TravelingbeebryantRN & Flicks_withNick

“Hello, everyone. It’s time to play a game. You all pretended to cure me, but what I have planned for each of you… is very real. The only thing I have not provided is your anesthetic. But trust me… you will want to remain alert”.

The latest addition to the Saw franchise was just released with Saw X. The movie brings back Tobin Bell as John Kramer aka Jigsaw, along with Shawnee Smith as Amanda Young. Newcomers to the movie are Cecilia Pederson played by Synnove Macody Lund, Parker Sears played by Steven Brand, Gabriela played by Renata Vaca, and Mateo played by Octavio Hinojosa. The movie also brings back director Kevin Greutert who previously directed Saw VI & Saw 3D. As of this writing Saw X has a Rotten Tomato score of 82% with an audience score of 91%.

The movie takes place on the Saw timeline between the first Saw and Saw Two. The movie starts out differently than any other movie in the franchise. Instead of jumping into a Jigsaw game, we see a broken John, as he’s trying to cope with his cancer diagnosis. He’s only been given months to live, and we see him going to a support group full of other cancer patients. John hears a story of a man dealing with pancreatic cancer, and only has a short time left. Days later  while getting lunch John runs into the same man from the support group meeting. The man mentions that he’s in remission, and had surgery off the books in Mexico. John is very interested, and does his own research on this surgery that’s not FDA approved. John researches Dr. Cecilia Pederson, and her father’s work. John links up with Dr. Pederson, and goes down to Mexico, to treat his cancer. He meets Dr. Pederson and her employees that will be helping John. John has a successful surgery, and is still recovering in Mexico. Days pass and John wants to give his thanks, and goes back to the site of the surgery, only to find out that this was all a scam, and no surgery was done. John now seeks vengeance, and rounds up everyone that was involved with the scam.

We are brought back  to the original site of the surgery, and John has everyone involved in the scam, all in the same room. He is accompanied by Amanda, as she’s been assisting him.  As we remember we meet Amanda in the first Saw movie, and she worked with John, till he reached his death. This part of the movie is similar to all the other movies in the franchise. Everyone is chained up, and one by one they have to play John’s game. Some of the scenes can be gruesome, as even I had to turn away at the screen, as I was twisting and turning.

The only disappointing thing with doing a prequel is that we know there’s no real big stakes for John & Amanda, as we know they are going to be in Saw Two & Three. As a fan of the franchise, I found the twist ending very predictable. It didn’t take me away from the movie, but it cheapened it. I did enjoy the different approach the movie took. John is the protagonist of the movie, as we follow his story. Typically we are following the story of the cops, and their takedown of the Jigsaw killer. The beginning of the movie plays more like a drama, as we saw John dealing with his cancer. I’d say we’re not cheering for him, but we’re also not cheering for everyone that was involved with the scam.

Ultimately I thought this was a different and enjoyable take in the Saw franchise. I think this is one of the better sequels in the franchise, and adds more depth and lure to the movie franchise. I enjoy the extra depth character of John, and provides more history to the Jigsaw killer. Anyone that hasn’t seen the previous nine movies can still enjoy this movie, but they might have some questions to ask. I’d still recommend this movie to any Saw goer, and anyone that wants an entertaining horror movie during the Halloween season. I give this movie a 3 / 5.  

Make sure you stay around for the credits, as there is a mid credit scene.