Saw X is, as the title suggests, the tenth entry in the Saw franchise. It feels like this movie was made for no other reason than to have that cool title. The best way to describe this film is that it's another Saw movie. I'm a fan of this franchise. I've seen (and own) all of the movies thus far. I'm a huge fan of horror. Saw is my favorite horror franchise ever. There are certainly horror films I like better, and Michael Myers is my favorite horror icon, the Saw films are my favorite horror franchise in that there hasn't been a single film in the series thus far (including this one) that I've outright hated.
The original Saw I would put in my list of favorite horror films. It has cemented itself as a horror classic like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and so on. I would recommend it to any fan of horror or thrillers. Saw II & III are also fairly good. While the sequels that followed don't measure up to those three, I can still enjoy them as fun entries. Parts 7 & 8 are definitely the low points in the franchise, but even those I don't hate. What's cool about the Saw movies (at least parts 1-7) is that they all connect with each other. When binged it feels like you're watching a season of television.
But even I can say that this franchise is beyond played out by now. This movie, while certainly not awful, proved me right on that. The reason I saw (pun intended) this in the theater is both because I am a fan and because I had never watched one of these films in theaters before. I always knew about the franchise but had never gotten into it until a few years ago.
The film also has a high score on Rotten Tomatoes, which really surprised me as critics have never been kind to the Saw movies, not even the first one. Some even say it's the best in the series. I definitely would not go that far. I would say Saw X is better than the Final Chapter (or Saw 3D) and Jigsaw, but certainly not better than the original. I would also put Saw II & III above this. I would say this is on par with Saw IV-VI.
I would put it on-par with Saw VI especially, as the two films have a similar plot. They're even directed by the same person I believe. That's one of the minor issues I have with Saw X is that it has a bit of "we've been here before" feeling. This film deals with corrupt doctors who take advantage of terminal cancer patients with a fake cure for money. Throughout the film you see them all get their comeuppance. It's similar to part 6 where you have corrupt health insurance agents that take advantage of their customers to save money.
However, this film takes a bit of a different approach to its storytelling. Aside from one token trap at the beginning there are no gore/death scenes in the first half. It's all build-up. It's one of the better-looking Saw movies with some nice location shots. It also focuses primarily on John Krammer for once. Tobin Bell as John Krammer has always been the best thing about this franchise, so it's cool to see him as the protagonist for once. It's also one of the longest Saw movies to date. I imagine all of this is why critics seemed to like this film more than previous entries. It doesn't feel as gratuitous and all about the violence like other films. But when the trap scenes happen, they're inventive and gory, like one would expect from these movies by now.
However, since this is a prequel, these things can make the film feel slow and boring in places for diehard fans like me, who have seen all the movies, since you know how it's ultimately going to play out. Also, the main cast looking quite a bit older here does take me out at times. They didn't even try to make Amanda look younger with makeup for this.
This film also falls into the trap (pun intended) many of the Saw sequels have, where the traps get a bit convoluted. It's hard to believe that Jigsaw could plan things so thoroughly, and nothing goes awry for him. This film isn't as bad as some of the others at this, but it's there.
Overall, if you're a diehard Saw fan there's no reason not to see this if you haven't already. I'm going to buy it on Blu-ray when it comes out for the collection. But if you've never been a fan of the franchise this probably won't change your mind. If you only like the first movie, but not any of the sequels for how gratuitous they become then don't bother with this either. It was nice to see Tobin Bell take the lead role once in these. This can work as a decent swan song for this franchise, assuming there will be no more.
But we all know there will be. Even though there is nowhere left to go for this series there will always be more as long as there is money to be made, as Hollywood has shown us over the last couple decades. This goes double for horror movies like this, as they don't cost much to make.
The original Saw I would put in my list of favorite horror films. It has cemented itself as a horror classic like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and so on. I would recommend it to any fan of horror or thrillers. Saw II & III are also fairly good. While the sequels that followed don't measure up to those three, I can still enjoy them as fun entries. Parts 7 & 8 are definitely the low points in the franchise, but even those I don't hate. What's cool about the Saw movies (at least parts 1-7) is that they all connect with each other. When binged it feels like you're watching a season of television.
But even I can say that this franchise is beyond played out by now. This movie, while certainly not awful, proved me right on that. The reason I saw (pun intended) this in the theater is both because I am a fan and because I had never watched one of these films in theaters before. I always knew about the franchise but had never gotten into it until a few years ago.
The film also has a high score on Rotten Tomatoes, which really surprised me as critics have never been kind to the Saw movies, not even the first one. Some even say it's the best in the series. I definitely would not go that far. I would say Saw X is better than the Final Chapter (or Saw 3D) and Jigsaw, but certainly not better than the original. I would also put Saw II & III above this. I would say this is on par with Saw IV-VI.
I would put it on-par with Saw VI especially, as the two films have a similar plot. They're even directed by the same person I believe. That's one of the minor issues I have with Saw X is that it has a bit of "we've been here before" feeling. This film deals with corrupt doctors who take advantage of terminal cancer patients with a fake cure for money. Throughout the film you see them all get their comeuppance. It's similar to part 6 where you have corrupt health insurance agents that take advantage of their customers to save money.
However, this film takes a bit of a different approach to its storytelling. Aside from one token trap at the beginning there are no gore/death scenes in the first half. It's all build-up. It's one of the better-looking Saw movies with some nice location shots. It also focuses primarily on John Krammer for once. Tobin Bell as John Krammer has always been the best thing about this franchise, so it's cool to see him as the protagonist for once. It's also one of the longest Saw movies to date. I imagine all of this is why critics seemed to like this film more than previous entries. It doesn't feel as gratuitous and all about the violence like other films. But when the trap scenes happen, they're inventive and gory, like one would expect from these movies by now.
However, since this is a prequel, these things can make the film feel slow and boring in places for diehard fans like me, who have seen all the movies, since you know how it's ultimately going to play out. Also, the main cast looking quite a bit older here does take me out at times. They didn't even try to make Amanda look younger with makeup for this.
This film also falls into the trap (pun intended) many of the Saw sequels have, where the traps get a bit convoluted. It's hard to believe that Jigsaw could plan things so thoroughly, and nothing goes awry for him. This film isn't as bad as some of the others at this, but it's there.
Overall, if you're a diehard Saw fan there's no reason not to see this if you haven't already. I'm going to buy it on Blu-ray when it comes out for the collection. But if you've never been a fan of the franchise this probably won't change your mind. If you only like the first movie, but not any of the sequels for how gratuitous they become then don't bother with this either. It was nice to see Tobin Bell take the lead role once in these. This can work as a decent swan song for this franchise, assuming there will be no more.
But we all know there will be. Even though there is nowhere left to go for this series there will always be more as long as there is money to be made, as Hollywood has shown us over the last couple decades. This goes double for horror movies like this, as they don't cost much to make.