Movie Review: Saw X

 

If the Oscars had their own version of a Comeback Player of the Year award that are handed out in the NFL and NBA, Saw X  would be this year's frontrunner. A long-in-the-tooth horror franchise that has been through about 6 reboots, 15 different "puzzlemakers" (calling them serial killers just feels wrong!) and 75 retcons to keep the story chugging along over its nearly 20-year history returning with one of its strongest entries ever after failing to deliver an installment that was even relatively well-liked among its most diehard fans in 5 of the previous 6 kicks at the can is the type of surprise that passes pleasant and enters full-blown miracle territory.

So how did this miracle come to be? Well, they somehow found a way to bring fan favorite characters (Shawnee Smith's Amanda Young, Tobin Bell's John "Jigsaw" Kramer) back from dead and build a story with a hook (set between the events of Saw and Saw II, Kramer travels to Mexico City for an experimental treatment performed by an esteemed Norwegian doctor that could treat his brain cancer, only to discover shortly afterwards that the whole thing was a scam to defraud patients) that justifies their return. As much as the growth of the increasingly convoluted and absurd canon made the later Saw sequels fun in their own right, having a film with a clear, standalone narrative that brings Bell and Smith back into the spotlight recaptured the magic that has been missing from the series for quite some time. 

The personal nature of the game allows for a meaningful expansion of the mentor/mentee relationship between Kramer and Young. They each display some true vulnerability and how much they care for each other while also exercising their sadistic impulses to extract revenge on the con artists that sold the dying Kramer the lie of hope at a moment where he needed it more than ever through the concoction of a particularly brutal set of traps designed to inflict maximum punishment for their crimes. There's hints at how it all ultimately ends for the co-protagoinsts scattered throughout their interactions and the performances form Bell and Smith-which are both their best-ever turns as these iconic characters that will delight the fans of the franchise, but it's also smart enough to grant people that aren't familiar with the previous installments the opportunity to enjoy the film as well by always the keeping the story that's being told in this moment at the forefront. What a concept for a franchise film! 

Aside from it's hook and the return of its two most prominent stars, most of the rest of Saw X's success just comes from solid execution of the series signature features (save for the mystery elements-which were sidelined for good reason since these people specifically harmed Kramer and people that are in a similarly desperate position as him). Primary antagonist Dr. Cecila Pederson (Synnove Macody Lund) is a strong contender for the most despicable piece of shit that's ever found themselves playing one of Kramer's games, the traps-which I'll avoid spoiling outside of the gruesome self-brain surgery and eyeball vacuum ones that have been plastered all over the marketing-are some of the most depraved, squirm-inducing ones that have appeared since the early days of the series and despite being the longest entry in the franchise by far at 118 minutes, it zips along with a tidiness and liveliness that most of the 90-100 minute entries didn't possess. How the franchise veterans (director/editor Kevin Gruetert, writers Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg)  responsible for Saw X  didn't think to go in this simple, character-driven direction sooner is a bit baffling to me, but at least they were able to eventually get it done done and deliver the gift of another highly enjoyable Saw film that most fans thought they'd never receive. 

Grade: B