is unsuccessful as the tubes extract his eyeballs.

Oh, it was just a dream? Never mind. Much better executed than Jill’s nightmare from Saw VII. Anyway, upon noticing someone watching him, the orderly returns the patient’s items, with John telling the orderly that he made a good choice.

Later, John is at a shop when he spots one of the support group members: Henry Kessler, played by Michael Beach. Henry is in good spirits, much to John’s surprise. Why? He’s in full remission due to a special, experimental treatment from a Norwegian doctor named Finn Pederson. Henry even has a war wound scar fresh from the procedure.

It’s a slim chance, but John looks into The Pederson Project. These methods aren’t what you’d call FDA-approved or approved by any health organization- if you care about that. In one video that John watches, Finn Pederson explains that he’s being hounded by big pharma. Finn’s been forced to go off the grid, but his practice continues thanks to the work of his daughter, Cecilia, played by Synnøve Macody Lund.

With few options, John sends a message to the Pederson Project’s website and soon receives a phone call Cecilia. Not even an email response as far as I know- just a phone call. Now that’s service. Cecilia received John’s email and informs him that she could have an opening in three months, but John doesn’t have that kind of time.

As luck would have it, Cecilia may be able to slot John in with her off-the-grid practice right outside Mexico City. Again, that’s what you call service.

This is, again, a little convenient, but John is short on options and time, so he flies himself to Mexico. He’s kidnapped during his taxi ride, as the kidnappers leave behind the taxi driver, a man named Diego, played by Joshua Okamoto. This is part of the protocol, as the doctors are always being tracked by big pharma. Go figure.

At a mansion, John is introduced to a woman named Gabriela, played by Renata Vaca, who was a patient of Cecilia. Gabriela credits Cecilia with saving her life.

John eventually meets Cecilia, who introduces him to two other doctors: Valentina, played by Paulette Hernández, and Mateo, played by Octavio Hinojosa. During this introduction, we meet another patient named Parker Sears, played by Steven Brand, who has thyroid cancer.

Before the procedure, John befriends a young boy named Carlos, played by Jorge Briseño, and even helps fix the boy’s bicycle. Never say that John Kramer stopped putting those engineering skills to good use.

So the procedure begins with the doctors working their magic. All seems to go well, aside from one little moment when the doctors turn the monitor away from John, but hey, maybe the doctors know better than him.

When all is said and done, Cecilia visits a recovering John and tells him that he now has his entire life ahead of him. There’s a sense of relief in John’s eyes as he prepares for the rest of his life. He promises to wire Cecilia the rest of the money for the procedure.

Before John can leave, he returns to the mansion so he can give Gabriela some tequila as a show of thanks. Problem is now, the mansion has been completely abandoned. As has the laboratory where the procedure took place. Still at the laboratory is a booklet and the monitor. John plays the video, which shows the exact same footage that was shown during his operation.

Yup. It was all one big ruse.

Pretty scummy behavior, but let us not forget that John Kramer is not just an engineer. Now moved to get revenge on those who wronged him, the Jigsaw Killer starts by kidnapping Diego, disguised as Dr. Cortez during the operation, and placing him in the film’s first real trap.

Diego finds his hands bound with duct tape and pipe bombs attached to his arms. He plays a tape and is instructed that he will need to cut into his flesh in order to remove the pipe bombs.

Diego succeeds, with horrific mutilation of his arms, but he survives. He then spills his metaphorical guts to John, detailing him on Cecilia’s entire scheme of scheming desperate people out of money for what amounts to false hope.

Well, the Jigsaw Killer has his own operation, and John is ready to set his plan into motion with a little help from his friends: a certain detective whom John calls over the phone, and apprentice Amanda Young, with the lovely Shawnee Smith reprising her role.

This, folks, is where we’ll hold it with the plot.

I don’t think I’ve said this because it’s never come up here before, but I love the Saw films. It’s my favorite series of films, even with its ups and downs. Since Saw III, I’ve seen each film at the cinema on opening weekend, which I can’t even say for the more frequent comic book film franchises that I enjoy. I have no regrets about the time and investment I’ve had with these films.

Truth is, I’m surprised that Lionsgate has managed to keep this series going when twice by now it was going to end, and the fact that John Kramer died years ago in Saw III. The series was going to end with the third film, then with the seventh. Since then, we’ve gotten Jigsaw and Spiral: From the Book of Saw– neither which I’m overly fond of, but hey, ten films in and there’s still life in this series that I didn’t expect.

Whether it’s a film I enjoy or don’t enjoy, I always tense up whenever Charlie Clouser’s “Hello Zepp” plays when the twist is revealed towards the end of each Saw film.

So Saw X taking place between the first two films is an interesting idea. It allows the film to explore territory not yet traveled, but also bring back John Kramer and place him center stage. From Saw IV and onward, this series has had to continue in Jigsaw’s absence and shadow. Sometimes it works, such as the more enjoyable than expected Saw VI. Sometimes it doesn’t, like with Saw VII.

From a fan perspective, it’s impossible to look at Saw X without the knowledge of what comes in future installments. At the same time, I don’t think this film requires as much knowledge of the series. You may have a few questions, but not as much as you’d have if you were jumping into any random Saw film between I and VII without seeing prior installments.

I’m beating around the bush, but Saw X is very good. Hell, it’s great. I can’t really be surprised, given that Kevin Greutert is back in the director’s chair. After all, he delivered the very good Saw VI.

