Saw is officially back, with the 10th installment of one of the best horror movie franchises hitting theaters just in time to welcome in the month of Halloween. This offering, however, won’t feature Jigsaw copycats or students of John Kramer’s twisted games like in previous offerings. Saw X is actually centered around Tobin Bell’s character, with its story set between the first two films — a timeline that surely appeals to OG fans. Critics had the chance to screen the movie ahead of its September 29 release, so let’s see what they’re saying.
Along with Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith will reprise her role as Amanda Young, John Kramer’s victim-turned-protégé, and as the franchise returns to the beginning, is it possible we could see some other familiar faces? That’s just one of the questions we had after watching the trailer, so let’s see what the critics can tell us. In CinemaBlend’s review of Saw X, Eric Eisenberg says this offering stands out from its predecessors for actually attempting story and character development. He rates it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing:
It’s certainly messy – and I’m not just referring to the gallons upon gallons of blood that pour so that John’s victims can understand the value of life. The effort made to properly portray Jigsaw’s perspective is a touch too strong for the movie’s own good (suggesting a little too hard that the character is justified in what he does), and while there is an attempt at constructing a classic Saw twist ending, it’s not one that ranks among the series’ best. Altogether it’s an odd cinematic experience, but it’s still easily one of the greatest from the Saw franchise thus far.
However, Neil Smith of GamesRadar isn’t quite as impressed, giving the upcoming horror movie just 2 stars out of 5. While some will surely be pleased with Tobin Bell’s return to the series, Smith says, the movie isn’t good enough to justify resuscitating John Kramer. The critic continues:
The fiendish contraptions Kramer and another returning party prepare for them demand a series of set-piece self-surgeries, staged with ghoulish aplomb. The bits in between, though, are talky and dreary, characteristics shared by a lackluster performance from Bell that suggests his killer was better off lurking in the shadows.
When the first reactions came out following screenings of Saw X, many were calling it a return to form and one of the best films in the franchise, and Kofi Outlaw of ComicBook.com agrees, writing that the film feels meaningful and thrilling in the way that fans used to love– albeit with some brutal new DIY traps. In the critic’s words:
The traps that Saw X designs for its games are pretty novel and horrifying this time, while being blessedly scaled back down to brutally efficient DIY engineering concepts. Saw X actually gets the idea that it’s the unthinkable choices Jigsaw forces his ‘players’ to make that provide the horror, not the gruesomeness of their deaths. The suspense of seeing which characters can actually survive their game is a welcome bonus to the horror of seeing what they have to do to ‘win.’ With the kind of games Saw X has on display, death becomes a welcome mercy.
Travis Hopson of Punch Drunk Critics rates Saw X 3.5 stars out of a possible 5, warning that this installment (like the others) is not for the easily squeamish; however, it makes both the franchise and its infamous killer relevant again. Hopson continues:
It’s made the franchise feel relevant again, by going back to its roots with a simpler, less complicated story. Don’t get me wrong, the traps are just as diabolical and messy; gore fans will get their fill. But by slotting this film between Saw and Saw II as the soon-to-be-deceased John Kramer confronts his cancer head-on, it allows for a tighter focus on the series’ most popular character without all of the narrative trickery latter films needed to keep him relevant storywise.
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com says the 10th movie feels more grounded than the other sequels, as it lets John and Amanda involve themselves openly in the process. This in turn allows Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith to dig into the roles like never before. Tallerico writes:
Saw X solves a lot of the problems of other films in this franchise by limiting its scope, eliminating some (but not all) of the incoherent plotting, coming up with a few ingenious traps, and really centering the keys to this franchise: Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith. They’re both better here than in any other film in the series, bringing these characters back to life in a way that feels more emotionally resonant than most of the string-pulling they’ve done in past movies.
With Saw being one of the best movies of the 2000s, any return to form for the 10th installment sounds very promising, and the Rotten Tomatoes score adds to that optimism, with Saw X garnering an 84% Fresh rating from 64 critics so far. Saw X is in theaters now if this sounds like a sequel/prequel you need to check out for yourself, and be sure to also take a look at our 2023 movie release calendar to see what else is hitting the big screen soon.