Film Review - Saw X (2023)

Warning: ‘Saw X’ is a film not to be taken lightly. Vomit or cry! The choice is yours. These words are printed on the vomit bag provided in cinemas. Or perhaps only on special screenings. It’s very enthusiastic hype; nevertheless, after ten Saw films, one can easily become desensitised to the extreme gore, that you won’t really need it. Besides, why would a squeamish person watch a Saw film anyway? If you can’t stand the heat, then you’ve got to get out of Jigsaw’s torture trap chamber. If you want to go along to enjoy a ride of violence, tension and torture then ‘Saw X’ is the film for you. It’s a hard 18 certificate and rightly so.

The fact that these films have spanned over nineteen years, it has earned it’s right into the vault of classic horror franchises. Not only that, but the fact is that Tobin Bell aka, John Kramer/Jigsaw has truly earned respect from the audience as he has taken the lead role of the tenth instalment with an abundance of screen time, more than any other Saw film and well deserved. The irony is the audience will root for his cause to provide his victims with mayhem and the array traps are always original, but instead of being shocked when characters die a gruesome death, one may applaud it more as Kramer’s victims deserve it this time round.

Let it be stated that this tenth instalment is set after the first Saw in 2004 and just before the second Saw starts. Our antagonist John Kramer/Jigsaw died at the end of ‘Saw III.’ Producers have itted that this decision was a mistake as all Saw films after the third still carry his presence, giving Tobin Bell minimal screen time. In ‘Saw X’ our antagonist becomes our protagonist. We his plight, his cause and revenge. To bring John Kramer back in a kind of prequel or rather a time in his life that was personal, the audience will dwell in engrossment.

Exploring the untold chapter of John / Jigsaw’s most personal game, as stated, the film is set between the events of Saw I and II. A sick and desperate John travels to Mexico for a risky, under the table and experimental medical procedure, which he hopes will be a miracle cure for his brain cancer. But he discovers the operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, John returns to his unique work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature stomach churning way, through terrifying and ingenious traps. ‘Saw X’ is a true bloody relative to the original 2004 film.

It is kind of true, as John tells it, he helps people overcome their inner obstacles and make positive changes in their lives. All you have to do is “play the game.” If you want to break out of Jigsaw’s traps, you must sacrifice some limbs and brutally self-harm yourself over a three-minute period. When people lose the game, gore can truly unleash a heavenly horrific entertainment. The fact that these victims deserve it, justifies the kill. If a group of frauds provide false hope and steal $250,000 of any cancer victim, let alone John Kramer, it will only result in a game you won’t want to play.

The only minor criticism is that three original actors of the franchise have to reprise roles they played eighteen years earlier. Naturally people age that the make-up is the miracle to make you look like you did all that time ago. Apparently a lot of effort went into this but sadly the audience won’t notice that effort to look younger. Suspension of disbelief will have to be used in this case. Afterall, the budget needs to go on the gruesome traps, not to use the amazing CGI that occurred on Harrison Ford to look in his thirties in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.’ The bottom line is that the tenth instalment is worth watching. It’s better than all its predecessors, but not as good as the first. That is one reason alone to view this film.