Tobin Bell Leads a Strong Saw Entry
Tobin Bell gives his best performance in the franchise
Saw X, directed by franchise veteran Kevin Greutert, is a comeback of sorts for the franchise, which has been going downhill for a while. After the mixed reviews that the mediocre Spiral: From the Book of Saw received, the writers Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger have turned to the franchise’s unexplored past.
Set between the events of the original and its sequel, the focus shifts back to John Kramer (Tobin Bell), who has only been making sporadic appearances in the franchise ever since he was killed off in Saw III. He meets a fellow cancer patient Henry Kessler (Michael Beach) from a cancer support group who recommends an unapproved cancer surgery by Dr. Cecilia Pederson (Synnøve Macody Lund) in Mexico involving a cocktail that supposedly saved his life.
Kramer welcomes this idea and travels to Mexico, thinking of it as a second chance at living a better life. This includes quieter moments where he reflects upon his life as a civil engineer and his psychopathic hobby of helping people with Cecilia, taking us back to the essence of the original.
The infamous Jigsaw killer is promised that he will have a bright future ahead. But since this is a prequel, we know that that's not what will happen. Kramer returns to the hospital (which used to be a chemical factory) only to find out that it has been abandoned and that the whole operation was a scam.
The film for the most part follows a linear storyline free from unnecessary flashbacks that ruined its predecessors. Kramer directly oversees his games and reinforces the rules, something that I am surprised the franchise has never done in its almost two decade history.
Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) returns as Kramer’s conflicted Jigsaw disciple. The film adds more depth to her character by reimagining her as more than just an impulsive drug addict. She doesn’t understand the rules, which while being repetitive, still offers a closer look at her complicated relationship with Kramer.
The games are inventive. They are the franchise’s goriest ones yet, but unlike the predecessor they are not random and adhere to Kramer’s original vision. There’s a scene where a dead victim’s intestines are used as a rope and another where a victim is exposed to radiation.
Cecilia is the most greedy character in the franchise yet. She is filled with pride and taunts John who fell for her cancer treatment con. Constantly guiding other victims what to do, she thinks she is ahead of the game while the entire film, in true Saw fashion, is a test for her.
The last half an hour or so features one of the biggest twists in the franchise. It’s not a dead character who’s revealed to be alive. Instead, it’s Kramer being tested in his own game, which is as brutal as these movies can get. He is shown no mercy which is a clever technique by the writers to question the whole point of Jigsaw and his ideals.
The film ends peacefully which is a first for the franchise, at least until the post-credits scene. I’m honestly looking forward to more installments if this is how good they are going to be. I was initially skeptical about this movie’s idea of focusing on dead characters, but now I think the writers are doing what they should have done a long time ago.
Overall, Saw X is the franchise’s most entertaining entry in a long time. Tobin Bell has been playing this character in almost every installment since the original but he delivers the most memorable performance here.
Rating: 7.5/10
