film review – saw x
Saw X (R)
Directed by: Kevin Greutert
Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund
Review by: Julian Wright
Self appointed moral police and (not quite) serial killer Jigsaw returns to the big screen for the 10th entry in the franchise with a chapter that sits between the first and second films, for more carnage.
Facing brain cancer and only a few months to live, John Kramer (Tobin Bell) turns to experimental and expensive treatment run by the sympathetic Dr Cecilia Pederson (Synnøve Macody Lund) and her team in Mexico.
After undoing surgery and taking the prescribed medication, John discovers the treatment was a sham and the team are scammers who target the sick and vulnerable. Big mistake.
He tracks them down, locks them up and has them endure a range of potentially deadly traps to make them learn a valuable lesson.
It may sound drearily familiar, particularly to those who have kept up with the seemingly un-killable Saw series over the years, which was key in introducing the torture porn sub-genre in 2004.
But after a slew of very average sequels and a fascinatingly strange but not completely successful reboot (written by and starring Chris Rock), Saw X takes a different tack.
The long, drawn out story about John and his medical saga plays more like a disease of the week drama (without the heart string tugging) in a surprising change of pace for the series.
Some may even begin to check their watch and wonder when the carnage will kick in.
When the blood does begin to spill, the story strengthens the mentor/mentee relationship between John and former victim Amanda (Shawnee Smith), focusing on character as much as nausea-inducing ways of desecrating the human body.
While still unable to capture the shock and awe of the first couple (those twists really left an impact), Saw X does provide more opportunity for food for thought and far better performances than this series usually allows – a pleasant surprise this far into the game.
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