He also directed Saw VII.

…

Okay, they can’t all be gems.

But Saw X is a return to form for the franchise in a way that this series has not seen in a long time. It manages to recapture the feel and tone of the first Saw film, but also playing with expectations in ways that I don’t think a Saw film has done before. This is a more intimate and personal story with John Kramer as the focal point. We spend so much time with John that I forgot how long it took before the main game began.

Greutert takes his time with the directing, giving us a slower pace akin to what James Wan’s approach in the original Saw. We’re in John’s head as we see his increasing desperation and any chance at hope. It’s all he has left if he’s to survive. John knows that his work will carry on through his apprentices, but if he has a shot at survival, he’s going to take it.

So when it turns out to be a ruse, why wouldn’t he seek vengeance? Consider what he said back in the first Saw: he’s sick from the disease eating away at him inside, but also sick at those who scoff at the suffering of others. John finds the latter in the form of these con artists who rob dying people of the one thing they have left: hope.

Greutert brings something different to this film in how much time we spend with John instead of the Jigsaw Killer. Seeing John with a support group, having actual acquaintances, and going across the world- it’s a side of John that the films rarely explore. I wouldn’t have minded more of it, even considering that you often come to a Saw film for the traps. It puts story first and traps second, which I respect.

But this film delivers on a solid story. Obviously we know that John and Amanda will come out of this alive because of Saw II and III, but this film goes in a direction I didn’t think a Saw film would and presents a trap victim in a seemingly smarter light compared to other subjects.

Talking about John and Amanda, it is so great to have many scenes between Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith. Especially with Smith, who we haven’t seen since Saw VI and hasn’t had a role as big as she had here since Saw III. We see the caring father-daughter relationship play out between leader and apprentice. Saw X showcases just how committed Amanda is to John’s philosophy.

But the film also gives glimpses of the darker, more unforgiving side we’d see in Saw III. Amanda isn’t heartless, though, and her past as an addict leads to an interesting back and forth between her and John, without getting into spoilers. We’re not yet at the point of Amanda creating unwinnable traps, but there are glimpses.

Then again, with this taking place between the first two films, we already know she’s on the dark path based on Adam’s fate. She’s ruthless to the victims, but still shows care for John. More than that, she admits that she’s not ready to carry on John’s legacy by herself. In addition, she can’t stomach the idea of losing him, and this is before John would be wheelchair bound in Saw II.

 

With how John and Amanda differ on their approach, part of me wonders how much of this was part of John’s overall plan. Jigsaw is notorious for being several steps ahead of anyone coming for him. I think about something that Dr. Gordon said in the first film concerning Jigsaw: every possible angle has been pre-thought out by him. Jigsaw has contingency plans for contingency plans.

It’s why, even at this point in his journey, I believe he could capture several people for one big game, despite being in unfamiliar territory. But even with the change of setting, this feels very much in line with the rest of the Saw films. The factory setting is just as contained as the bathroom from the first film or the nerve gas house from the second.

Similarly, this film also benefits having John as the focus by having him observe the traps. Consider what Kerry said about the Jigsaw Killer in the original film: he likes to book himself front-row seats for his own sick little games. After Saw III, the focus shifted to Detective Hoffman taking over John’s legacy. With each subsequent entry, we’ve seen less and less of John.

But with him in the driver’s seat, he’s the one running the show again and it is very refreshing to see. Same goes for Amanda being here, as this is really the first time since Saw III where we’ve had leader and apprentice throughout the majority of the game. I’m bringing up Saw III a lot, I know, but to this day, it’s probably my favorite in the franchise, if not at least in my top three.

Another plus in having both John and Amanda here is the two clashing over Jigsaw’s philosophy. He says this game isn’t retribution, but a reawakening. These aren’t the inescapable traps from future films, but they sure as hell aren’t simple, either. Like always, even if the odds are slim, John sees this as just because he’s giving the victims a chance. Doing otherwise would make him a killer, which he’s never claimed to be.

Even though he is.

John truly believes in his methods, even to the point of offering help to someone who survives. Granted, the number of people who survive a Jigsaw game is rare. Probably less than 10. But those who survive, as this and other installments show, have a chance at redemption. It all comes down to the player’s will and whether they’re willing to shed enough blood to survive.

Since it takes awhile to get to the game itself, I imagine some might wish the plot moved faster. Personally, I’m fine with the slow buildup. The film takes its time to reintroduce us to John Kramer, give us his plight, and set the stage for his game. Each of the players are believable in their performances and their pain looks and feels real with each trap.

Then again, they made the wrong move. It’s one thing to con people out of hope and thousands of dollars, but to try and cheat John Kramer? Bad move.

Saw X is great. Easily the best Saw film we’ve had in years. It’s early to say, but this could catapult into my top five Saw films- it’s that good. Kevin Greutert brought the series back to what made it special, gave us a different feeling Saw film, and even threw a few curveballs that caught me off-guard. It’s an enjoyable watch and reminder of what made me love this series in the first place.

I honestly don’t know where the series will go from here, but Saw X is doing critically very well, which is sort of a first for the franchise. Coupled with so many calling it a return to form, and Lionsgate has itself a winner on their hands. Curious to see what, if at all, may come next. If a film set between the first two Saw films can land, the door could be open for even more stories to tell.

Until then, I am perfectly fine with and highly recommend Saw X. With that said, thank you all for reading, keep watching plenty of movies, and take care.