Resharpened and Retooled: Saw X (2023) Review

Director: Kevin Greutert

Notable Cast: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Renata Vaca, Paulette Hernandez, Octavio Hinojosa Martinez, Steven Brand, Michael Beach, Joshua Okamoto, Jorge Briseño

 

The third time’s a charm, huh?

 

Although the 8th and 9th films of the Saw franchise both essentially sold themselves as soft reboots for the long-running horror series, see our reviews for Jigsaw and Spiral: From the Book of Saw, respectively, neither one really grabbed the core ideas or style in a way that genuinely recaptured audiences after a brief hiatus after the seventh film, Saw 3D. 

 

Two failed attempts, but Saw X - which I like to pronounce as “socks” for the record, was going to find that sweet spot, right?

 

Well, Saw X rectifies previous misfires by returning to the start but taking a few exciting side roads. A combination of simplification in the now very lore-heavy Saw franchise and bringing back the series’ two most famous villains, Saw X does many things right, even when treading on some new territory, which has always been a problematic area for the series. With brutal new traps and a renewed sense of dramatic heft, Saw X threads many thin lines and manages to do impressively. At least when it comes to the Saw-iverse, is that a thing?

 

Saw III (2006)

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Notable Cast: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfadyen, Bahar Soomekh, Donnie Wahlberg, Dina Meyer, Leigh Whannell, Lyriq Bent

All great franchises have their trilogies, right? So one assumes that in the case of a franchise like Saw, the third film, entitled Saw III, would wrap up a kind of ‘endgame’ for the Jigsaw killer. Initially, that is most certainly the tone that this film runs with. At its core, it’s much more of the same in a lot of ways, particularly after the second film broadened the scope of the series with parallel plotting and more characters than one can shake a stick at, so in that sense it’s easy to hop into if you’re familiar with the Saw formula. On the other hand, the manner that it plays things out feels a tad more personal than the previous installment and the tricks up its sleeve are more or less nuances to its script rather than the focus like the last one. Still, as it works with most of the sequels in this series, the results of Saw III are a mixed bag in execution vs content and it leaves the entire thing feeling a tad sour in the aftertaste despite its stronger moments.

Saw II (2005)

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Notable Cast: Donnie Wahlberg, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Erik Knudsen, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Beverley Mitchell, Timothy Burd, Dina Meyer, Lyriq Bent

In the first of numerous sequels to come, Saw II has some trouble matching wits as its predecessor. It has some great moments and it has some stinkers too. Even though one can expect that this film will have twists and a surprise ending to go with its style, Saw II still accomplishes quite a bit despite the lofty expectations set by the original, but too many cliche elements in the film bring it down again and its ambitious continuation of the concept creates too many problems for it to solve on its own.

Saw (2004)

Director: James Wan
Notable Cast: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Ken Leung, Dina Meyer, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell

To say I'm a fan of this film is somewhat of an understatement. Saw it three times in theaters when it came out, and have owned it since day one of its release with many watches down the hatch at home. I find this film to be immensely entertaining and clever for the time period that it was released and one that, despite some flaws, holds up even when the nostalgia goggles of my youth have been removed. Saw is a film that takes its exploitative elements and gives them a fun and smart modern twist that balances its use of limited budget to maximize its entertainment value.