Film Review

Saw X (2023) — untold chapter is unexpected franchise highlight

A sick and desperate John Kramer travels to Mexico for an experimental cancer cure, only to discover it’s a scam…

Yes, I’m sick. Sick from the disease eating away at me inside. Sick of people who don’t appreciate their blessings. Sick of those who scoff at the suffering of others. I’m sick of it all! — John Kramer.

The indignation of John Kramer (Tobin Bell) in Saw (2004) has come full circle with Saw X, set between the original and Saw II (2005). Alive but not well, John is facing a life-or-death countdown with his latest diagnosis only giving him a few months left to live, so this desperate old man finds himself the prey of callous Cecilia Pederson (Synnøve Macody Lund) and her fraudulent medical team promising a cancer cure in Mexico.

‘If it’s Halloween, it must be Saw’ was the marketing gimmick that forced every Saw sequel to rush into production ready for next October’s deadline. Kevin Greutert, having edited the first five, has now achieved the wildest range of directing efforts with Saw VI…