Saw X goes back to basics for the most eviscerating Jigsaw games yet

Saw X. // Photo by Alexandro Bolaños Escamilla/Lionsgate

This is part of our coverage of new genre films premiering at Austin’s Fantastic Fest. 

Back in the series’ heyday, the Saw movies were so ubiquitous and so dominant at the box office that Lionsgate came up with the uber-catchy tagline “If It’s Halloween…It Must Be Saw.” For almost a decade that was the rallying cry that emerged in the wake of James Wan’s 2004 surprise hit and the sequels it spawned. 

In 2023, the films’ legacy has changed drastically. After a few sluggish offerings and dwindling box-office returns, the movies took a hiatus. The most recent entry to hit theaters (2020’s Spiral: From The Book of Saw) didn’t even feature Jigsaw. Now, with Saw X, the table has been reset to tell a simpler, cleaner tale that may just be the best film in the franchise.

In case you need a refresher, the Saw series follows John Kramer (Tobin Bell), aka Jigsaw, a serial killer struggling with stage 4 brain cancer. Knowing his time is short, Kramer uses his engineering skills to impart a form of extreme self-help scenarios for individuals who have made “the wrong choices in life.” He subjects them to extreme life-threatening puzzles where survival is in their grasp if they’re willing to pay the (always very unpleasant) price.

Most audiences go into a given Saw entry expecting a big twist. Not so here. Prior to the release it was already established that this is technically Saw 1.5, taking place between the first and second films. It’s a good compromise when it comes to John taking the lead role. Feeling that his time is running out, John is granted hope when he sees a former support group member (Michael Beach) who made a miraculous recovery from pancreatic cancer. After hearing about an experimental drug and surgery trial headed by Dr. Cecilia Pederson (Synnove Macody Lund), John jets off to Mexico.

Saw X. // Photo by Alexandro Bolaños Escamilla/Lionsgate

Of course, Cecilia’s clinic revealed to be a sham, extorting money from dying patients. The bad doctor might be able to pull that con with the average desperate joe, but this is Jigsaw we’re talking about. With the assistance of his protege Amanda (Shawnee Smith), Jigsaw sets up a game in which Cecilia and her co-con artists Mateo (Octavio Hinojosa), Valentina (Paulette Hernandez), and Garbiela (Renata Vaca) must participate in his latest brutal contraptions. “It’s not retribution,” Jigsaw tells them, “it’s a reawakening.” 

Saw X is the most stripped-back film in the series. That may turn off some die-hard fans, but here it enhances the overall experience. The traps look hastily put together. It’s all set in one open room without the finesse or exuberance of Saw II. Yet it all works thanks to the steady direction of returning Saw crew member Kevin Gruetert, who previously edited every entry but Saw VI and Saw 3D, where he served as director. Those worried about continuity won’t need to worry with Greutert on hand.

Though Saw X has the signature traps and copious gore fans attribute to the franchise, this one is defined by how different it is. That this entry also allows us to spend so much time with John Kramer as a man is a masterstroke. Saw X gives the boogeyman a sense of humanity and personality, and in the process makes this feel like the first truly complete “movie” in the history of the series. Should this be the direction moving forward, a whole new group of fans will soon join the cry of “If It’s Halloween…It Must Be Saw”.

Saw X. // Photo by Alexandro Bolaños Escamilla/Lionsgate